I have four originals and have owned five (I sold one), all of them made in 1892. Three were color case hardened, now gone to a silver color, and two were blued (now dark patina). All of them have strong actions, smooth as butter, and accurate. I handled one of the newer Forest Service commemoratives and a Montana (?) and they were rough as a cob, relatively speaking (still smoother than a 66, 73 or 94, though).