Blued SP101

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Sweet!!! I still have the first model SP with the warning on the barrel "125 gr. bullets only". I really love the gun (it's the wife's now) but I always thought it would be even better in blued carbon steel. I hate stainless.
 
Any reason for the preference of blue over stainless other than aesthetics?
 
I have always preferred blue over stainless. Just personal. I only own one gun in stainless, and that is an old Smith 5903 police trade in.
 
Ask any machinist what they think about stainless steel. It's soft and gummy compared to chrome moly steel. It does not cut cleanly and will wear at a faster rate. I have never seen a crankshaft or a camshaft made from stainless steel. Stainless steel took over handguns for the same reason it took over cheap knives. Some people are simply too lazy to wipe them down and take care of them - they just want to toss them in the dishwasher. Look at expensive Japanese kitchen knives. They're all carbon steel. Stainless alloys for blades have come a very long way but carbon steel is still much better. I personally prefer a blued gun over stainless because in the dark it's almost invisible compared to stainless.
 
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I dunno if I would agree that carbon is better in cutlery. Don't get me wrong. I'm a carbon steel guy. I prefer it for heavy use knives that take a lot of stress. But there are a lot of super steels that both very corrosion resistant and eat carbon steel's lunch when it comes to edge retention and toughness these days.

I do agree with the aesthetics of stainless guns over blued. I also really dislike the look of finish of stainless like you see on Taurus or Charter Arms guns. It looks unfinished...because it is. I do like Ruger's finish the best as I hate to see scratches on high polish and the brushed hides them pretty well.

Aren't these Rugers just a colored stainless anyway?
 
Ask any machinist what they think about stainless steel. It's soft and gummy compared to chrome moly steel. It does not cut cleanly and will wear at a faster rate. I have never seen a crankshaft or a camshaft made from stainless steel. Stainless steel took over handguns for the same reason it took over cheap knives. Some people are simply too lazy to wipe them down and take care of them - they just want to toss them in the dishwasher....
Click to expand...

And yet, the most accurate rifle barrels in the world are all stainless. Stainless is more machinable than chrome molly, it can hold tighter tolerences and better surface finishes. Most of the top custom accuracy barrel makers don’t use chrome moly, some will simply not make barrels from it.

.
 
Drail said:
Ask any machinist what they think about stainless steel. It's soft and gummy compared to chrome moly steel. It does not cut cleanly and will wear at a faster rate. I have never seen a crankshaft or a camshaft made from stainless steel. Stainless steel took over handguns for the same reason it took over cheap knives. Some people are simply too lazy to wipe them down and take care of them - they just want to toss them in the dishwasher. Look at expensive Japanese kitchen knives. They're all carbon steel. Stainless alloys for blades have come a very long way but carbon steel is still much better. I personally prefer a blued gun over stainless because in the dark it's almost invisible compared to stainless.
Click to expand...

You've never seen a stainless crankshaft or camshaft because there's absolutely no reason to spend more on stainless when those parts are literally bathed in lubricant!

I wouldn't say stainless "took over cheap knives" either. I remember when the only decent stainless blade you could get was a Swiss Army Knife, hardly a cheap knife. Back then, sure a high carbon steel blade was better but today stainless blades can and do rival carbon steel. And just like in the knife world, metallurgy has changed in the past several decades for firearms as well. Stainless isn't nearly as hard to machine as it once was, and it gives basically identical performance for firearms with the benefit of being lower maintenance. Go ahead, purchase two identical guns in stainless and blue. I bet you'll never wear either out or tell a difference in accuracy.
 
Fiv3r said:
I dunno if I would agree that carbon is better in cutlery. Don't get me wrong. I'm a carbon steel guy. I prefer it for heavy use knives that take a lot of stress. But there are a lot of super steels that both very corrosion resistant and eat carbon steel's lunch when it comes to edge retention and toughness these days.

I do agree with the aesthetics of stainless guns over blued. I also really dislike the look of finish of stainless like you see on Taurus or Charter Arms guns. It looks unfinished...because it is. I do like Ruger's finish the best as I hate to see scratches on high polish and the brushed hides them pretty well.

Aren't these Rugers just a colored stainless anyway?
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that it is an alloy, for lighter weight that is blued.
 
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