(re)bluing question

[Dwight Gruber]

As a new fish in the Luger pond my eye is not yet attuned to the finer points of blueing, and there is a gun for sale locally which may prove instructive. It is a garden variety 1908 commercial, and I am wondering if it has, indeed, been re-blued. The strawed parts have, for certain, which mitigates against the rest of the finish being original (its in the 85--90% range). The proof marks seem sharp and clear (haven't gone at them yet with a magnifying glass), so the gun hasn't been buffed to death--there isn't any obvious buffing at all.


The head-scratcher is that the barrel and toggle are beginning to turn a uniform, deep plum. Is this a characteristic of original finish age, or of a failure during re-blue? The barrel seems to be original, serial numbers match (although I haven't located a number on the breechblock and there is not one on the extractor, although it is stamped 'geladen'), and the underside of the barrel and receiver where they meet are stamped with a shallow line indidating they haven't moved, similar to a stamping on my Model 1900.


So, what does anybody think, re-blue or original? Just for the record asking price is $415, probably firm.


--Dwight