ihmsa forums

Could anyone tell me where I can get a gun smoke carbide sight smoker, not the ray-vin type. I have searched the net and have come up empty handed.

I believe they were discontinued several years ago. I tried to find one about two years ago with no luck. Spent the extra money for the Ray Vin and it works ten times better than the old sight smoker. You might find one on Ebay. I still have parts from two old sight smokers but couldn't even make one usable one out of the parts.

Looks like the Ray-Vin is still available. Website here.

Steve W.

Thanks guys, it looks like I will have to go with the available option. I watched the ray vin video and thought the operation rather over complicated but if it is the only one available.

Best option I've found (used by bullseye shooters) is a piece of masking tape and small pliers -- set tape on fire and it will smoke up a storm.

The Ray-Vin smoker is outstanding, and no more complicated than the Gun Smoke one. Put some carbide in it, twist to inject water, then light with the flint. You can adjust the flame after it is lit, unlike the Gun Smoke one, and it carries plenty of water, so you don't need to disassemble it and add more water to smoke a second set of sights. I've had one for years and it is hands-down better than the Gun Smoke sight blacker. I can blacken sights for everyone at the range, all day, without having to add any water and it never gets too hot to hold on to. Plus, it will come apart the next time you use it, unlike the Gun Smoke one that, if you forgot to loosen the halves after using it, will require pliers to open it up.

Do these devices have anything over the Sight Black in a can? I understand that smoking the sights is a traditional deal, but I've always been satisfied with the sight black.

The spray on sight black that I have used in the past was more of a dark gray color and not a true black. With a sight smoker you get a deep black color. You have to make sure you don't rub it off but that also happens with the spray on stuff. Sight Smoker was actually more clumsy than Ray Vin since you had to remove the cap to squirt in the water then hurry up and put the cap back on then light it. Sometimes it was a challenge to get the right amount of water to get a good flame. The Ray Vin does away with that problem since the water is injected into the cavity where you put the carbide by the turn of a knob. You can also adjust the flame by turning the knob once it is lit. Makes a nice long flame to get into the long hoods on front sights. Pricey but you won't know how you got along without it once you use it.

stevenabertram wrote:Do these devices have anything over the Sight Black in a can? I understand that smoking the sights is a traditional deal, but I've always been satisfied with the sight black.

260 striker is correct. The carbide smoke is noticeably more "black" than the spray is. The whole idea behind blackening the sights is to prevent the sights from reflecting any light. Reflected light makes it hard to discern the sight's true profile causing sighting errors. Since the spray is not a true black, it does indeed reflect some light. Using the spray is better than not using the spray. But it is not nearly as good as carbide black.

I never liked the sight black in a can. It was always a gray color and didn't give nearly as sharp a sight picture as the carbide smokers.