Mike

Clearly, the collectors have estabilished a nomenclature that is not
consistent with the catalogs. Its been beneficial insofar as being
able to classify engineering changes. On the other hand, it did so
at the cost of losing the catalog-classification of certain models;
specifically the round-butt K-frames.

Some collectors apparently do not care about this, but, of course,
I am not in that group; I do care. The square butt was introduced into
the K-frame line in late 1904 , as a separate model ; the 1905. Prior
to this, the 1899's and early 1902's were round-butt only.

Had it been the case that round-butt frames were never really all that
popular, and they more/less disappeared within a few decades after
the introduction of the 1899, then I could understand classifiying
all K-frames as models of 1905.

But, that isn't the case, at all. As Lee incompletely pointed out, the
1902 & 1905 specific designation disappear sometime after 1913. The
specification of separate models for round and square butt does not,
if ever, go away, at least until sometime after 1970.

What does go away, about 10 years or so ago, is the square butt frame.
It is the round butt that survives, to this very day. This is a key part of
my claim that the classifcation of early ( 1910 - 1940 ) K-frames should
include some reference to its factory-catalog model definition.

Needless to say, this causes great problems vis-a-vis engineering
changes. Round-butt models are inherently two changes ahead of
square butt models. And therein lies the dilemma !

Regards, Mike