• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

An old saying in the “white” Question

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rsako

32 Cal
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
12
Reaction score
8
As suggested from another member on this forum. As a newbie to cap and ball revolvers, i’ll ask it here too:

Hi all! I’m brand new to this forum from up in Canada. Thanks for having me join!

As ol’ fella, i have recently re-kindled my spirit for Cap and Ball revolvers for real enjoyment. I’m hooked to get one soon. So my newby question:

Is there any historical meaning behind having “white grips”? Ivory, bone or what have you. Or having Nickel plated or silver plated revolvers or accessories.
I ask politely because i keep reading finding reference to “All in White”.

Was it something Colonels had or prestigious folks only back in the day? Curious about history..nothing racist in this ol’ fella. So please don’t open a can of worms.
I really like the look of traditional blued/browned with wood, but the look of blued/brown metal with “white” is also appealing to me when holstered.
 
'In the white' when describing a gun of any kind means that there is no finishing colour to the metal work - barrels, locks, barrel bands and so on. No 'browning' or what over here in UK is called 'blacking', particularly where shotguns are concerned. Often you'll read about a musket being left 'bright' - this means the same thing, relying on scouring and overall oiling to prevent the inevitable rusting. I've never heard of the term 'all in white' that you refer to - perhaps it's a local thing?
 
For an in-the-white usage here on the forums would mean a gun put together from parts and could be fired. but not finished. In other words, the iron and steel parts are unfinished (white) and the wood needs final shaping, surface smoothing, staining and finishing
 
For an in-the-white usage here on the forums would mean a gun put together from parts and could be fired. but not finished. In other words, the iron and steel parts are unfinished (white) and the wood needs final shaping, surface smoothing, staining and finishing
What your saying is right if we are talking about some of the gun "kits" sold by the smaller U.S. muzzleloading manufacturers like TVM.

Then, there are those guns that are left "in the white" that are totally finished like the Pedersoli Queen Anne flintlock kit I built.
It's lock and barrel are both bare, polished steel and that's the way I wanted it to be.
Queen-Anne-001WEB.jpg
Queen-Anne-003WEB.jpg
 
What a Beautiful piece of wood on that specimen. Very nice work indeed!
 
The term {In the White] here in the UK has been revered to unfinished guns since the day of the breech loader. If you take a hand made top London or Birmingham gun most of which take three years to build I have seen guns in the field that are still in the white taking out to try by the buyer and returned at the end of the season to be finished which is mainly cosmetic such has engraving and blueing or blacking.
Feltwad
 
In White or All in White: i somehow figured there was a historical explanation that came from across the pond. Makes total sense. Now we know
 
Back
Top