IMHO the finest metal work I've ever seen was on a new in the box, pre WW-II, Colt Ace that my friend the late Phil Toliphero in Charles County, Maryland, had. I'm not at all into handguns, but I'd love to have that one for the beautiful workmanship.
The pre-war Colts are pieces of art in addition to being precision instruments. Each and every one from the lowest Police Positive was hand fitted and polished. I have a few Colts in the around 100 years old range that ended up as "night stand guns" an perhaps were never even fired. The fit and finish on the new/old guns is a sight to behold. We will IMO never see the likes of these again as the labor costs alone precludes their manufacture.
Pictured below is a Colt Police Positive in 32 new Police. The only wear evident on the gun is slight blueing loss where the crane has been swung open. I would have to disassemble this pistol to put it back into firing condition as the internal grease has frozen the mechanism. Please excuse the hazy picture as this isn't the best time of day for photography.
Jim
Jim
