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Thread: Keeping old Webley Pistol in original box - is there a danger?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    Wooster
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    3,513

    Keeping old Webley Pistol in original box - is there a danger?

    This may sound silly given I have a 1923 gun in perfect shape that came in the original box. Of course I can’t be sure it was stored in the box. I have one Haenel pistol rusted on one side I assume it rested on the box and there was a chemical reaction over time? It this possible should I put a acid free paper between the box and gun or is it all good.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Farmington, MI, USA
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    349
    A sheet of plastic under and over the gun is one way to avoid problems arising from contact with the cardboard.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Middleton, Manchester
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    1,393

    Storing pistols in box

    The above advice is spot on. Lots of old pistols have "box rash" because they have been stored in their boxes. I also cut narrow strips of clear document holders, and put them in the corners of the box where the muzzle, rear sight and grip base fit. I'm not sure if the rusting is caused by chemicals in the cardboard, or because the cardboard has absorbed some dampness from the air. In any case, it's best not to have any contact at all between the steel of the gun and the box.
    Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Brighton
    Posts
    97
    I have been collecting only excellent condition air pistols for the the last 20 years and have have lost count of the the number of good pistols I have seen at arms fairs etc. that have been ruined by rust on the right hand side from being stored in cardboard boxes.
    I think moisture from the place they have been stored in is retained in the cardboard which is in direct contact with the side of the gun thus causing rust and pitting.
    I keep my pistols in a display cabinet known to be completely dry and the boxes in a separate dry place but with a note inside the boxes with the model and serial number of the pistol contained in the box so they dont get separated for future owners.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Bishop Auckland
    Posts
    2,136
    I think that the OP's question has been answered already in the first couple of replies. Whether it's simply a matter of the boxes absorbing moisture, or them being made from some material that contains something that is harmful to metal, there is no getting away from the fact that it does happen, the only safe way is, as has been said above, to lay some sort of barrier under the pistol.

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