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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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  #1  
Old 04-23-2010, 11:50 AM
augeringin augeringin is offline
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Default Terrier 38 S&W

Trying to find birthdate of this little jewel sn 688xx the pearls fit perfect. It has a "N" stamped on the frame under the left grip. Thanks in advance for any enlightenment you guys can give me on this one. What was the ratio of blue to nickel made? thanks
terry
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Old 04-23-2010, 12:07 PM
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Probably shipped 1952-53, around there. I don't know about finish proportions, but I would guess blue outnumbered nickel at least five to one.

Nice looking little revolver! Congratulations on that one.
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Old 04-23-2010, 10:10 PM
TACC1 TACC1 is offline
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Very nice looking Terrier! Now, if I can just find one in blue....
TACC1
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Old 04-24-2010, 06:46 PM
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Very nice indeed. I have wanted a Terrier for many years.
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Old 04-24-2010, 08:33 PM
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That gun is beautiful. I've actually never seen one in Nickel.
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Old 04-24-2010, 08:36 PM
ar15ed ar15ed is offline
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what a li'l jewel! i don't think i have ever seen a nickel one either! thanks for the pics!
ed
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Old 04-24-2010, 09:24 PM
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There are no exact numbers available however, most collectors feel that roughly 10% of the guns were nickel and 90% were blue.
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Old 10-18-2012, 10:55 PM
delmaxfield delmaxfield is offline
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This is for the experts, but doesn't the "N" under the grip mean it was factory re-nickeled?! Early '53 is indicated by other serial numbers and verified ship dates
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Old 10-19-2012, 05:44 AM
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Look for these:

Date numbers for a return to the factory are 3 or 4 digits placed on left side of grip frame on the 'toe' stamped vertically or horizontally, and will not match any other stamped #s ex: 3.48 for march 1948, 10.57 for Oct 1957, etc.

Stars by the serial # on the butt indicating factory rework & rework dates declined by early ‘60s, eventually no marks and refinishing was discontinued completely some time ago.

Diamonds are on replaced parts or heel of grip frame for refinish followed by the letters, sometimes in a rectangle, B, N, or S, with an R (for refinish), on 'heel' of left side of grip frame.
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Old 10-19-2012, 08:13 AM
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Thats a sweeeeeet lil blaster sir, the grips are awesome!
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Old 10-19-2012, 08:18 AM
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N means original nickel.

I've also never seen one. Cool.
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Old 10-19-2012, 09:12 AM
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A little jewel indeed. Thanks for showing it.
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Old 10-19-2012, 02:26 PM
delmaxfield delmaxfield is offline
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Question about Pearl grips! I was under the impression that factory pearl had the S&W Medallion. But several guns For Sale have indicated factory Pearl such as the above with no Medallion. How do you tell factory pearl grips?
Del
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Old 10-19-2012, 03:30 PM
ar15ed ar15ed is offline
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i have never seen a set of pearl grips without the medallions that i was convinced were original from s&w. lots of folks claim their non-medallion grips are factory, but i would require some kind of additional "proof" other than a seller's personal beliefs (or wishes!!!)!
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Old 10-19-2012, 03:43 PM
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delmaxfield...N indicates and original nickel finish, whereas, R-N inside of a rectangle indicates a refinish in nickel.

Bill
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Old 10-19-2012, 05:07 PM
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That is a nice gun. I also haven't seen one in nickel that I can remember. I would doubt the grips are factory as they don't fit the bottom edge very well. They are actually probably for the later longer butted J frame as this particular gun with the shorter trigger guard also has the slightly shorter earlier J frame butt.

Thanks for sharing, great gun.
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Old 10-19-2012, 08:27 PM
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I agree with Dacoontz on bothe comments. From the earliest period of Hand Ejectors thru the era of your gun, premium grip materials came with S&W medallions as a rule.

Your Terrier is an I frame so it has the trigger guard shape and grip frame length mimicked on the early, "Baby J frame" models, pre 1953. Those grips were likely made for the full size J grip frame, post 1953.

Pearl is easy to work on by the way if you want to trim them to fit. They file and sand easily and are polished with a power buffer. Or you can use finer and finer sandpaper ending up with 2500 grit and polish by hand with automotive polishing compound by Turtle Wax or any other brand, or even Flitz or Semi chrome. CAUTION: be careful not to drop them on a hard surface!
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:42 PM
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Also be careful about breathing the dust. Respirator.

Wet sanding helps also.


Regards,

Pat
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