doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lefever metal finish

I'm about to embark on a Lefever restoration. I need to know the correct finish for the metal parts, please.
Thanks
Phil

Here are photos of various grades, in differing conditions. They will give you an idea of the color case hardening on the locks and perhaps the metal finish on your barrels - which obviously differs depending upon the material.

http://www.lefevercollectors.com/index.php?p=1_18_Photos

Assuming we are not talking about a Nitro Special the barrels if they were fluid steel were medium to highly polished and rust blued, damascus barrels were black and silver, triggers and safety were blued, cocking indicators were bright and everything else including the trigger guard were color case hardened.

Thanks for the replies. After studying the photos of the various grades, Terry, it appears the one I'm working on is a DS grade. Except that on the sideplates it only says "Lefever Arms Co." in small block letters. That is the only writing on the entire shotgun other than the serial no. 388xx and there is no engraving anywhere. The barrels are fluid steel.

TwiceBarrel- Before I retired I ran cattle in the Flint Hills for years, good country.

Phil

Phil I have to agree with you the Flint Hills have a beauty and grace all of their own.

The grade letter should be stamped on the water table adjacent to the serial number. The serial number that you listed would make this a very early DS (Durston Special). If the gun has cocking indicators protruding from the sideplates it is probably an H or even a G grade.

If you have a day that you don't mind doing some traveling Buck Hamlin, on of the finest Lefever smiths around, lives in Pevely, Missouri. He is always ready to talk about Lefevers.

The barrels are fluid steel it appears. I can't find any stamping on the watertable other than the serial number.

It seems, in the pictures, that the screw that secures the sideplates is color cased but I can't find a picture shows the other screws. Are they rust blued or cased?
Thanks

That is strange does the gun have cocking indicators that protrude from the side plates when the gun is cocked?

All the visible screws are color case hardened.

No cocking indicators. The only hole in the sideplates is the one for the screw that holds 'em on unless I don't know what to look for. It looks like the DS pictured here: http://www.lefevercollectors.com/index.php?p=1_18_Photos

Phil

No cocking indicator = DS or I grade.

Good luck with your restoration.

You might also want to look at the photos section on the Lefever Forum website. Lots of good information and pics of both original and correctly (and some not so correctly) restored guns there. The I grades I've seen seem to all have small block letters on the sideplates. Some DS grades use larger letters, and a later DS grade I have has cocking indicators, Damascus barrels, and the LAC monogram buttplate, all characteristics usually not found on the DS. I have not seen any that have no grade stamp at all, but I understand that there were special order guns, usually of higher grade, that were not grade stamped.