One of my haunts had a Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless .38 in the case, for less cash than a family of four would spend for a good meal and a bottle of wine. I've always wanted a shooter-quality example, and this one fit the bill:



It has finish issues, as you can see. I think it was stored in a sock or some other fabric holder:



It isn't refinished, and the action seemed fine in the store. The grip safety worked, so it left the big city of Albuquerque and came home with me.

The thing that really impressed me was the quality of the workmanship that went into this little gun, which most certainly wasn't a high dollar item. The fit of the sideplate is absolutely perfect, much better than many new guns. The machining that went into the top latch and the checkering of the little nob is noteworthy.



I figured out how to remove the cylinder and clean and oil that. I took the sideplate screws out, but chickened out without taking off the sideplate. I removed the grips (numbered to the gun) and shot some oil up in the works.

The action is smooth and I was a little nervous about dry firing it much. I meant to make some snap caps with fired cases and rubber cement in the primer pockets, but while I was rummaging around I found five stray .38 snap caps with little spring-loaded brass primer thingies. They fit perfectly:



I have to hunt up some .38 S&W ammo and then give this old soldier a try at the range. I certainly wouldn't feel unarmed with this in my pocket.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Appears the barrel was clamped in a vise or something similar.

My old Colt 1900 has a similar pattern I have thought the same thing. The pattern on mine actually wraps around as a cloth would. I think if a gun was left that way wrapped humidity would do the rest. Looks like a good shooting example I just got one a few weeks ago fun to shoot and fairly accurate too.

Try not to dry fire any. Get or make some snap caps. These have a habit of breaking the firing pin and or spring. I have rebuilt many with broken pins.
Nice safety hammerless by the way!

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

The pattern on mine wraps around the curve of the barrel, too. Its hard to tell in the photos, but it looks like the same weave you'd see on a gym sock.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Let us know how it shoots! Nice firearm there.

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No good deed goes unpunished.

Just to add one more example of that corrosion pattern, I have a .32-20 nickle S&W which has similar defects spiraling around the barrel. Looks like it was wrapped in an unwashed gym sock - unfortunately.

Certainly possible that storage in an old sweaty sock could produce that corrosion pattern. I haven't personally seen that pattern on any gun. I store many of my guns in Crown Royal bags. I just can't bring myself to throw them away.

"I just can't bring myself to throw them away." The guns? Throw them my way.. I'm kidding of course, I used to pick up the shoe polishing mits at motels. To the OP, nice ccw. Sights suck but they shoot nice at close range.

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Mike Maher #283

That pattern on the barrel is from a piece of coarse woven fabric. Socks are knitted and would have left a different pattern. Both acid and alkali bases were used in bleaching and dyeing cloth, and if the cloth was not rinsed and neutralized it could remove finishes as seen.

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Tom
1560

Neat old gun, I like those old breaktops, they shoot surprisingly well even with those dinky sights.
It's tougher to find .32 and .38S&W ammo, but they are out there. With the exception of boutique stuff, they are loaded very light.
My 1 & 1/2 is also pretty shop worn.