Stainless or Black

[AlCorr]

Hi all, I'm a new member here but not new to guns.

I'm looking at a SR9c but can't make up my mind on the finish. From what I read it comes in brushed stainless or blackened finish. One place I was reading Blackened Alloy, another place called it Blackened Stainless.

The long and the short of it is I'm looking for the most durable finish, what finish will take the most beating?

Thanks all.

 

[WAYNO]

There's been a lot of argument about this.

In the SR9, there is brushed stainless, and blackened stainless. I own the blackened stainless.

But, in the SR9c, the blackened finish is over (alloy) steel.

So, for me, stainless is the best choice, but I also know that Rugers proprietary black-finish, is very stout. My blackened (alloy) steel LCP is as perfect as the day I bought it, as is my blackened-stainless SR9.

So, ya gotta decide for yourself.

And, welcome to the Forum!

WAYNO.

 

[khutch]

When they first came out the SR9's were all stainless, some blackened, some brushed. I believe the black SR9c's were always alloy. I don't recall about the SR40's. According to the 2011 catalog however all the black models in all three series are alloy. The stainless models are all brushed.

Ken

 

[WAYNO]

According to the 2011 catalog however all the black models in all three series are alloy.
Ken

This is how the argument, and misinformation is perpetuated. The online catalogue still says the SR9 slides are either brushed stainless, or blackened stainless.

WAYNO.

 

[boomer1]

Hey AlCorr,

Welcome to the forum from the Seattle area.

Your question has been debated numerous times in this forum. It comes down to personal preference.

Acquaint yourself with the forum's search function, it can be your friend.

FYI, I prefer stainless.

boomer 8)

 

[hpman66]

Here's a thread from a while back:


http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=106757&highlight=

 

[Verndog]

One thing to keep in mind, a ding or deep scratch in both will be less noticeable and easier to work out and hide on the brushed or raw stainless finish. I prefer the stainless finish personally....but this is a little like asking "the blue car or the red"....personal preference.

 

[pisgah]

>But, in the SR9c, the blackened finish is over (alloy) steel.

Stainless steel is an alloy. The blackened alloy Ruger uses on the SR9 is blackened stainless.

It seems to be fashionable for some folks these days to assume "alloy" means pot metal. All steels are alloys.

 

[Ruger Nut10]

I have the Stainless version.
All I have to offer is for almost a year I have carried the SR9C almost every day and put 800+ rounds throught it and it still looks brand new. The finish is tough.
This is the second Stainless pistol I have owned and I am thinking so far I made the right choice.

 

[khutch]

According to the 2011 catalog however all the black models in all three series are alloy.
Ken

This is how the argument, and misinformation is perpetuated. The online catalogue still says the SR9 slides are either brushed stainless, or blackened stainless.

WAYNO.

I'm not spreading misinformation, I am merely pointing out what Ruger says in their catalog. The wording in the catalog changed from 2010 to 2011 and furthermore there was a price drop in the blackened models starting in 2011. The black models of the SR9 used to carry a price premium, now they do not which suggests a change in materials has indeed taken place. The black and stainless SR9c models were always the same price and I believe that the black SR9c models have always been described as alloy. I don't recall the history of the SR40. In addition all the brushed stainless SRXXx models in the 2011 catalog and website (except, for some reason, the 17 round SR9 #3301) are now listed as KSRXXx while the blackened models all lack the initial "K" that Ruger has traditionally used to denote stainless models.

Based on the available information it seems most likely to me that the black models are no longer stainless throughout the SRXXx series handguns and this change probably happened this year or some time last year and so it would only apply to very recently made black SR9 guns. Yes, I know that stainless steel is one of many steel alloys and in fact it is not one alloy but a family of steel alloys. However, it is very common practice to describe stainless alloys as "stainless" and all other alloys as "alloy". It seems likely to me that the website information is out of date since the catalog was recently redone entirely for 2011 and should therefore contain up to date information (no guarantee on that though). The web site obviously is updated from time to time but those updates tend to be tweaks to the existing information and may have inadvertently left some out of date information intact. But let's be perfectly clear about one thing: the confusion that exists is not coming from me or people like me, it is coming from Ruger. They are not being consistent about their product descriptions.

Has anyone had the composition of their black SR9 tested? I seriously doubt that. Perhaps there is an easy test if the stainless alloy used on the brushed stainless models happens to be non-magnetic or very weakly magnetic (some stainless alloys are magnetic, many are not). If Ruger's stainless alloy is non-magnetic then a simple test with a magnet will tell you if any given black SR9 model, new or old, is stainless. Otherwise I don't see how we can tell for sure since Ruger themselves seem uncertain....

Ken

 

[WAYNO]

>But, in the SR9c, the blackened finish is over (alloy) steel.

Stainless steel is an alloy. The blackened alloy Ruger uses on the SR9 is blackened stainless.

It seems to be fashionable for some folks these days to assume "alloy" means pot metal. All steels are alloys.

Isn't that what I said? :?

A bunch of turmoil over terms, when folks don't understand the terms.

Yep. Stainless is an alloy. So is the blued steel used in gun making.

But, Ruger uses the term alloy steel, to differentiate their blued steel from their stainless steel, and help to avoid confusion. People remain confused. For folks that cannot understand this, think, (stainless), or (not-stainless) steel.

WAYNO.

 

[pisgah]

Well, being that there is generally no practical difference between suitable stainless steels and other suitable steels used in gun manufacture beyond cosmetics and a slight increased corrosion resistance in stainless steel, it would hardly seem to matter, IMO. I have guns made of both materials, and with proper maintenace, even under extreme conditions, all of them will outlast me.

 

[AlCorr]

Thanks for all the advise Guy's, been very helpful, but I wasn't trying to heat-up a war here or start arguments.

Maybe I didn't ask my question property. I'm not too concerned about stainless steel or black alloy, (I do like the all black look best). I'm wondering about the finish that everyone finds to be the toughies finish where I'm not to careful with things and bang them around.

I'm thinking of going with the brushed stainless.

 

[Verndog]

...Stainless steel is an alloy. The blackened alloy Ruger uses on the SR9 is blackened stainless.

It seems to be fashionable for some folks these days to assume "alloy" means pot metal. All steels are alloys.

No they are NOT. To the letter of the technical term they are, but in industry use they are not. Alloy steels are carbon steels and are used for higher heat treat (hardened) parts where serious tensile strength is required, or cheaper soft condition that is usually painted or treated. It is less corrision resistant, and more suseptable to cracks then stainless steels. It also machines faster in the low heat treat condition, and is cheaper to purchase then stainless steels.

Stainless steels are generally a combination of chromium, nickel and copper. Chromium makes for brite and stain resistant finish, nickel is toughness.

In the machining industry saying stainless steel is alloy steel is just like saying that because it's 70% humidity it's raining. Yes, technically it is, but nobody believes it is.

 

[pisgah]

>Stainless steels are generally a combination of chromium, nickel and copper. Chromium makes for brite and stain resistant finish, nickel is toughness.

Show me a steel that is not a combination of iron and some other element, and I will show you plain iron. Of course, stainless is an alloy. Chrome-moly is an alloy. All steels are alloys, or they are not steel.

A dictionary definition:
"1. A generally hard, strong, durable, malleable alloy of iron and carbon, usually containing between 0.2 and 1.5 percent carbon, often with other constituents such as manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, copper, tungsten, cobalt, or silicon, depending on the desired alloy properties, and widely used as a structural material."

 

[Verndog]

>Stainless steels are generally a combination of chromium, nickel and copper. Chromium makes for brite and stain resistant finish, nickel is toughness.

Show me a steel that is not a combination of iron and some other element, and I will show you plain iron. Of course, stainless is an alloy. Chrome-moly is an alloy. All steels are alloys, or they are not steel.

A dictionary definition:
"1. A generally hard, strong, durable, malleable alloy of iron and carbon, usually containing between 0.2 and 1.5 percent carbon, often with other constituents such as manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, copper, tungsten, cobalt, or silicon, depending on the desired alloy properties, and widely used as a structural material."

In the machining industry saying stainless steel is alloy steel is just like saying that because it's 70% humidity it's raining. Yes, technically it is, but nobody believes it is.

Here is a list of industry accepted allow steels....show me a stainless steel. I've been a machinist, tool design engineer, and cnc programmer for 30 years and NOBODY calls stainless steel alloy steel...period! Alloy steel is carbon steel.

http://www.steelforge.com/alloysteels.htm

 

[khutch]

I've been a machinist, tool design engineer, and cnc programmer for 30 years and NOBODY calls stainless steel alloy steel...period!

I've been an electrical engineer for 37 years, about half of that in the automotive industry, and I have never heard anyone refer to stainless steel as alloy steel either. It is technically correct but simply never done. I see no evidence so far that Ruger calls stainless steel "alloy steel" either. If you mean stainless you say stainless. Stainless is expensive enough, hard enough to work, and desirable enough so that people simply never call it anything except stainless.

BTW, here is the catalog of which I speak. Look through the SR pistols. In every table some are identified as alloy while others are stainless. Why would they do that if they were all stainless? Why do all, save one, of the stainless models have a catalog number that indicates stainless while all of the alloy models have non-stainless catalog numbers if all are in fact stainless? It could all be mistakes and misinformation but they are Ruger's mistakes and Ruger's misinformation, not mine. Some of what you find in that catalog directly contradicts the information currently found on the web site and again this is Ruger's fault, not mine. I'm not saying that this is an unforgivable error on Ruger's part, just that the confusion comes from them, not us.

Granted, before last year it was different. Currently it would seem that the black SR pistols are all made from non-stainless alloys unless the catalog is wrong. And I don't say this to denigrate the black models. They are fine guns whether they are stainless or not. If it matters to you though, it would appear that they are no longer stainless.

Ken

 

[hpman66]

Blackened Stainless Steel Guns Link:


http://www.google.com/search?source...qi=&aql=&oq=&bav=on.1,or.&fp=d4a7e52ef0af3d83

 

[exavid]

To reply to the original question I like the looks of the all black pistol. My SR9 is all black and I think it looks better and is less visible if I should want to keep it out of sight while holding it ready down by my leg or some such. I'd expect the finish to wear well but eventually most guns get some holster wear. I don't mind that, a pristine pistol looks like a new pair of unbroken in jeans anyway. It ain't the finish, it's what the gun does and what you can do with it.

 

[AlCorr]

Put in my order for a brushed stainless, but now I have to wait in line for a MA approved. Thanks for all the help Guys.

 

[jeffegg2]

I prefer the Black. Didn't like the idea of a shiny steel when concealed carry.

 

[rugerfreak]

Mine's black because it was all they had and I wanted a SR9c bad. So black it is.

 

[jeffegg2]

Is it possible that all Ruger was manufacturing was stainless, and there was a demand for black, could they have blackened a few stainless until they were able to machine some steel ones??

That would explain a lot.

Blackened stainless, Black alloy. Doesn't really matter to me.

 

[2ndamd]

Put in my order for a brushed stainless, but now I have to wait in line for a MA approved. Thanks for all the help Guys.

Congrats on the new purchase.
I think you good choice.

 

[RMFC]

Good Choice. My stainless looks quite nice, if I do say so myself. Hope you love it.

 

[wildturk]

I've always chosen stainless, for durability and I like the lighter color. Well, until now. I like the look of the black guns, stainless or not if they are maintained they will last a lifetime. That said, stainless is more durable and forgiving than blued guns. Rugers blackened stainless and the finish on the LCP, LC9 is a tough finish.