Just got one in a trade, very nice piece of history. Original blueing, mostly still intact. Made in 1917 by Colt, still sporting the original double diamond grips and lanyard magazine. Upon finding the safety stuck, I knew I was into something heavy. The 85 year old lube, whatever it was, turned to something like rubber glue and made breaking it down more interesting. The plunger for the safety was stuck and the flat mainspring housing (with lanyard) needed some coaxing just to slide it off. Luckily, the lube, even though it quit lubricating decades ago, still preserved the metal and was merely gummed up. The grip screws, grips and frame were almost as one, but came apart. A well fitted screwdriver was a must here. The entire frame has this gummy, gritty material all through it and I feel the history unfolding as I clean it all out. All the parts are soaking now, as I will prepare to carefully reassemble this classic. Only the barrel seems to be not original, looks like a WWII replacement, as corrosive ammo was all there was back then, no real suprise. I will "light it up" this weekend, and journey back to "shoot with our doughboys". Didn't mean to bore ya, but I just wanted to share my experience...thanks.

I'm JEALOUS

Aw, SGB, your just sayin' that. Anyway, upon reassembly, I noted very little original blueing worn off the frame rails and slide to frame tightness rivals most new .45s. If I had to guess, (and having many series '70s in blue), this thing couldn't possibly have more than 100 rounds through it, if not less.  Even the feed ramp retains the original blueing, and tool marks. Very little wear on any of the pins, surprisingly. The mainspring is none the worse for wear, it was still potent! Seems like its high in years and very low in milage. Now its all together, towering over a pile of dirty toothpicks, Q-tips and Kim wipes, it begs to be fondled. Those WWI guys had to be tough, with a crisp but 10#+ trigger! Now I cant wait for the weekend trip to the range, my finger really itches now!