Posted by Tom Archer on May 11, 2012, 2:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Pre-WWII vs post WWII quality difference?"
173.186.25.4
Tom Martin is correct, the only changes made to the Smith gun after acquisition of the gunworks by Marlin were in final finishes; the metal hardening process was changed from bone charcoal to cyanide, a faster barrel and small parts bluing process was adapted, and stock shapes were changed a bit (later stocks are thicker in the wrist area for instance). But these late period changes are far more evident on low grade Marlin era guns than the high grades; I personally don't see that "short cuts" were ever taken on the high-grade Smith guns produced during the Marlin era. As to quality, my personal observations are that the finest fitted and finished Smith guns ever made, looking at a production period in its entirety, were those produced during the Syracuse period.
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