diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/mlt/TransportMoreLikeThisAction.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/mlt/TransportMoreLikeThisAction.java
index a51465c9bd8..579c070785e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/mlt/TransportMoreLikeThisAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/mlt/TransportMoreLikeThisAction.java
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ public class TransportMoreLikeThisAction extends TransportAction<MoreLikeThisReq
                 if (fieldMapper instanceof InternalMapper) {
                     return true;
                 }
-                String value = fieldMapper.valueAsString(convertField(field));
+                String value = fieldMapper.value(convertField(field)).toString();
                 if (value == null) {
                     return false;
                 }
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ public class TransportMoreLikeThisAction extends TransportAction<MoreLikeThisReq
     }
 
     private void addMoreLikeThis(MoreLikeThisRequest request, BoolQueryBuilder boolBuilder, FieldMapper fieldMapper, Field field) {
-        addMoreLikeThis(request, boolBuilder, field.name(), fieldMapper.valueAsString(convertField(field)));
+        addMoreLikeThis(request, boolBuilder, field.name(), fieldMapper.value(convertField(field)).toString());
     }
 
     private void addMoreLikeThis(MoreLikeThisRequest request, BoolQueryBuilder boolBuilder, String fieldName, String likeText) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/Numbers.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/Numbers.java
index bbcbbbc94c7..ab160279d3b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/Numbers.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/Numbers.java
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 package org.elasticsearch.common;
 
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
+
 /**
  * A set of utilities for numbers.
  */
@@ -38,6 +40,10 @@ public final class Numbers {
         return (short) (((arr[0] & 0xff) << 8) | (arr[1] & 0xff));
     }
 
+    public static short bytesToShort(BytesRef bytes) {
+        return (short) (((bytes.bytes[bytes.offset] & 0xff) << 8) | (bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 1] & 0xff));
+    }
+
     /**
      * Converts a byte array to an int.
      *
@@ -48,6 +54,10 @@ public final class Numbers {
         return (arr[0] << 24) | ((arr[1] & 0xff) << 16) | ((arr[2] & 0xff) << 8) | (arr[3] & 0xff);
     }
 
+    public static int bytesToInt(BytesRef bytes) {
+        return (bytes.bytes[bytes.offset] << 24) | ((bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 1] & 0xff) << 16) | ((bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 2] & 0xff) << 8) | (bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 3] & 0xff);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Converts a byte array to a long.
      *
@@ -60,6 +70,12 @@ public final class Numbers {
         return (((long) high) << 32) | (low & 0x0ffffffffL);
     }
 
+    public static long bytesToLong(BytesRef bytes) {
+        int high = (bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 0] << 24) | ((bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 1] & 0xff) << 16) | ((bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 2] & 0xff) << 8) | (bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 3] & 0xff);
+        int low = (bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 4] << 24) | ((bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 5] & 0xff) << 16) | ((bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 6] & 0xff) << 8) | (bytes.bytes[bytes.offset + 7] & 0xff);
+        return (((long) high) << 32) | (low & 0x0ffffffffL);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Converts a byte array to float.
      *
@@ -70,6 +86,10 @@ public final class Numbers {
         return Float.intBitsToFloat(bytesToInt(arr));
     }
 
+    public static float bytesToFloat(BytesRef bytes) {
+        return Float.intBitsToFloat(bytesToInt(bytes));
+    }
+
     /**
      * Converts a byte array to double.
      *
@@ -80,6 +100,10 @@ public final class Numbers {
         return Double.longBitsToDouble(bytesToLong(arr));
     }
 
+    public static double bytesToDouble(BytesRef bytes) {
+        return Double.longBitsToDouble(bytesToLong(bytes));
+    }
+
     /**
      * Converts an int to a byte array.
      *
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ByteBufferBytesReference.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ByteBufferBytesReference.java
index eb403438bad..409f9c3e97c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ByteBufferBytesReference.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ByteBufferBytesReference.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.common.bytes;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Charsets;
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Bytes;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.ByteBufferStreamInput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamInput;
@@ -157,4 +158,17 @@ public class ByteBufferBytesReference implements BytesReference {
         }
         return dst.flip().toString();
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef toBytesRef() {
+        if (buffer.hasArray()) {
+            return new BytesRef(buffer.array(), buffer.arrayOffset() + buffer.position(), buffer.remaining());
+        }
+        return new BytesRef(toBytes());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef copyBytesRef() {
+        return new BytesRef(toBytes());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesArray.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesArray.java
index 86f6edea530..b7946a91445 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesArray.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesArray.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ package org.elasticsearch.common.bytes;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Charsets;
 import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
+import org.apache.lucene.util.UnicodeUtil;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticSearchIllegalArgumentException;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Bytes;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.BytesStreamInput;
@@ -41,7 +42,11 @@ public class BytesArray implements BytesReference {
     private int length;
 
     public BytesArray(String bytes) {
-        this(bytes.getBytes(Charsets.UTF_8));
+        BytesRef bytesRef = new BytesRef();
+        UnicodeUtil.UTF16toUTF8(bytes, 0, bytes.length(), bytesRef);
+        this.bytes = bytesRef.bytes;
+        this.offset = bytesRef.offset;
+        this.length = bytesRef.length;
     }
 
     public BytesArray(BytesRef bytesRef) {
@@ -147,6 +152,16 @@ public class BytesArray implements BytesReference {
         return new String(bytes, offset, length, Charsets.UTF_8);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef toBytesRef() {
+        return new BytesRef(bytes, offset, length);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef copyBytesRef() {
+        return new BytesRef(Arrays.copyOfRange(bytes, offset, offset + length));
+    }
+
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
         return Helper.bytesHashCode(this);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesReference.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesReference.java
index b794fc3c143..c06dc817346 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesReference.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/BytesReference.java
@@ -19,12 +19,12 @@
 
 package org.elasticsearch.common.bytes;
 
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamInput;
 import org.jboss.netty.buffer.ChannelBuffer;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
-import java.util.Comparator;
 
 /**
  * A reference to bytes.
@@ -136,5 +136,13 @@ public interface BytesReference {
      */
     String toUtf8();
 
+    /**
+     * Converts to Lucene BytesRef.
+     */
+    BytesRef toBytesRef();
 
+    /**
+     * Converts to a copied Lucene BytesRef.
+     */
+    BytesRef copyBytesRef();
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ChannelBufferBytesReference.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ChannelBufferBytesReference.java
index b029c43330a..e635b60ffb7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ChannelBufferBytesReference.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/ChannelBufferBytesReference.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.common.bytes;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Charsets;
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamInput;
 import org.elasticsearch.transport.netty.ChannelBufferStreamInputFactory;
 import org.jboss.netty.buffer.ChannelBuffer;
@@ -107,6 +108,23 @@ public class ChannelBufferBytesReference implements BytesReference {
         return buffer.toString(Charsets.UTF_8);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef toBytesRef() {
+        if (buffer.hasArray()) {
+            return new BytesRef(buffer.array(), buffer.arrayOffset() + buffer.readerIndex(), buffer.readableBytes());
+        }
+        byte[] copy = new byte[buffer.readableBytes()];
+        buffer.getBytes(buffer.readerIndex(), copy);
+        return new BytesRef(copy);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef copyBytesRef() {
+        byte[] copy = new byte[buffer.readableBytes()];
+        buffer.getBytes(buffer.readerIndex(), copy);
+        return new BytesRef(copy);
+    }
+
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
         return Helper.bytesHashCode(this);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/HashedBytesArray.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/HashedBytesArray.java
index eddacc26981..21aa53090d3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/HashedBytesArray.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/bytes/HashedBytesArray.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.common.bytes;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Charsets;
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticSearchIllegalArgumentException;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Unicode;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.BytesStreamInput;
@@ -123,6 +124,18 @@ public class HashedBytesArray implements BytesReference {
         return new String(bytes, Charsets.UTF_8);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef toBytesRef() {
+        return new BytesRef(bytes);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public BytesRef copyBytesRef() {
+        byte[] copy = new byte[bytes.length];
+        System.arraycopy(bytes, 0, copy, 0, bytes.length);
+        return new BytesRef(copy);
+    }
+
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
         return Helper.bytesHashCode(this);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/fieldvisitor/FieldsVisitor.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/fieldvisitor/FieldsVisitor.java
index 34b858fbf3c..271813968be 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/fieldvisitor/FieldsVisitor.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/fieldvisitor/FieldsVisitor.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ package org.elasticsearch.index.fieldvisitor;
 
 import org.apache.lucene.index.FieldInfo;
 import org.apache.lucene.index.StoredFieldVisitor;
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesArray;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.mapper.*;
@@ -85,7 +86,7 @@ public abstract class FieldsVisitor extends StoredFieldVisitor {
         if (SourceFieldMapper.NAME.equals(fieldInfo.name)) {
             source = new BytesArray(value);
         } else {
-            addValue(fieldInfo.name, new BytesArray(value));
+            addValue(fieldInfo.name, new BytesRef(value));
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/FieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/FieldMapper.java
index a17876be07b..6da0802225a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/FieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/FieldMapper.java
@@ -147,18 +147,11 @@ public interface FieldMapper<T> {
      */
     T value(Object value);
 
-    T valueFromString(String value);
-
     /**
      * Returns the value that will be used as a result for search. Can be only of specific types... .
      */
     Object valueForSearch(Object value);
 
-    /**
-     * Returns the actual value of the field as string.
-     */
-    String valueAsString(Object value);
-
     /**
      * Returns the indexed value.
      */
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/AbstractFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/AbstractFieldMapper.java
index 25cc7385562..ccd079b2d86 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/AbstractFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/AbstractFieldMapper.java
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractFieldMapper<T> implements FieldMapper<T>, Mapper {
 
     @Override
     public Object valueForSearch(Object value) {
-        return valueAsString(value);
+        return value;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -387,11 +387,6 @@ public abstract class AbstractFieldMapper<T> implements FieldMapper<T>, Mapper {
         return new BytesRef(value);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value);
-    }
-
     @Override
     public Query queryStringTermQuery(Term term) {
         return null;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BinaryFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BinaryFieldMapper.java
index bb0d8b1873c..9f53b55327a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BinaryFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BinaryFieldMapper.java
@@ -21,10 +21,12 @@ package org.elasticsearch.index.mapper.core;
 
 import org.apache.lucene.document.Field;
 import org.apache.lucene.document.FieldType;
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticSearchParseException;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Base64;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesArray;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.compress.CompressorFactory;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.CachedStreamOutput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamOutput;
@@ -139,28 +141,28 @@ public class BinaryFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<byte[]> {
         if (value == null) {
             return null;
         }
+
+        BytesReference bytes;
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            bytes = new BytesArray((BytesRef) value);
+        } else if (value instanceof BytesReference) {
+            bytes = (BytesReference) value;
+        } else if (value instanceof byte[]) {
+            bytes = new BytesArray((byte[]) value);
+        } else {
+            try {
+                bytes = new BytesArray(Base64.decode(value.toString()));
+            } catch (IOException e) {
+                throw new ElasticSearchParseException("failed to convert bytes", e);
+            }
+        }
         try {
-            return CompressorFactory.uncompressIfNeeded(new BytesArray((byte[]) value)).toBytes();
+            return CompressorFactory.uncompressIfNeeded(bytes).toBytes();
         } catch (IOException e) {
             throw new ElasticSearchParseException("failed to decompress source", e);
         }
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public byte[] valueFromString(String value) {
-        // assume its base64 (json)
-        try {
-            return Base64.decode(value);
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            return null;
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        return null;
-    }
-
     @Override
     protected Field parseCreateField(ParseContext context) throws IOException {
         if (!fieldType().stored()) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BooleanFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BooleanFieldMapper.java
index a0563c86db6..cf4828e7efd 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BooleanFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/BooleanFieldMapper.java
@@ -166,17 +166,25 @@ public class BooleanFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<Boolean> {
 
     @Override
     public Boolean value(Object value) {
-        return valueFromString((String) value);
+        if (value == null) {
+            return Boolean.FALSE;
+        }
+        String sValue = value.toString();
+        if (sValue.length() == 0) {
+            return Boolean.FALSE;
+        }
+        if (sValue.length() == 1 && sValue.charAt(0) == 'F') {
+            return Boolean.FALSE;
+        }
+        if (Booleans.parseBoolean(sValue, false)) {
+            return Boolean.TRUE;
+        }
+        return Boolean.FALSE;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Boolean valueFromString(String value) {
-        return value.charAt(0) == 'T' ? Boolean.TRUE : Boolean.FALSE;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        return ((String) value).charAt(0) == 'T' ? "true" : "false";
+    public Object valueForSearch(Object value) {
+        return value(value);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ByteFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ByteFieldMapper.java
index b8f8162d7c4..76e4a504fc8 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ByteFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ByteFieldMapper.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import org.apache.lucene.util.NumericUtils;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Explicit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.analysis.NamedAnalyzer;
@@ -141,13 +140,10 @@ public class ByteFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Byte> {
         if (value instanceof Number) {
             return ((Number) value).byteValue();
         }
-        BytesReference bytesReference = (BytesReference) value;
-        return bytesReference.get(bytesReference.arrayOffset());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Byte valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Byte.valueOf(value);
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return ((BytesRef) value).bytes[((BytesRef) value).offset];
+        }
+        return Byte.parseByte(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DateFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DateFieldMapper.java
index 645a3a4ac9b..e1372f2e457 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DateFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DateFieldMapper.java
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.Explicit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Numbers;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.joda.DateMathParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.joda.FormatDateTimeFormatter;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.joda.Joda;
@@ -197,26 +196,17 @@ public class DateFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Long> {
         if (value instanceof Number) {
             return ((Number) value).longValue();
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToLong(((BytesReference) value).array());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Long valueFromString(String value) {
-        return parseStringValue(value);
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToLong((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return parseStringValue(value.toString());
     }
 
     /**
      * Dates should return as a string.
-     *
-     * @param value
      */
     @Override
     public Object valueForSearch(Object value) {
-        return valueAsString(value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
         Long val = value(value);
         if (val == null) {
             return null;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DoubleFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DoubleFieldMapper.java
index 6db523fdde1..b8eb77af69d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DoubleFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/DoubleFieldMapper.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import org.apache.lucene.util.NumericUtils;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Explicit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Numbers;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.analysis.NamedAnalyzer;
@@ -144,12 +143,10 @@ public class DoubleFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Double> {
         if (value instanceof Number) {
             return ((Number) value).doubleValue();
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToDouble(((BytesReference) value).array());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Double valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Double.valueOf(value);
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToDouble((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return Double.parseDouble(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/FloatFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/FloatFieldMapper.java
index 6ffd7a0d2a9..33bdc4284ab 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/FloatFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/FloatFieldMapper.java
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.Explicit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Numbers;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.analysis.NamedAnalyzer;
@@ -142,12 +141,10 @@ public class FloatFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Float> {
         if (value instanceof Number) {
             return ((Number) value).floatValue();
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToFloat(((BytesReference) value).array());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Float valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Float.parseFloat(value);
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToFloat((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return Float.parseFloat(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/IntegerFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/IntegerFieldMapper.java
index 300b56ca962..e26b3359382 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/IntegerFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/IntegerFieldMapper.java
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.Explicit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Numbers;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.analysis.NamedAnalyzer;
@@ -144,12 +143,10 @@ public class IntegerFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Integer> {
         if (value instanceof Number) {
             return ((Number) value).intValue();
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToInt(((BytesReference) value).array());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Integer valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Integer.parseInt(value);
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToInt((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return Integer.parseInt(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/LongFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/LongFieldMapper.java
index a5d08b60a39..c7ed32a6c0f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/LongFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/LongFieldMapper.java
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.Explicit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Numbers;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.analysis.NamedAnalyzer;
@@ -144,12 +143,10 @@ public class LongFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Long> {
         if (value instanceof Number) {
             return ((Number) value).longValue();
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToLong(((BytesReference) value).array());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Long valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Long.valueOf(value);
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToLong((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return Long.parseLong(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/NumberFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/NumberFieldMapper.java
index a5df0c9f947..44ff722ddb2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/NumberFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/NumberFieldMapper.java
@@ -255,12 +255,6 @@ public abstract class NumberFieldMapper<T extends Number> extends AbstractFieldM
         return value(value);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        Number num = value(value);
-        return num == null ? null : num.toString();
-    }
-
     @Override
     public void merge(Mapper mergeWith, MergeContext mergeContext) throws MergeMappingException {
         super.merge(mergeWith, mergeContext);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ShortFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ShortFieldMapper.java
index e1e4e918d28..f4268af79f5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ShortFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/ShortFieldMapper.java
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.Explicit;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Numbers;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParser;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.analysis.NamedAnalyzer;
@@ -144,12 +143,10 @@ public class ShortFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Short> {
         if (value instanceof Number) {
             return ((Number) value).shortValue();
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToShort(((BytesReference) value).array());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Short valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Short.valueOf(value);
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToShort((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return Short.parseShort(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/StringFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/StringFieldMapper.java
index 15ff66e8073..f2b5ca8830e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/StringFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/core/StringFieldMapper.java
@@ -226,12 +226,10 @@ public class StringFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<String> implements Al
 
     @Override
     public String value(Object value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueFromString(String value) {
-        return value;
+        if (value == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return value.toString();
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/geo/GeoShapeFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/geo/GeoShapeFieldMapper.java
index fb62c106f52..ab62fea7239 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/geo/GeoShapeFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/geo/GeoShapeFieldMapper.java
@@ -185,16 +185,6 @@ public class GeoShapeFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<String> {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException("GeoShape fields cannot be converted to String values");
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public String valueFromString(String value) {
-        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("GeoShape fields cannot be converted to String values");
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("GeoShape fields cannot be converted to String values");
-    }
-
     public SpatialStrategy spatialStrategy() {
         return this.spatialStrategy;
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/AllFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/AllFieldMapper.java
index 3e2eb049068..c8feead6779 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/AllFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/AllFieldMapper.java
@@ -230,16 +230,6 @@ public class AllFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<Void> implements Interna
         return null;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public Void valueFromString(String value) {
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        return null;
-    }
-
     @Override
     public Object valueForSearch(Object value) {
         return null;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/BoostFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/BoostFieldMapper.java
index be61195ec1a..eb5e8a108f9 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/BoostFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/BoostFieldMapper.java
@@ -141,12 +141,13 @@ public class BoostFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Float> implements Intern
         if (value == null) {
             return null;
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToFloat((byte[]) value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Float valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Float.parseFloat(value);
+        if (value instanceof Number) {
+            return ((Number) value).floatValue();
+        }
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToFloat((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return Float.parseFloat(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IdFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IdFieldMapper.java
index 3164220c614..99685ce90ae 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IdFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IdFieldMapper.java
@@ -140,12 +140,10 @@ public class IdFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<String> implements Intern
 
     @Override
     public String value(Object value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueFromString(String value) {
-        return value;
+        if (value == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return value.toString();
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IndexFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IndexFieldMapper.java
index f48d2ec8b5f..e47dbc69127 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IndexFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/IndexFieldMapper.java
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ import org.apache.lucene.document.Document;
 import org.apache.lucene.document.Field;
 import org.apache.lucene.document.FieldType;
 import org.apache.lucene.index.FieldInfo.IndexOptions;
-import org.apache.lucene.index.Term;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.lucene.Lucene;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
@@ -134,16 +133,10 @@ public class IndexFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<String> implements Int
 
     @Override
     public String value(Object value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueFromString(String value) {
-        return value;
-    }
-
-    public Term term(String value) {
-        return names().createIndexNameTerm(value);
+        if (value == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return value.toString();
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/ParentFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/ParentFieldMapper.java
index 7192b68127c..30af89e3ad3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/ParentFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/ParentFieldMapper.java
@@ -176,25 +176,26 @@ public class ParentFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<Uid> implements Inter
 
     @Override
     public Uid value(Object value) {
-        return Uid.createUid(String.valueOf(value));
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Uid valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Uid.createUid(value);
+        if (value == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return Uid.createUid(value.toString());
     }
 
     @Override
     public Object valueForSearch(Object value) {
-        String fieldValue = String.valueOf(value);
-        if (fieldValue == null) {
+        if (value == null) {
             return null;
         }
-        int index = fieldValue.indexOf(Uid.DELIMITER);
-        if (index == -1) {
-            return fieldValue;
+        String sValue = value.toString();
+        if (sValue == null) {
+            return null;
         }
-        return fieldValue.substring(index + 1);
+        int index = sValue.indexOf(Uid.DELIMITER);
+        if (index == -1) {
+            return sValue;
+        }
+        return sValue.substring(index + 1);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/RoutingFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/RoutingFieldMapper.java
index 68a6dc646d2..25397949353 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/RoutingFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/RoutingFieldMapper.java
@@ -148,12 +148,10 @@ public class RoutingFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<String> implements I
 
     @Override
     public String value(Object value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueFromString(String value) {
-        return value;
+        if (value == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return value.toString();
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/SourceFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/SourceFieldMapper.java
index 1c89c1a8502..21d7d1ae19c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/SourceFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/SourceFieldMapper.java
@@ -20,13 +20,14 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.index.mapper.internal;
 
 import com.google.common.base.Objects;
-import org.apache.lucene.document.Document;
 import org.apache.lucene.document.Field;
 import org.apache.lucene.document.FieldType;
 import org.apache.lucene.document.StoredField;
 import org.apache.lucene.index.FieldInfo.IndexOptions;
+import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticSearchParseException;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesArray;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.collect.Tuple;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.compress.CompressedStreamInput;
@@ -346,38 +347,24 @@ public class SourceFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<byte[]> implements In
         return new StoredField(names().indexName(), source.array(), source.arrayOffset(), source.length());
     }
 
-    public byte[] value(Document document) {
-        Field field = (Field) document.getField(names.indexName());
-        return field == null ? null : value(field);
-    }
-
-    public byte[] nativeValue(Field field) {
-        return field.binaryValue().bytes;
-    }
-
     @Override
     public byte[] value(Object value) {
-        BytesReference val = (BytesReference) value;
-        if (val == null) {
+        if (value == null) {
             return null;
         }
+        BytesReference bValue;
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            bValue = new BytesArray((BytesRef) value);
+        } else {
+            bValue = (BytesReference) value;
+        }
         try {
-            return CompressorFactory.uncompressIfNeeded(val).toBytes();
+            return CompressorFactory.uncompressIfNeeded(bValue).toBytes();
         } catch (IOException e) {
             throw new ElasticSearchParseException("failed to decompress source", e);
         }
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public byte[] valueFromString(String value) {
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
-    }
-
     @Override
     protected String contentType() {
         return CONTENT_TYPE;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TimestampFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TimestampFieldMapper.java
index f0a2b101321..62c4bf64c3e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TimestampFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TimestampFieldMapper.java
@@ -162,23 +162,12 @@ public class TimestampFieldMapper extends DateFieldMapper implements InternalMap
 
     /**
      * Override the default behavior to return a timestamp
-     *
-     * @param value
      */
     @Override
     public Object valueForSearch(Object value) {
         return value(value);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
-        Long val = value(value);
-        if (val == null) {
-            return null;
-        }
-        return val.toString();
-    }
-
     @Override
     public void validate(ParseContext context) throws MapperParsingException {
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TypeFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TypeFieldMapper.java
index 90ba960e68a..ae99001a2db 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TypeFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TypeFieldMapper.java
@@ -112,12 +112,10 @@ public class TypeFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<String> implements Inte
 
     @Override
     public String value(Object value) {
-        return String.valueOf(value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueFromString(String value) {
-        return value;
+        if (value == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return value.toString();
     }
 
     public Term term(String value) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/UidFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/UidFieldMapper.java
index a91f7dea525..09de0a8ef19 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/UidFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/UidFieldMapper.java
@@ -190,12 +190,10 @@ public class UidFieldMapper extends AbstractFieldMapper<Uid> implements Internal
 
     @Override
     public Uid value(Object value) {
-        return Uid.createUid(String.valueOf(value));
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Uid valueFromString(String value) {
-        return Uid.createUid(value);
+        if (value == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return Uid.createUid(value.toString());
     }
 
     public Term term(String type, String id) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/ip/IpFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/ip/IpFieldMapper.java
index 9937111311c..b968897dcbf 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/ip/IpFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/ip/IpFieldMapper.java
@@ -163,26 +163,20 @@ public class IpFieldMapper extends NumberFieldMapper<Long> {
         if (value == null) {
             return null;
         }
-        return Numbers.bytesToLong((byte[]) value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public Long valueFromString(String value) {
-        return ipToLong(value);
+        if (value instanceof Number) {
+            return ((Number) value).longValue();
+        }
+        if (value instanceof BytesRef) {
+            return Numbers.bytesToLong((BytesRef) value);
+        }
+        return ipToLong(value.toString());
     }
 
     /**
      * IPs should return as a string.
-     *
-     * @param value
      */
     @Override
     public Object valueForSearch(Object value) {
-        return valueAsString(value);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String valueAsString(Object value) {
         Long val = value(value);
         if (val == null) {
             return null;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/histogram/HistogramFacetProcessor.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/histogram/HistogramFacetProcessor.java
index e1060c261e0..51e51ba3cec 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/histogram/HistogramFacetProcessor.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/histogram/HistogramFacetProcessor.java
@@ -120,8 +120,8 @@ public class HistogramFacetProcessor extends AbstractComponent implements FacetP
             if (mapper == null) {
                 throw new FacetPhaseExecutionException(facetName, "No mapping found for key_field [" + keyField + "]");
             }
-            long from = ((Number) mapper.valueFromString(sFrom)).longValue();
-            long to = ((Number) mapper.valueFromString(sTo)).longValue();
+            long from = ((Number) mapper.value(sFrom)).longValue();
+            long to = ((Number) mapper.value(sTo)).longValue();
 
             if (valueField != null) {
                 return new BoundedValueHistogramFacetCollector(facetName, keyField, valueField, interval, from, to, comparatorType, context);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/range/RangeFacetProcessor.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/range/RangeFacetProcessor.java
index e7cd3ad86b3..34b82de09da 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/range/RangeFacetProcessor.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/facet/range/RangeFacetProcessor.java
@@ -127,10 +127,10 @@ public class RangeFacetProcessor extends AbstractComponent implements FacetProce
             }
             for (RangeFacet.Entry entry : rangeEntries) {
                 if (entry.fromAsString != null) {
-                    entry.from = ((Number) mapper.valueFromString(entry.fromAsString)).doubleValue();
+                    entry.from = ((Number) mapper.value(entry.fromAsString)).doubleValue();
                 }
                 if (entry.toAsString != null) {
-                    entry.to = ((Number) mapper.valueFromString(entry.toAsString)).doubleValue();
+                    entry.to = ((Number) mapper.value(entry.toAsString)).doubleValue();
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/search/fields/SearchFieldsTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/search/fields/SearchFieldsTests.java
index 60e816b039a..7347986ffe7 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/search/fields/SearchFieldsTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/search/fields/SearchFieldsTests.java
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ public class SearchFieldsTests extends AbstractNodesTests {
         assertThat(searchResponse.hits().getAt(0).fields().get("double_field").value(), equalTo((Object) 6.0d));
         String dateTime = Joda.forPattern("dateOptionalTime").printer().print(new DateTime(2012, 3, 22, 0, 0, DateTimeZone.UTC));
         assertThat(searchResponse.hits().getAt(0).fields().get("date_field").value(), equalTo((Object) dateTime));
-        assertThat(searchResponse.hits().getAt(0).fields().get("boolean_field").value(), equalTo((Object) "true"));
+        assertThat(searchResponse.hits().getAt(0).fields().get("boolean_field").value(), equalTo((Object) Boolean.TRUE));
         assertThat(searchResponse.hits().getAt(0).fields().get("binary_field").value().toString(), equalTo(Base64.encodeBytes("testing text".getBytes("UTF8"))));
 
     }