Revolver Theory

With the technological advancements seen in any given field over the last few decades I often question why certain things still exist. For the average citizen of course, places like hospitals and engineering firms are constantly phasing older tech out to bring in the best possible equipment available. What I find most surprising is not only are things like revolvers and carburetors are still widely loved, but the fact they are still being mass produced.

Ease of use is always going to be a factor of course, while we’ve gotten incredibly good at manufacturing auto loading handguns to the point jamming almost never happens, they still have more moving parts and a more complex design than a revolver. The same goes for cars, while there are discrepancies in some modern vehicles, they are far more efficient and powerful than old muscle cars. An old car is still incredibly easy to work in comparison, which also leads to the question of why do I like something more that breaks more often, because it’s easy to work on.

Yet when you turn your tv on and see the main character pull up in and old ford, light a cigarette with a zippo, and tuck a .357 into his waistband there is still something incredibly appealing about that visually and audibly. One could argue that pulling up in a super car or a black SUV full of guys sporting automatics is still an aesthetically pleasing shot, but to many it lacks some of the raw mechanical components, as if it’s almost too perfect. That brings me to why I think we like old things.

Visually is quite obvious, there’s more lines, bright colors and chrome, there is just more of an art when it comes to making a lot of these things. Let’s be honest an EFI system costs about the same as a carburetor at this point, but the carb looks so much cooler sitting on top of the engine. The body on a 60s mustang looks like it was chiseled like a sculpture compared to any new consumer vehicle.

Audibly the hammer being pulled back on a revolver or the cap clicking back on a zippo are sounds anyone can immediately recognize. Flint striking and the metallic click of the lighter paired with the clunk of the hammer driving the pin forward on the revolver pair in a beautiful way in comparison to the silence before a semi auto being discharged. The hard crack of an old door closing vs the soft muffled thump of a new door, or even the closing of a solid wooden door vs a hollow mass-produced piece of pressboard that make most doors in newer homes.

I think a great deal of this goes back into the general input these older items give you; they stimulate you in a way many newer products cannot. An old car is uncomfortable, slow, and if you’re lucky enough to have power steering still a pain to handle yet driving one is truly a wonderful experience that can be hard to explain. The feel of a hundred year old wooden stock in your hands speaks to you more than a synthetic one can, it has stories and a history the same as running your hand down the long hood of a Mustang or Camaro.

Old machines are loud, inefficient, and generally underwhelming in comparison to the things we can produce today, yet there’s beauty to them that can’t be denied. In a world that seems bland and cheap, the weight of old steel objects and the sight of an Augusta Green Mercury Cougar sitting at a gas station on a Sunday afternoon reminds us not to rush through life too quickly.