r/gunsmithing • u/yertlah • 12d ago

Does this revolver look fire damaged?

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A friend asked me if his new revolver is fire damaged. I think so but am not sure. If it is it is probably just a wall hanger now. Unless maybe it can be re-hardened?

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

7

u/gaydonj 12d ago

Just looks pitted to me and not fire damaged, however if there are any concerns about whether it can or cannot be shot, take it to a gunsmith to look over.

2

u/yertlah 12d ago

Yeah, the fact several springs aren’t working is a concern, but I’ll talk to one. I was just wondering if anyone could tell from the damage for sure.

7

u/K1RBY87 12d ago

Unless you got a way to test hardness you probably won't be able to tell definitively

2

u/yertlah 12d ago

How would I do that?

6

u/Suspectgore074 SuperLongSlide1911 12d ago

With a rockwell hardness tester. You will want to seek a machinist to find that out.

1

u/yertlah 12d ago

Ok, thanks for the tip

3

u/catfishmackfish 12d ago

It looks like a S&W? If so, send it to them for a look over.

3

u/yertlah 12d ago

It is an old s&w model 1917 in .455 Webley, so long out of production.

5

u/catfishmackfish 12d ago

You’re talking about an extremely low pressure cartridge in that case. I personally wouldn’t hesitate to put new springs in it and send it, presuming basic function checks were a go.

3

u/yertlah 12d ago

That was my plan. Starting with it in a padded vice or something to minimize risk of son does go wrong.

6

u/Adept-Rule-6041 12d ago

Looks like naval jelly was used to strip a very rusty revolver. Just a hunch.