Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
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    Default The riddle of steel

    No, I'm not talking about Conan the Barbarian's take on "the riddle of steel". I have owned many handguns in my time, mostly steel, but some polymer. In the past I've owned and subsequently sold a Glock 23, a Taurus 24/7 OSS, a SA XD9 SC, and just recently a CZ P07 duty. Now, I liked each gun well enough, but always felt something was lacking. Now as I said, I recently sold off my CZ P07, shortly after I purchased a TZ-90 compact from a fellow member. When I was taking to a friend, showing him my new purchase, I remarked that even though this new pistol was older and a cz copy ( 1990 manufacturer ), it had a substance, a feel not possessed by the P07. His response was " it had soul ". I don't know if that's truly the right word, but its close. Of the polymer guns I've owned, there wasn't the connection I've felt with say, my Kimber 1911's, my Colt python revolver, my various AMT, Para, or other 1911's, or especially my Ruger Vaquero.

    I liken it to the differences in remembering my '69 Dart GTS, my '69 442 or '65 Leman's vs. any of the cars I bought just for transportation . They were all good and mostly reliable, but those ones that had " soul "...while they may be gone, the connection remains. There is just something about steel, a warmth i guess....deep in that cool metal, that touches something in my soul that plastic can't. Its like that feeling you get when you hold an antique broadsword or rapier ( or even a new one ) for the first time, there's a presence to steel, that calls to something inside us, I guess the primitive within. The riddle of steel, its mystery, the character it possesses after being sculpted and formed by an artisan....it just feels right, that metallic extension of our Chi. When its done right.....its almost magical.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    That's why i became an Ironworker instead of a carpenter. I joke with friends of mine that are carpenters. Wood is for burning, not for building! You want something built to last you make it out of steel

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
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    Delmont, Pennsylvania
    (Westmoreland County)
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    I personally think it's that the steel guns have character. Just as you mentioned the older cars having something to them, a connection you can make, I liken it to character. There are unique qualities an older car has as does a well done steel gun.

    Plastic, while functional, misses the character element. It almost feels 'throw away', just as the cars of today do. My old '77 Nova, while a piece of crap, had character to it. My old '77 Monte Carlo, had character. The '85 CJ7 I loved every minute of owning, had character in spades. The new ones? I like them well enough for transportation, but nothing sets them that far enough apart from another make/model to give them the character that makes them special to me.

    Same goes for the plastic guns vs the old steel ones. While I may now choose the functionality of plastic over steel for carry purposes, lighter weight, corrosion resistance, etc, I still enjoy the feel of a steel gun that simply cannot be recreated in via plastic.

  4. #4
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    Oct 2009
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    Ambridge, Pennsylvania
    (Beaver County)
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    Tupperware goes in the dishwasher not a holster.
    www.Steelvalleycasting.com is your new home for coated bullets and custom ammo.

  5. #5
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    Conshohocken PA
    (Montgomery County)
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    after working in machine shop for many years, any material that won't hold a +/- .0005" tolerance just feels cheap.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Keeneyville, Pennsylvania
    (Tioga County)
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    I hear ya. I got rid of a perfectly good XD9 a while ago, mostly because it had no "soul". Got a Beretta 92 to replace it. All the difference in the world. Most of my guns are revolvers. Soul.

    This is the same reason for my wearing a hand-wound wristwatch. I collect watches and all of them are mechanical. A gentleman does not tell the time with a battery.

    --Phil

  7. #7
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    Philippi, West Virginia
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    It's why many of us like 1911's and Single Actions. They have "A Soul" and are something you can trust.

  8. #8
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    Jan 2013
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    Dover, Pennsylvania
    (York County)
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    Quote Originally Posted by busa dave View Post
    That's why i became an Ironworker instead of a carpenter. I joke with friends of mine that are carpenters. Wood is for burning, not for building! ...
    ^^^yep!! Degree in metallurgy & eng. here. Even making steel is exciting: would you rather play with 2900 degree molten iron with flying sparks and thousands of volts, or watch a tree grow?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Chester County, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    Quote Originally Posted by busa dave View Post
    That's why i became an Ironworker instead of a carpenter. I joke with friends of mine that are carpenters. Wood is for burning, not for building! You want something built to last you make it out of steel
    I remember telling my boss that when I was just out of engineering school. He asked, "How long do you think a tree would last if it was made out of steel?"

    The point is that different materials are better suited for some applications. I still like steel guns best.
    Boy, I say boy, you're reaching the limits of my medication!

  10. #10
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    Nov 2008
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    Muhlenberg twp, Pennsylvania
    (Berks County)
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    Default Re: The riddle of steel

    Quote Originally Posted by Jhaydeno View Post
    ^^^yep!! Degree in metallurgy & eng. here. Even making steel is exciting: would you rather play with 2900 degree molten iron with flying sparks and thousands of volts, or watch a tree grow?
    Yup gotta love an arc furnace in action. one of the loudest, bad ass things one could ever witness.

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