My question arises from some posts in the "Never Quit Learning" thread. I didn't want to hijack that thread, so I will start this one.

I'm looking for comment on unnimpressed, pencil-numbered diamond magnas that came to me recently in a package deal. As you can see, the stocks have the in-the-white dish-shaped interior buttons that are characteristic of prewar and immediately postwar periods. Medallions are silver. The penciled number 387327 is legible on the right panel inner surface, and the left panel seems to have the same number, though it is much harder to read. Note that there is a small relieved area at the top of each panel, apparently lightly dished by a round-nose drill. On the right panel, the relief aligns with the rearmost side plate screw. On the left panel, it aligns with the rebound slide pin.

Based on what I have learned from others, I would expect to see impressed serial numbers if these were of 1930s or 1940s manufacture. But a K-frame in the 387xxx range would date to the early 1920s, long before the first diamond magnas were produced; and if this is short for K387xxx, that would be a 1960 gun -- thus the inner features of the stocks are anachronisms.





I'm just not sure how to think about these. I know the numbers could have been written on the wood by an earlier owner to reflect the gun with which they were associated, regardless of whether that was the gun on which they were installed when it left the factory.

Did the company sell unnumbered replacement magnas that were suitable for retrofitting to early '30s revolvers (or even '20s) that had shipped without them?

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David Wilson

Iam no expert but most of the pencil numbers I have seen on the grips I have owned have never looked like that. I always notice mine seem to be quickly penciled in larger numbers and they never really align to the edge of the grips in any way. Also not on both grips but only the right grip in most cases? Your look like someone sat down and took a careful min to write the number on both grips carefully? This would lead me to believe that someone down the road did this, not done at S&W. These are just my opinions from what I have seen and Iam looking forward to hear what others much more in the know think.

Also the machined alumnium and steel medallion backing washers were only used for the first couple of years these grips were made, love to hear what other think about this too. I have seen them in pictures made from steel or aluminum and with and without pat pend and I think I even saw some that were blued or black.There might have been a write up on this forum a year or two back about these washers...

The divots in the back of the wood wold make me think again they were installed on a gun they did not originally come on.

David, Those are, first design, Early pre war magnas. Second design had patent date info. The upper indent on the right panel is for the screw. They had not yet gone to a flat screw. The checkering also looks to be 18 LPI as is usual with pre war stocks. The small indent on the left panel I am not familiar with. As for the penciled serial number ????????? could be replacement stocks.
DW

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"NUTS"

I would venture a guess that the dimple on the left panel is for the rebound slide pin from the time before they polished them flat. That dimple would then allow the horn to lay flat against the frame.

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Non illegitimae carborundum

S&W always sold magnas.

Those discs are plated steel, not aluminum.

I think an owner simply numbered the grips after purchasing them. I agree that I have never seen factory grips numbered in that fashion.

I have seen non-patent date discs used later than dated discs.

I recently had a post-war Transition 38M&P that had post-war style checkering with round corners, but it had solid steel, blued discs! The grips were numbered to the gun.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

I think you are right and the dimple in the right panel was to allow for the round headed screw which they used before they went to the flat head screw in the third screw position.

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Dick

Thank you all. You pretty much confirmed what I suspected, and in the process I learned two more things to research when assessing age -- 18 ll/in and square vs round checkering fields.

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David Wilson