Well now to see how well Smith & Wesson handles this warranty case.

I just sent my two week old 642-1 Performance Center revolver in for work. The frame appears to either be powder coated or Cerakoted, regardless of the process it chipped above the grip on the left side.

What happened, carried it in a Bianchi IWB holster with a snap retention strap. The snap came undone, four hours of carrying it with the snap contacting the frame caused it to chip.

Called S&W,,they said send it in. So I did. Now the wait begins. I had retired my Model 36 Chief’s Special from 1959 in favor of this PC but it’s coming out of retirement for awhile.

I hope a refinish is performed.

I find the thumbreak snaps to be horribly risky. Some holsters have plastic caps over the metal snap, on the one that flips around the firearms.

When I draw from thumbreak, I intentionally use the dominant hand thumb to sling the inside leather wing with the snap away from the firearm. Not always easy to remember, especially under stress.

I prefer open top snug friction fitting holsters. I have one on the way from Kirkpatrick, I think it is the model 2020.

The holster was a gift from a friend but it’s going to be retired now.

I was tempted to have our Cerakote guy refinish it but the Performance Center logo was the limiter. It seemed to be pretty shallow and I was afraid that it would be obliterated by the process.