Winchester using Nickel Steel for the 1894 frames is pure bunk.
For years I had heard that, and read it in at least one book, but it always bothered me that the supposed nickel steel frames didnt exhibit the characteristics of nickel steel. I finally had a few frames tested; pre 1900 to mid 30s, .The nickel content is way too low to be considered Nickel Steel.
The flaking on those frames is a result of the bluing process that Winchester used at the time; carbonia bluing. Winchester realized early on that the bluing would flake if not done properly, and used a small inspection stamp to check the bluing.
The polish marks on the frame should be North-South, and a Kutter brought up, the polishing lines near the rear the rear radius should match that angle.
Polishing old Winchesters to match the original polish is extremely difficult to do correctly, for a couple of reasons: Winchesters polishing heads were mad of walrus hide, fairly difficult to get this day and age. The polishing heads were radiused to match the surface that was being polished, so for any one model you would need a dozen or so polishing heads.
V/R
Mike
