The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Spanish Revolver

James K · December 29, 2010, 11:13 PM

The influx of cheap Spanish revolvers that looked like S&W's led to an interesting S&W feature that is still with us today. S&W's problem was not only the cheap and poorly made competition, but the fact that when those Spanish guns broke or came apart, the owners often sent the remains into S&W to be repaired, which S&W couldn't (and wouldn't) do, but many customers ranted at them for refusing to fix "their" guns.

So, S&W took an interesting step. They had long used color case hardening on their triggers and hammers, so they registered that as a trademark. Now, if the Spanish didn't color those parts, their guns wouldn't look like S&W's. If they did, import would be banned for trademark infringement. A trademark, unlike a patent, can remain in effect indefinitely, as long as it is used and defended. So S&W keeps coloring the hammer and trigger, even though the parts are now MIM and so hard that case hardening is totally unnecessary.

Jim

December 29, 2010, 11:13 PM	#6
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	The influx of cheap Spanish revolvers that looked like S&W's led to an interesting S&W feature that is still with us today. S&W's problem was not only the cheap and poorly made competition, but the fact that when those Spanish guns broke or came apart, the owners often sent the remains into S&W to be repaired, which S&W couldn't (and wouldn't) do, but many customers ranted at them for refusing to fix "their" guns. So, S&W took an interesting step. They had long used color case hardening on their triggers and hammers, so they registered that as a trademark. Now, if the Spanish didn't color those parts, their guns wouldn't look like S&W's. If they did, import would be banned for trademark infringement. A trademark, unlike a patent, can remain in effect indefinitely, as long as it is used and defended. So S&W keeps coloring the hammer and trigger, even though the parts are now MIM and so hard that case hardening is totally unnecessary. Jim Last edited by James K; December 30, 2010 at 01:49 PM.