sortof old Colt

[BaerenGott]

This is my Colt "Police Positive Special", chambered in .38 Special.  According to it's SN, it's 101 years old.  I had it refinished last year by a gunsmith.  The grips were missing when I got it, and the original blue was severely worn.  I originally assumed that "Police Positive" grips would fit, and bought a pair.  They didn't.  That's when I did some more research and discovered this guy was a PPS.  I'm still not sure exactly what that denotes;  all I know is I have yet to find grips that fit completely.

[Phosphorus32]

That's a neat revolver    The collectability factor took a hit with the refinish but it does look nice and I'm sure it's very functional.

[BaerenGott]

Truth be told if it isn't a "signature" item(ie, Patton's sidearm, etc) then I'd prefer a weapon to look good and to function perfectly.  I like to take my stuff to the range and let it do what it was made to do...make little pieces of metal go real fast!

[carls sks]

shoot it and enjoy it. 

[Phosphorus32]

Truth be told if it isn't a "signature" item(ie, Patton's sidearm, etc) then I'd prefer a weapon to look good and to function perfectly.  I like to take my stuff to the range and let it do what it was made to do...make little pieces of metal go real fast!

I think I understand your point of view. I'm guessing you consider yourself a shooter and firearms are tools for shooting. Nothing wrong with that, especially considering your occupation.

I do try to educate about the collectible nature of firearms in a respectful manner, since I'm basically a purist collector. If you already knew you were decreasing the resale value by refinishing it then my comment was unnecessary, but I really don't know you well enough to determine if you were aware of that reality  They aren't uncommon revolvers, so not a big tragedy, just providing information.

Like I said before, it looks really nice with a clean smooth finish, though bluing would be correct for an early 20th Century Colt. If it has good solid lock-up and a sharply rifled barrel it'll probably be good for another 100 years of use.

Here is one site for some reasonably priced reproduction grips for your PPS. I'm sure there are other sources.

https://www.triplek.com/product/colt-police-positive-special-c-type-grips/

[BaerenGott]

Thank you for your response, and for the link for better-fitting grips!  When I presented the revolver to the gunsmith I work with, he examined it for a few days and then called me.  He said that there was so much pitting(he thought from holstering) that a true 'blue' finish would accentuate the damage already done.  He suggested a matte finish be applied after the proper prep.  It took him about a month to media-blast(walnut shells I believe he told me) down to the smallest 'grit' so that the more modern finish could be properly applied.  It's a common finish nowadays, I just can't remember what it's called.