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Thread: Best way to spot a reblued Webley?

  1. #1
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    Best way to spot a reblued Webley?

    Hi all,

    Relative newbie question...

    I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to tell if an old Webley Air pistol has been re-blued or is just in great original condition?

    I've seen some early straight grip pre-war MK1's with a very nice but slightly grey blued finish to them (I assume original) and other's that are jet black.

    I know worn screw heads on a 'mint' pistol are a giveaway sometimes. Do you see any signs of sanding and polishing prior to rebluing as a giveaway?

    I'm guessing if it's been oiled and stored in it's box since it was bought it'd look pretty much perfect, apart from a bit of corrosion on the back where it was laying on the card.

    What do people look for to differentiate between well looked after and refurbished?

    I only ask because I've never seen a Webley on sale advertised as 'refubished' but I'm guessing some being sold as 'mint' must be refurbs. Not that it necessarily matters but I find it interesting.





    Thanks.

  2. #2
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    Difficult from photos especially if the light is shining off it. But rounded corners where there should be sharp edges and reduced depth to the lettering are clues. Over polishing to a mirror finish before rebluing is another clue.
    General rule of thumb if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Check out the sellers other guns - if they have identical finish then that's a good indicator too. I don't really know about Webley's, but I know their bluing was excellent.
    "helplessly they stare at his tracks......."

  3. #3
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    I've have had a couple of poor condition Webleys blued and confess I rather like them. Sacrilege to some but there you are :-)
    That said any nice unrestored proper patina gun always has so much more character, interest and desirability.

    My re blued guns have some clear signs. Mainly the fact that there is not a mark on them. No scratches on screw heads, the blue is almost black with no signs of uneveness or discolouring where its sat in a box for years, no marks where there is metal to metal contact during cocking.
    Also some crispness of engraved text is lost. As you say close inspection of screw heads usually identifies where a worn screw has been filed and sanded. The crisp geometry usually ends up rounded.
    Hope helpful.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by ptdunk View Post
    Hi all,

    Relative newbie question...

    I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to tell if an old Webley Air pistol has been re-blued or is just in great original condition?

    I've seen some early straight grip pre-war MK1's with a very nice but slightly grey blued finish to them (I assume original) and other's that are jet black.

    I know worn screw heads on a 'mint' pistol are a giveaway sometimes. Do you see any signs of sanding and polishing prior to rebluing as a giveaway?

    I'm guessing if it's been oiled and stored in it's box since it was bought it'd look pretty much perfect, apart from a bit of corrosion on the back where it was laying on the card.

    What do people look for to differentiate between well looked after and refurbished?

    I only ask because I've never seen a Webley on sale advertised as 'refubished' but I'm guessing some being sold as 'mint' must be refurbs. Not that it necessarily matters but I find it interesting.

    Thanks.
    It is a interesting part of collecting. No expert at all but I think you have to have it in your hands. If it’s really mint the whole gun will kind of tell you that, and don’t forget the grips; they can tell you a lot. I think the more important thing to me on older say prewar, is it clean not chewed up. Especially that back slot on the Webleys! I have a prewar Straight grip coming this week, it is probably reblued but it looks very clean. It will be fun to hold it in my hands and see what I have.

  5. #5
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    Thumbs up

    Hi

    I bought this back in around 1990 from a second hand shop for a whopping £38 , I don't think it's ever been apart!

    I've had quite a few Seniors but none were in as good condition as this one, The chequering still feels very sharp and grippy, I think i've put nowhere near a tin of pellets through it, I'm pretty sure it's original..




    I also bought a .177 mk3 Webley from the same shop around the same time for an eye watering £69

    This one I think (Obviously) has had some third part attention as the forend stock screws are actually Allen screws with a large domed head, I don't know if it's been reblued but it's in great condition for it's age (top one)..



    It's the second up from bottom in this pic, The tap is so good that if you cock it then open the tap, Hold the lever and pull the trigger then let the pressure off the lever, It holds the piston back for ages!!!




    It can be hard to tell if guns have been refinishged as there's some really good tuners/Refurbishers out there!!


    John
    for my gunz guitarz and bonzai, see here
    www.flickr.com/photos/8163995@N07/

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnbaz View Post
    Hi

    I bought this back in around 1990 from a second hand shop for a whopping £38 , I don't think it's ever been apart!

    I've had quite a few Seniors but none were in as good condition as this one, The chequering still feels very sharp and grippy, I think i've put nowhere near a tin of pellets through it, I'm pretty sure it's original..




    I also bought a .177 mk3 Webley from the same shop around the same time for an eye watering £69

    This one I think (Obviously) has had some third part attention as the forend stock screws are actually Allen screws with a large domed head, I don't know if it's been reblued but it's in great condition for it's age (top one)..



    It's the second up from bottom in this pic, The tap is so good that if you cock it then open the tap, Hold the lever and pull the trigger then let the pressure off the lever, It holds the piston back for ages!!!




    It can be hard to tell if guns have been refinishged as there's some really good tuners/Refurbishers out there!!


    John
    Those rifles are just beautiful, at some point if the refinisher is that good does it really matter. I would assume that a first class refinish is going to cost a lot of money. Put that kind of money in has to raise the value.

  7. #7
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    As someone that reblues a lot of old airguns its difficult to tell for sure.

    Some old rusty pitted boat anchor will need serious work to chemically or electrically remove the rust itself, the pitting of course remains and has to be removed mechanically with abrasives.

    Removing that much metal to bring the surface below the pits is always visible even if you use all the tricks to keep the sharp edges and lettering as sharp as possible.

    These guns are easy to spot but arguably have been saved from the grave for future generations.

    Guns in good order with worn bluing through rubbing or localised damage from blood etc are a different matter, they can be stripped chemically and as the original polish is pretty much intact a very gentle 2000 grit polish will restore the surface to new with close to zero surface removal.

    These guns are almost impossible to spot as long as the original manufacturer polish grade and colour are cloned, the usual giveaway is a 100 year old gun with a very high 20th century polish that's actually superior to that available at the time...
    A man can always use more alcohol, tobacco and firearms.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by RichardH View Post
    As someone that reblues a lot of old airguns its difficult to tell for sure.

    Some old rusty pitted boat anchor will need serious work to chemically or electrically remove the rust itself, the pitting of course remains and has to be removed mechanically with abrasives.

    Removing that much metal to bring the surface below the pits is always visible even if you use all the tricks to keep the sharp edges and lettering as sharp as possible.

    These guns are easy to spot but arguably have been saved from the grave for future generations.

    Guns in good order with worn bluing through rubbing or localised damage from blood etc are a different matter, they can be stripped chemically and as the original polish is pretty much intact a very gentle 2000 grit polish will restore the surface to new with close to zero surface removal.

    These guns are almost impossible to spot as long as the original manufacturer polish grade and colour are cloned, the usual giveaway is a 100 year old gun with a very high 20th century polish that's actually superior to that available at the time...
    How much would it cost to reblue a Webley pistol that is in good order and restore the blue as you say in the last example?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by 45flint View Post
    How much would it cost to reblue a Webley pistol that is in good order and restore the blue as you say in the last example?
    Fire me an email and I'll give you the options
    A man can always use more alcohol, tobacco and firearms.

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