No doubt the “retro†thing has really taken hold at the shop lately and the gun pictured here is the first, and likely most labor intensive, of a trio of retro guns to be coming out of the shop over the next few weeks. But this gun was more than your typical retro styled conversion... this body of work was as much restoration as it was customization.
Typical of many of the pistols from this era the base gun was rough , no
very rough, with layers and layers of pits, dents, dings, and craters that would make a lunar surface look smooth. Some of the dents and dings were cavernous and caused both Ted and I to take a second and third look at the gun each time wondering if there was to be any salvation for the piece. But we’re also always up for a challenge so one day Ted decided there was no more wondering and decreed it was time for a retro custom-restoration... to which I replied, “great, I’ll dig out the Bondoâ€.
Not long after a new day was beginning to brighten for this Pony. And the next thing I knew the slide had returned from our good friend and engraver extraordinaire, JR French, who meticulously re-engraved all the roll-marks. Soon after 'ol Theo was putting the finishing touches on his project... to include nitre blue right down to the lanyard loop. Custom-restorations may not always be what were known for but in a case like this, well, we’re always up for the challenge.

Enjoy...
