[Ron Wood]

Southriv,

Thank you for your most excellent photos. I am afraid they have only reinforced the slight doubts that I had, and I share your concern.

The demarcation at the transition of the trigger guard to the front grip strap is quite clearly defined on an original finish gun. In your photo this line is softened and would seem to indicate a refinish at some point. Some of the other intersections of two planes, e.g. the front of the frame and the heel of the butt, also have a softer look than I would expect.

The lack of any toggle slap remains vexing. The blued-over pitting that you noted on the front sight block is not a good sign. My front sight block is marked with a â??7â?, and I think that your â??arrowâ? might also be a 7.

You state that â??However, comparing to other DWMs, the curve down is different because that end is ground off to take the traditional lanyard loop offâ?. Actually the piece was manufactured without a lanyard loop, so the loop and indent under the loop never existed and therefore were not ground off. The curve is a little smoother because there was no loop to interfere with the final polish but there is no ground off reduction in the amount of metal.

The interior of the piece looks original, but I fear that at some time in the past portions of the exterior have been cosmetically enhanced. If that is the case, it is a shame because I suspect it was quite nice without enhancement. Some folks want their nice pieces to look brand new, so they will have them touched up. I do not think the enhancement was performed recently since there has been some â??agingâ? that has occurred. Of course this only makes it more difficult to detect a touchup, and 10 or 20 years from now I think it will be nearly impossible to tell.

I do not want to be a wet blanket, but as I said, I share your concern.