The 38 Safety Hammerless I purchases on GB arrived today and is a little better than I hoped. NO sign of neglect or abuse at all, or maybe more importantly , no sign of improper cleaning or storage. The nickle is mostly gone from the bottom and sides of the barrel and 1/3rd of the cylinder, but no pitting. Bore is great with one small rough spot on top of the bore that may yet come out. Left grip has probably half the pattern worn down and right grip maybe 1/4.

The NYPD 10-6 I have has the right grip worn more than the left because in a traditional holster that is the side that usually gets bumped against things. The grip wear and finish wear on the Safety Hammerless makes me think that at some point this revolver was carried a lot, but the mechanics makes me think it was fired little.

My guess is someone carried this pistol in a shoulder holster. That might explain the worn left grip and be consistent with with the finish wear, in my opinion.

For what it's worth I like the size but the grips are a little small for my hands. Trigger pull is not bad but that skinny front sight is hard to see. I fired it using Remington factory ammo and I can see why these were so popular.

A week ago we went to see my daughter in denver. She pulled out one I almost forgot about that I gave her for protection a dozen years ago. 38 s&w, hammerless like yours. I bought it from I guy I worked with whos wife insisted it out of the house. It was his grandfathers and his grandfather was a constable or small town cop. He showed me a picture of him and he looked almost just like him! The grandfather was also a wrestler probley 1910 to 1925 or so. I told him he was nuts selling it, but if he came back to his senses I would sell it back. He never asked for it back. The gun did have a slight ring where a bullet once stuck in the barrel and probley shot out by the next. Didnt seem to hurt it or the accuracy though.

I don't quite understand how a shoulder holster would wear the left grip down more than the right.

Why don't you think it was carried in a left hand holster instead?

Could be a left handed holster of course. The left grip on this Safety Hammerless is worn, not scuffed like the right grip on my 10-6. So it didn't bump against things but something rubbed against it. For some reason I always think of hammerless revolvers being purchased with the idea of carrying them concealed. Maybe a left hand belt holster would have been more common, or even carried on the right butt forward for a left hand cross draw with the gents coat rubbing the left grip more smooth.

Reading wear patterns is a handy skill to have especially when dealing with old military handguns like 1911s or even rifles. You can tell if parts have been replaced and things like that.

I've never lettered any of my S&Ws, but if you really want to investigate it you could always send for one. It might have been an issued weapon for some kind of security or detective agency. The steel mill I used to work for issued .32-20 hand ejectors before I started there.

Reading wear patterns. Now there is a subject that intrigues me and always has. Yeah, I know you think I'm weird. That's OK, my wife needs the company. It does make the mind work to try and envision how and under what circumstances the wear may have occured. A doctor friend of mine has a very lovely and gun friendly wife and she bought him a Parker double barrel 16 ga. shotgun one year for his birthday. She brought it by work for me to look at and give her my opinion. It really was a nice gun. After looking at it and holding it several ways, I told her that it would be interesting to know who owned it and if he was left handed. I showed her that holding it in the action with the right hand did not fit the wear pattern but once you shifted it to the left, the pattern fit perfectly with the left hand. It can be a very interesting exercise.

yes, a "used" can and will tell you a story ( if ONLY they could talk) but yes, there are things that will lead one to ascertain just how and where it may have been handled....If unfired, as new in the box, or left in a nightstand drawer,NEVER to be fired, then the "insides" (lockwork,etc) speak volumes.................. can be very interesting really.

__________________
dan
NRA Benefactor,PMA