From The Economist print edition- Apr 30th 2008:
“An estimated 875m small arms are in circulation worldwide: one for every seven people on the planet. Nearly three-quarters of these are owned by civilians. And about 80% of those guns in civilian hands are found in just 30 countries, according to the Small Arms Survey, a research group. Although America accounts for 40% of firearms in civilian ownership, people put them to more deadly use elsewhere. The gun murder rate in Colombia and South Africa, for example, is much higher than in America.”
A few weeks ago, one of my clients brought in an old Sharps rifle for us to sell. The rifle was in desperate need of some TLC—and we’re not talking about CLP. It required a gentle touch—something you would use on a fine watch or a piece of jewelry. One of my business associates happens to be a buyer of antiquities and makes his living selling estate items on eBay. So, I consulted my friend, the antique dealer.
He introduced me to a wunderprodukt called Simichrome polish, made by our friends in Germany. It’s a paste used for polishing virtually any metal and won’t scratch or damage the surface in anyway. Just apply a small amount of paste to the surface and polish with a clean cloth. The results were spectacular.
Recently, a client was in our shop picking up a used S&W model 65 that he purchased from CDNN. It had quite a bit of tarnish, so we gave it a quick polish with Simichrome and snapped a few pictures:
I can’t say enough about this stuff—it’s superb! Every gun enthusiast’s toolbox should have a tube. The only downside: Simichrome is hard to find, but it can be had for around $10 + shipping online. Just Google “Simichrome” and you’ll find some for sale. I highly recommend it.
[Find Simichrome on Google].
That’s all for today. Have a good one, my friends.
– Evan