1915 Springfield

[dbarn]

Overcast day and trying to get some better photos.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[STU1]

that is a sweet one David, thanks for sharing

[Duane Hansen]

Jeepers, What a Sweetheart! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[frankderrico]

Dave "WOW" lovin it. Thanks for sharing, nice pictures also.....Frank

[usoverlord]

Wow!!!!!

[oldcanuck]

You gotta love that early rust blue.......

[dbarn]

While I also love the rust blue finish, I'll be the first to admit I'm not familiar with exactly what Springfield had to do to produce it. Was it very labor intensive? The early high polish Colt 1911s are hard to beat....

[enbloc8]

It was the same process used on the Model 1903 rifle...it involved brushing the prepared and degreased parts with a complicated and somewhat dangerous chemical mixture, then storing them in a heated and humidity-controlled cabinet for several hours to induce a coat of fine rust, which was brushed off with a wire wheel. The procedure was repeated two or three times and it took about as many days to complete. It was phased out sometime in 1918 and replaced by black parkerizing.

[lenb]

That is one absolutely beautiful pistol! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Len

[Johnny Peppers]

Up until the mid 1930's the only type of blueing available was either rust blue or heat blue. Springfield Armory rust blued the bolts and barrels of their early 1903 rifles, but the blued small parts were niter blued which was another form of heat blue. Springfield was not set up to do the type of oven blueing done by Colt, but was set up for rust blueing.
Rust blue does not produce a bright blue like the heat blue, as the blueing mixture which contains nitric acid slightly etches the surface of the metal. While rust blueing is more labor intensive than the heat blue, it produces a very durable blue finish.