I bought this yesterday i was looking for Single Action Army clones and this guy really caught my eye. No one knew what it was (the tag just said S&W .32!) so from my limited knowledge i pegged it as a 1st model .32 safety hammerless. Its serial is 57XXX (if i remember correctly) which might put it in the 1890s.

Now what really gets me is the finish. I figure it has to have been re-nickeled at some point. If not this is the nicest model i have ever seen! The pics dont do it justice there isnt a scratch on it! The only wear is that the "C" shaped section right above the grip isnt as bright as the rest of the gun. From holding it maybe?

Does anyone know how i can determine if the nickel is original? I will tell you that the patent info on top of the barrel is bright as day and easy to read. I feel like a refinishing job wouldnt allow that... Either way im very happy with my new purchase i hope to take better pics to show it off!

Welcome to the Forum, from the picture, I would agree the gun has been nicely refinished at some time in the past. Only a factory letter will tell you what the finish was when the gun was shipped from S&W, but chances are very good that it was nickel. Usually a factory refinish will have a star stamp on the butt after the serial number, however sometimes the star was stamped on the grip frame under the grips. If that is the case here, then a date code of when the work was done will also be on the left grip frame, such as " 4.15 " indicating April 1915. Your gun is a first Model .32 safety hammerless. A refinsh done outside the factory, will not have any of the above stampings, of course. Ed #15

congrats on your find (i'm guessing greentops) yup.it's a S&W 32 ca.new departure aka lemonsqueezer 1st model...i have one like it ser.#56707 which shipped from S&W in march 1895...hard to call as to a refinish just looking at the pic but.....in many refinishes they refinished the trigger and triggerguard in nickel...yours appears original.....you can contact roy jinks (S&W historian)for $50.00 he can "letter"your gun...this give you a lot of information on it as well as when and where it shipped from the factory....i would suggest wipe it down well and then apply renaissance wax to it to protect the finish...do NOT use a solvent that had ammonia on nickle,such as hoppes.....
hope this helps,and a BIG welcome to the forum!stick around,share your knowledge....a lot can be learned here...

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Thanks for your help guys! Glad to see another Virginian! I was actually on my way home from Greentop when i decided to stop at Gander Mountain. Im sure if this little guy was at Greentop it would have been properly identified and priced higher then what i got it for!

I dont remember seeing a star on the serial number, ill pop that grip off to make sure though.

Now here is the real question: Pay $50 bucks for the letter or for these Black pearl grips! Looks like they will fit. Im not sure what "I" frame means though.

Im very excited, refinished or not i havent been able to find a pic of a New Departure this clean anywhere!

Hello Hami,

Your 32 Safety is not an I frame gun. An I frame is the size referring to early 32 Hand Ejectors. Those grips will also fit a 38 Double Action or 38 Safety Hammerless. Your 32 Safety Hammerless top break grip frame does not fit any other model of S&W. The only grips that will fit are those especially made for the 32 Safety. Nice gun, lets hope it is the first of many.

Mark

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Mark Connot

No brainer! Letter

It does appear to be a refinish as some of the edges appear more rounded than they should. The dead giveaway would be a photo of the other side of the gun. The edges around the sideplate always give away a refinsh. Nice looking gun though.

The idea was to shoot this gun and even carry it. That's why i bought one that could have been a refinish, so it was old and cool but had no colletor value to ruin. Now i want to figure out for sure; if somehow this is original i would love to frame it with one of those old smith and wesson safety hamerless ads off ebay.

Here is a pic of the side plate. Anything else i should be looking at? These are phone camera pics i hope to have real camera pics soon.

oops, double post

Hami, That's a good picture of the sideplate for the purposes of educating members on how to easily spot a refinsh. Note the rounded edges of the sideplate, where they were over polished by the refinisher. The sideplate outline is now quite easy to see, vs. an original fitted sideplate. Also, note the "dished" effect around the pin in the frame above the trigger. Again, the result of over polishing. An original finish would be perfectly flat. Other visible edges of the metal area show a rounded appearance where the edges should be sharper, such as the cylinder flute edges, etc. A proper, factory done, refinsh would have taken the extra pains to avoid the over polishing and rounded edge effect. The buggered screw slots is also indication that less than skilled hands have been used in past disassembly, etc. Ed. #15

Oh well, at least now i know what to look for on my next purchase. A perfected model if i can find one! Thanks for your help guys, now im off to try and find some ammo. Any recommendations?

Check your local gun and sporting goods dealers - sometimes they have an odd box or two lying around. I picked up a box of .32 S&W at a sporting goods dealer. I've had more luck on Gunbroker, though. You should be able to find .32 S&W for under $30/box.

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Peter #2091

I would like to get in on the refinishing subject. I have a second Mod. .38S&W Safety Hammerless that I know must have been refinished, but looking at the sideplate it dosn't look like it. I am new at the collecting of top breaks, and would like to get all the information that I can get. Here is a picture of my top break.
Chubbo

The first picture submitted of the little .32 in this thread was a giveaway if anyone looked real close. Notice the side plate screw coming from the other side, it's totally flat to frame. Normally S&W and most other manufacturers round the threaded end where it comes through frame. Gives it a more finished look.
10/22.

I think close-up photos would be helpful here. From these views it is a very good refinish or original but it is hard to be sure.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

hami,
That's a great looking gun, no matter whether it's been refinished or not. From here on out, when others display their treasures, you won't
have to hide yours. It may not be a collectors dream, but you now
have a handful of S&W craftsmanship, that'll work today as well as it ever did!
GunBroker and Ammo To Go are both good sources for .32 S&W ammo.
TACC1

Can you or anyone else tell me if those Mother of Pearl Grips are factory or not..?? I have .32 Safety Hammerless, blued, with a 3" barrel, that has those mother of Pearl grips on it and someone told me that they were not factory original..

Thanks

Dave