Can you safely engrave a stainless gun?

[HardDrive]

I was thinking of getting my dad a revolver. The thought crossed my mind of having it engraved. Can this be done safely without comprimising the finish fo the gun? This gun would not be a display gun. It would see plenty of wet weather use.

If this is an entirely stupid question, please feel free to give me grief.

I just was not sure if stainless steel was coated somehow, or if it was the grade of steel that made it rust proof.

[svandamme]

as far as i know, it's the grade of steel that makes it rust resistant ( not proof, Stainless will rust eventually )

but it's a revolver, should be oiled regulary anyway
if maintained and stored properly , it wouldn't matter much

[red-beard]

Stainless steel in the grades used for these guns is mostly 316 and 347. They should engrave nicely. I would have it done by a good Smith. You do not want to create a potential crack initiation site.

[fastpat]

Yes, Stainless engraves very well. Here's a brilliant example.




The text to go with the photos:

The Smith and Wesson .44 Mountain Revolver Suits the American Ideal of the Armed Free Citizen. The Ideal is inter-woven in the foundations of Western culture. Herewith, a classic treatment of a uniquely American arm…. The Mountain Gun Variation of the Smith &Wesson Hand-Ejector Series appeared in the last decade of the 20th Century and was an immediate success among a broad cross section of the shooting public. In a population of gun savvy civilians, the concept of a lightweight handgun of great power and versatility is not a hard one to sell. The military and police have their handguns. Dedicated games-men have theirs. The magnum chambered Mountain Gun is uniquely suited to the needs of the un-affiliated armed citizen who might need to put game on the table or defend himself against man or beast. My early-issue example wears the slim under-lugged barrel of the post World War II Era and a rather austere brushed finish. The caliber marking, logo and emblem were applied through laser and heat etching.

Over time, as the revolver proved itself on the range and in the field, I came to believe that such an archetype of the double action revolver deserved more than a utilitarian treatment. I admired the scroll-work on one of the catalogue examples of the work of the Smith & Wesson Custom Engraving Shop. This was a model 64 done by house engraver Wayne D’Angelo. The side plate exhibited a bulino, picture quality engraving of a leopard. I set about looking for classical themes that might look good on the Mountain Gun and was taken by one of the works of Walter Crane. The 1888 painting, Diana and Endemion portrayed the Goddess of the Hunt in athletic trim complete with the characteristic silver bow and the pair of sight hounds. I looked into the legend. In the purest form the Greek and Roman mythos reveals Artemis / Diana as a perfect proxy for the freedom loving armed citizen. Armed but not militant, she became the guardian of running streams, wildlife and the borderlands. Freedom goes hand-in-hand with sacrifice and this member of the classical pantheon gave up many of the commonplace comforts in the pursuit of unfettered liberty and self-determination.

The project took form in May 2001 with a series of calls to Mr. D’Angelo of the S&W Custom Engraving shop. Negotiations proceeded to a finalized design and a down-payment for the projected work. Unknown to either of us, the Custom Engraving Shop was about to become a casualty of the Safe-T Hammer buy-out. Some months later I got a call from Pat Frates, customer representative who informed me that contracted work, a considerable amount of it, would be completed as per agreement. My Mountain Gun was being sent to John K. Pease, an independent engraver with close ties to Smith & Wesson. I soon received a call from Mr. Pease who gave a tentative time frame for the work to be done and we again discussed the finer details of the requested design. Shortly, a call came from Wayne D’Angelo who has now set up shop under his own banner. He would be doing the side-plate bulino scene and we discussed the finer details of the Artemis/Diana theme. He told me that I would be pleased with Mr. Pease's rendering of the scrollwork. He was correct. The end result matches exactly the mental picture I had formed of the completed product. Throughout Ms. Frates, Mr. Pease and Mr. D’Angelo displayed the highest level of competence. Dealing with them was a pleasant experience.
This URL may not be functional.
http://www.milesfortis.com/mcump/mc05.htm

[Jeff Higgins]

Can I engrave stainless steel safely? No, but lots of other people can.

[Rick Lee]

Would it be possible to have it engraved and then send it off for refinishing to protect the engraving? Robar's NP3 is a nickel and teflon alloy and it super corrosion resistant. It looks sort of like a Mossberg Mariner finish, matte grey.

[David]

If a stainless gun is 316 or 347, rust shouldn't be a problem unless you store it in a salt bath with oxygen pumped in. Engrave away.

[LakeCleElum]

I engraved my model 60 with road rash when it fell out of my boot while riding my motorcycle on the I-5 freeway.....Never did rust....

[BlueSkyJaunte]

www.tadscustomknives.com :

[Hugh R]

That barrel work is beautiful and amazing.