Metal Hardness and Finish

[kurusu]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

Maybe... But if it were being used right before it was dropped/lost, what would have kept the grips from falling off? If the safety lever had broken before loss, I can envision using the gun without it, but my guess is that someone tried to take the grips off in order to loosen the mag, and probably forced the lever, as well, just trying it out. Without more info, we simply do not know.

I'm thinking on the line, those parts (grip screws; safety lever) corroded away during all this time for unknown reasons.

Maybe a chemist among us could have an hypothesis on the whys.