Blued Revolvers & Holster Wear

[TraderVic]

I see a lot of fine revolvers shared in in pics in various threads on this forum. Do you customarily carry them in a holster and if so, does "holster wear" on the bluing concern you ?
I'm looking a my first blued revolver (I own three stainless revolvers), but am not wanting to compromise the bluing.
An honest question....what do you all do with this ?

[Old Savage]

Just part of life.

Sometimes they look better.

[JimT]

Honest holster wear on a blued revolver is a badge of honor.
It means the owner had enough confidence in the gun to use it a lot.

[stretch]

I once bought a S&W Model 10 that was a reserve policeman's.
It was stored in a holster in his dresser for years and years. There's some
bluing missing from the muzzle end of the barrel as a result. It doesn't concern me
as it's not a collector gun. It was a working gun and still is. I'd give it about 95%
cosmetically, maybe a little bit less. If I ever need to sell it, I'll not lose money on it.

If I had a gun that was worth a lot of money, and it was PERFECT, I'd be way annoyed
with any noticeable loss of bluing.
These days if I had a gun like that, I'd probably sell it. I did just that a couple of years
ago with a VERY nice motorcycle. Beautiful shape, but I didn't ride it that much, and it's
value was very much related to the condition it was in. One ding in the garage would
have literally cost me thousands in retail value, so I decided to sell it. No regrets. I'm
not into garage or safe queens!

-Stretch

[OldWin]

Honest holster wear on a blued revolver is a badge of honor.
It means the owner had enough confidence in the gun to use it a lot.

This.
A good revolver with honest wear, that's well cared for, looks better IMO.

[PriseDeFer]

Blued steel can tell a story, stainless guns are silent.

[Pisgah]

I don't mind some holster wear, but if you want to minimize it be sure you have a closely-fitted holster. More holster wear comes from shifting around inside a loose-fitting holster than from drawing and hostering.

[Ysabel Kid]

I don't mind some holster wear, but if you want to minimize it be sure you have a closely-fitted holster. More holster wear comes from shifting around inside a loose-fitting holster than from drawing and hostering.

+1 here and JimT's comment!

[Malamute]

I gave up on worrying about the blueing long ago. Some seem to be able to carry them without much blue wear, I dont seem able to. It may be partly from the dry abrasive dust from Az and Wy, it permeates everything including holster leather. I also carried my old Smith 29 on my motorcycle a lot back in the 1980s, which Im sure the vibration didnt help, and many miles walking since then.

I used to try to touch them up with cold blue, then just gave up. I grew to appreciate the holster time represented by the worn spots, its part of the history of the gun and the time youve spent out with it. I lived out in the hills and under the stars off and on for a number of years, the 29 was carried daily through most of that, lived in all weather, got cleaned very seldom beyond a basic drying off by my sleeve or whatever was available at the moment. It it got snowed or rained on or condensation formed on it often. It has a few small rust spots, I just dont care. Ive had a few stainless guns, but have never been able to warm up to how they look, most were sold with no regrets. I guess the bottom line is I just dont like stainless guns, at all.

The old 29. I think I bought it new in 1982.

4 inch 29.jpg

Fitting a hand to the 29 in my cabin porch gunsmith shop

Workshop.jpg

Flagstaff, about 1983. I used the 29 to shoot the deer

modified image.jpg

[Scott Tschirhart]

Just the way things work. You are going to get some holster wear on a blued gun that is carried.

[samsi]

Blued steel can tell a story, stainless guns are silent.

I like this, it rings true.

Malamute, I recall seeing that 29 pic before. I think that may define "used, not abused".

[marlinman93]

Some holster wear on blued revolvers gives them character. I like a minty blued revolver, but I love the same with some signs of use.

[Rube Burrows]

I see a lot of fine revolvers shared in in pics in various threads on this forum. Do you customarily carry them in a holster and if so, does "holster wear" on the bluing concern you ?
I'm looking a my first blued revolver (I own three stainless revolvers), but am not wanting to compromise the bluing.
An honest question....what do you all do with this ?

Any revolver carried in a holster will eventually show signs of wear. Even if they are seude lined they will still eventually wear if carried enough. I personally like when a gun is carried and shows signs of wear. Many people today only take guns to the range to shoot or take them out back and shoot a few rounds. A well used gun that you can tell was loved and used has a ton of appeal to me. If I love a gun and use the gun, I dont worry about normal wear. Just take care of it and enjoy it.

Think about the feeling you get when you hold one of your dad's old guns or granpa's old guns. The wear, the nicks in the stock, the scratches; its all part of its story. We all have said many times...... if this gun could talk. Well, would you want your gun to have a story when it talks (wear) or just say that it layed in a box its whole life (mint)?

[Rube Burrows]

I gave up on worrying about the blueing long ago. Some seem to be able to carry them without much blue wear, I dont seem able to. It may be partly from the dry abrasive dust from Az and Wy, it permeates everything including holster leather. I also carried my old Smith 29 on my motorcycle a lot back in the 1980s, which Im sure the vibration didnt help, and many miles walking since then.

I used to try to touch them up with cold blue, then just gave up. I grew to appreciate the holster time represented by the worn spots, its part of the history of the gun and the time youve spent out with it. I lived out in the hills and under the stars off and on for a number of years, the 29 was carried daily through most of that, lived in all weather, got cleaned very seldom beyond a basic drying off by my sleeve or whatever was available at the moment. It it got snowed or rained on or condensation formed on it often. It has a few small rust spots, I just dont care. Ive had a few stainless guns, but have never been able to warm up to how they look, most were sold with no regrets. I guess the bottom line is I just dont like stainless guns, at all.

The old 29. I think I bought it new in 1982.

4 inch 29.jpg

Fitting a hand to the 29 in my cabin porch gunsmith shop

Workshop.jpg

Flagstaff, about 1983. I used the 29 to shoot the deer

modified image.jpg

That's awesome. That is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post here. That gun has a story.

[Griff]

Blued steel can tell a story, stainless guns are silent.

Actually my 45 year old mdl 65 S&W shows quite a bit of muzzle wear from its holsters. I bought it in anticipation of transferring to the Marine unit, but that became moot when I made the LT's list. But its everyday holster home has left both sides of the barrel with a high luster polish. The cylinder, not quite as highly polished, as is probably not indexed the same each time its out. I 'spose that if you started out with a highly polished gun, maybe no wear would show, but even nickeled guns eventually show some wear.

[piller]

A bit of holster wear is nothing to fuss about.