Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Question For S&W Types - "European Blue"?

I traveled 160 miles south this past Saturday to a gunshow in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Therein I came across a strange looking Smith & Wesson revolver!
It was a Model 17 with an 8 3/8" barrel and it appeared to be "cer-koted" to me from a distance.
I picked it up and it then appeared to NOT be coated at all.
The metal finish appeared to be a somewhat "mottled" battleship gray?
The tableholder selling the pistol relayed how he was selling it from the estate of a friend and that the "finish" on the pistol was a factory finish that was offered for a short time by Smith & Wesson and IIRC he called it a "European finish".
Anyone ever hear of this type finish on a factory Smith & Wesson revolver?
Anyway the pistol appeared tight as a tick timing wise and NO cylinder rotation ring at all.
It had target grips, target hammer, target trigger and adjustable sights.
Table holder had no price tag on this pistol (all his other firearms had price tags) and he suggested to my inquiry about the price as "it oughta be worth about $1,000.00".
Appreciate any opinions and input.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Nope. I'm no European finish expert but surely no countries as pretty as Spain,Germany,England would settle for battleship gray.

I have a Model 25-7 that has what the factory called a "frost blue" but it's more of a dark, non-glossy blue than grey.

Tim

Did you get a dash number or approximate vintage for the gun? I don't recall seeing anything like that. When you say mottled do you mean uneven?

Timz: The person selling the pistol spoke of the finish in descriptive terms for several sentences the word frosty was mentioned - I forget if it was his way of describing the finish or if it was an alternate name to his referred to "European Blue"?
No this pistol was definitely gray and not of the type of "matte" blue as on the S&W Highway Patrolman Model 28 - I am familiar with that.
Thanks.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

RufusG: No I did not think to look for a dash number!
And I am certain I have never seen a S&W revolver finished as this one was myself.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Sounds too much like a botched cold blue.

I have a 45ACP Model of 1950, a pre-1955 25, that has a beautiful royal blue from the factory. Not a black blue, but a lighter tint blue. I also have a few model 25s, and the blue on those is not close in tone.

Depending on the year S&W did do a type of matte blue, still a deep blue, but not "shiny" My 1954 Masterpiece is this way. I have never heard of "European blue" and S&W. Guessing the seller was using his own terms.

Belgian blue is, well, European?

I think bfrshooter may be right about that being a cold blue job.

Regards,

Bfrshooter: Thanks for your input - you may very well be right?
I have looked through my Smith & Wesson books and find no mention of the type of blue I saw on that otherwise "perfect" pistol.
It definitely had NOT been polished (after leaving the factory!) but maybe someone tried the cold blue over a normal blue?
Thanks all for the input.
Been busy scouting elk, entertaining out of state visitors/fishing so pardon my slow reply.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Cold blue doesn't do anything on top of normal hot blueing, except maybe stain the surface a little.

Hard to tell from your description, but if it was a flat (non reflective) finish like cerakote, and was grey, maybe it was parkerized? That can range from light grey to black, and can turn greenish with age but not always. If it was poorly done it could have been uneven and blotchy. It's a good utilitarian finish if done right, but doesn't sound like a factory job if it was blotchy.

In my opinion, S&W had the best blue jobs ever. S&W bright blue was a high polish first and matt was bead blasted to reduce glare.
No finer jobs could be found. Blue wears and holsters do a job. So a guy will use cold blue and most will remove original blue. to result in spotty color. I believe in S&W and not the seller.