I felt a disturbance in The Force, as if millions of souls were crying out in anguish on internet fora, saying "the old ones are better!"
I felt a disturbance in The Force, as if millions of souls were crying out in anguish on internet fora, saying "the old ones are better!"
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
They can make it look more-or-less like an original Python, and they can even offer it with the original Royal Blue finish, but will it be worth the money?
To a collector, sure.
As for me, I never shot one, and don't think I ever even handled one, and it doesn't fill any niche in my Hierarchy of Firearms Needs, so knock yourselves out.
I can't believe no one has caught this. I know it's a digression from "Will the new Python be as good as the old Python?" and "Which fictional characters carried a Python, and was it really a Diamondback?", but, still...Originally Posted by mtnbkr
I believe you mean Saf-T-Hammer.
So the answer to "Is S&W still owned by Saf-T-Hammer?" is "Sort of, after reorganizations and re-namings."On May 11, 2001, Saf-T-Hammer Corporation acquired Smith & Wesson Corp. from Tomkins plc for US$15 million, a fraction of the US$112 million originally paid by Tomkins. Saf-T-Hammer assumed US$30 million in debt, bringing the total purchase price to US$45 million. Saf-T-Hammer, a manufacturer of firearms locks and other safety products, purchased the company with the intention of incorporating its line of security products into all Smith & Wesson firearms in compliance with the 2000 agreement.
The acquisition of Smith & Wesson was chiefly brokered by Saf-T-Hammer President Bob Scott, who had left Smith & Wesson in 1999 because of a disagreement with Tomkins’ policies. After the purchase, Scott became the president of Smith & Wesson to guide the 157-year-old company back to its former standing in the market.
On February 15, 2002, the name of the newly formed entity was changed to Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation.
Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
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The tooling is the same, as far as fixturing goes.
The cutting tools can even be mostly the same, with careful selection of feed rates, pass cut depths, and spindle speeds; not to mention different cutting tool base materials and coatings.
Seems reasonable. I should have said 'developing,' which would imply investing in manufacturing engineering, forecasting and buying inventory, and developing a bluing process that I'm not sure they've retained.
Reasonable questions.
Some of that stuff is sunk already in indirect costs and it's just a matter of ROI on different projects (like mfg engineering and forecast planning). It's also a one-time investment in design engineering time, mostly the time to spec alloy and properties for the new material (ss or cs) and a new BOM
Inventory is less an issue of the purchasing action itself and more of sinking cash into raw materials. If the inventory turns are decent, not a problem. If it's slow, cash flow problem.
The blueing yeah, that could be a problem. Sometimes it's smarter to find someone who's an expert at a particular job rather than become an expert yourself. The stock gun forum answer is "but muh QC...", sorry, but in house doesn't automatically mean better quality. Sometimes it's just the opposite.
I would love to see Colt collaborate with Turnbull Restorations to produce a Royal Blue Python.
I think that would be the most effective way to get it done.
Choice of automobile is very important for day to day safety---and styling plays a big part in that choice, much of the time. Which is objectively irrational.
If the new Python has GP-100-like-durability with the trigger of a 686, yay!
But I can deal with "pretty" being a big part of a gun that has had "range queen" builit into it's DNA from the beginning.
REPETITION CREATES BELIEF
REPETITION BUILDS THE SEPARATE WORLDS WE LIVE AND DIE IN
NO EXCEPTIONS
I had the Python "experience" decades back. I found it to be sexy but over rated. I've always wanted another one, just to fill a niche in my vintage Colt collection. However, the insanely stupid prices they command have kept me from that. I wouldn't have any desire for a new one to fill that niche, because it's not the same thing. On the other hand, if Colt can make a revolver that looks like a Python, but with increased durability (always the Pythons Achilles heel) then I might be interested. Hopefully they'll stick with stainless and forget a blued model. Their workers lack the skill to achieve the blued finish of old and it would just reinforce the view that this isn't your grandpa's Python and not in a good way.
Regardless, I'll wait a year or two down the road to seriously consider it. I'll let the pony fanatics and Walking Dead fanbois be the beta testers.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
Agreed. I'll let others ride the cutting edge of the new hotness.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
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