Another K-38 Masterpiece Light Barrel/Heavy Barrel Thread

[DCWilson]

A couple of days ago I won at auction an early K-38 Masterpiece (light barrel, narrow rib). This started me thinking again about the design transition to the heavy barrel Masterpiece models that began in early 1950.

Acknowledging up front that we can't point to a date or a single serial number that divides the LB and HB varieties (for a period of time, both varieties were available), I thought it would nevertheless be interesting to try to pick some specific examples to frame a transition period. So I am asking the forum members for help with these questions:

What is the lowest known serial number for a K-38 Masterpiece with the heavy barrel and wide rib?

What is the highest known serial number for a K-38 MP with the tapered barrel and narrow rib?

Just to start this off, I will report that K78197, which shipped in February 1950, is a heavy barrel gun. I have found a reference to a gun numbered near K71000 that is a light barrel specimen. Guns numbered near K78197 were shipped in the last four months of 1949, so it is possible my gun was made up at that time with a heavy barrel and just sat in inventory awaiting its chance to be shipped. Alternatively, the frame might not have been used immediately, and its delayed shipping date reflects fitting with the new style of barrel three or four months later.

We know that S&W was advertising both the original and HB versions of the K-32 and K-38 Masterpiece revolvers in early 1950. It would appear that the company's decision to offer the heavy barrel variety meant that no more light barrels would be produced, but there were bound to be light barrels in stock that they would want to use up. In other threads in this forum it has been suggested that light barrel K-38s might have been shipped as late as 1953.

Related Question:

I am also curious about how many K-38s may have shipped before the HB variety became the standard design. I think we know that there were very few K-38s produced in 1947. In that year the .22s dominated production in the K-Masterpiece model lines. In HOSW Roy Jinks reports K-38 production began at serial number K1661, and I think I recall hearing of another k-38 with a K+4 digit serial number. It is my impression that K-38 production in serious numbers did not start until sometime in 1948. I know there are several K-38s with serial numbers around K23000, including my new one (K23351), which shipped in May 1948.

My own guess is that about 25,000-30,000 light barrel K-38s would have been produced. Serial numbers reach about 80,000 by the end of 1949. The number of K-32s produced in those years was tiny, so production was basically divided between the .22s and the .38s. My impression is that .22s accounted for about two thirds of Masterpiece production in the postwar years before 1950.

I'm assuming that almost every possible serial number was used; I am not aware of skipped or reserved serial number blocks, but can't say that they don't exist.

[linde]

Originally Posted by DCWilson

1. What is the lowest known serial number for a K-38 Masterpiece with the heavy barrel and wide rib?

2. What is the highest known serial number for a K-38 MP with the tapered barrel and narrow rib?

3. How many K-38s may have shipped before the HB variety became the standard design.

David,

#1: I had K-38 (heavy) Masterpiece s/n K77810 that shipped in Nov '49. (I say "had" because I sold it at the Tucson show). I believe circa K74000 will be the earliest examples of the heavy barrel.

#2: I'd love to know the answer to this for the full 6" K-38 . . . the only data I have is for the cut-down 5" version.

#3: Allow me to add K45302 to the list of K-38s with tapered barrel and narrow barrel rib.

Russ

[mikepriwer]

David

We can check with Roy, but I think the first K-38 is K2137. It was
originally X37, and then reserialed to K2137, according to Roy.
K2143 is the first K-32.

Roys book for 1977 says that K2137 was the first K-32, but that is
an error. Its a K-38.

Regards, Mike Priwer

[red9]

David,

Here is K-38 #K4820. The stocks are un-numbered targets.

[mikepriwer]

I would hope the stocks are not numbered to that gun - I expect they
came about a year or two later.

Mike Priwer

[DCWilson]

Bob, thank you. Wasn't that gun in a thread in the last few months? I think that's the one I remembered as "another K+4" serial number. That's a prewar knob on the ejector rod, isn't it?

Russ, I agree about guns around K74000/K75000 being where the first heavy K-38 would be seen. It will be interesting to see how close we can get to the very first in forum members' personal collections.

Mike, thanks for those numbers. I remember K2143 as the first K-32. That's the one that was produced as a salesman's sample, then was later refinished at the factory and sold. I can't imagine there were lots of K-32s produced in 1947 (or 1948, for that matter), and I wondered if the earliest known K-38 (K1661 as I had remembered it, but I'll use K2137 as the earliest one from now on) was another salesman's sample to gin up interest in a model whose first scheduled production run was still several months away. But Bob's gun may may indicate that K-38s went into real (if limited) production about a year earlier than I had thought. We should remember that only about 12000 K-series numbers were produced and shipped in 1947, and most by far appear to have been K-22s.

The comments so far open up related questions. What are the serial numbers of the first heavy barrel K-32 and the last tapered barrel K-32? What are the numbers of the first wide-rib K-22 and the last narrow-rib K-22? Since these models were all numbered in the same series, one might expect to see similar changes in the same serial number range in the other models.

My two K-32s (Feb and Apr 1949) are narrow rib guns numbered in the K60000 range. I have no K-22s that number in or near the K70000s, so can't really offer any evidence on that question. My wide rib K-22 (1953) numbers a little under K200000. The earlier ones are from 1947 and 1948.

[RWJ]

K22 6" Blue Tapered Barrel .22 LR K50304
K32 6" Blue Tapered Barrel .32 S&W L K67133 Shipped Feb 1949
K38 6" Blue Tapered Barrel .38 Spl K66568

[larryofcc]

K22 # 4339. Tapered bbl. one line address and large knob.
K22 # 187600. Tapered bbl.late address,standard ejector knob, and factory installed target hammer. Letters to NYC, 7-22-53.
Big Larry

[handejector]

K-38- Heavy Barrel
K 76532

[50 target]

K38 Heavy Barrel K76933
K38 Light Barrel K4562

[DCWilson]

This is the gun that got me thinking about the questions I posed in the first post.

K-38 Masterpiece K23351, shipped May 1948. The gun has been handled a little, but not shot much. I couldn't see any carbon deposits anywhere.







The stocks are not original. They number to a gun that would have shipped about 6-7 years later.

Sorry about the oil tracks, but at least you know I keep my bores oiled.

[fungunnin]

K-38 light barrel K-23297

[larryofcc]

SWEEEEEEEET!!!!! Big Larry

[red9]

Per Roy, K4820 shipped March, 1948- not far from the K23000 group. K-22's in the K4000-5000 range shipped Oct-Nov, 1947. Any explanation?

Bob

[Speedo2]

A bit late (as usual), but I recently saw a K38 at my LGS that was close to the transition point of interest:

K38; sn K78405: HB; no photos unfortunately.

After I read this thread, I went back to take a second look, hoping that it may have been a tapered barrel but disappointment prevailed. The gun has been re-blued (not a quality job) and it has the wrong grips; otherwise it looked to be in OK condition. I kind of lost interest at that point, so I didn't even ask what the pusher wanted for it. Hey, maybe there's hope for this addiction after all. -S2

[fungunnin]

Here are some pics of my 23297

[LEO918]

K-38 75711 L.B. = Happy

[Walter Rego]

I thought I would resurrect this thread with a recent acquisition. Serial # K75643, narrow rib barrel, 1/10" Patridge sight, 4 line address, semi-target hammer & standard trigger. The S/N dates to 1949. It has a very different feel than my 1955 K-38 Heavy Barrel Masterpiece, immediately apparent when you pick it up. I like it, it has a graceful look and feel but I can see why serious target shooters of the 1950's wanted a heavier barrel and matching weights of their K-22's & K-38's. Edited to add the photo.

[linde]

Originally Posted by Walter Rego

I thought I would resurrect this thread with a recent acquisition. Serial # K75643, narrow rib barrel, 1/10" Patridge sight, 4 line address, semi-target hammer & standard trigger. The S/N dates to 1949. It has a very different feel than my 1955 K-38 Heavy Barrel Masterpiece, immediately apparent when you pick it up. I like it, it has a graceful look and feel but I can see why serious target shooters of the 1950's wanted a heavier barrel and matching weights of their K-22's & K-38's. I'll post photos when I get a chance.

Am anxious to see pictures . . . congratulations on picking up what is among the last of the narrow rib barrels. They are graceful but agree that serious target shooters preferred the Heavy K-38s.

Russ

[larryofcc]

Recently picked up # K 75735,shipped 5-49. a standard bbl. narrow rib. 100% matching with box. Real close to a couple guns mentioned here, also the highest numbered standard K38 mentioned here. Gun is in 98% condition. Found in a small northern Calif. gun store. Big Larry

[Walter Rego]

Big Larry, your gun is a beauty. I added a photo of mine. I did not get a box or papers but as you know here in CA nice old S&W's are getting harder to find and more expensive by the day. I rarely hesitate if I have the cash in my pocket. Ours must have been assembled within days of each other. Mine has been fired a bit but well taken care of and locks up tight as a drum both laterally and fore and aft and has a nice smooth action.

[larryofcc]

I really consider myself lucky. I got my first narrow rib, # K 39023, shipped 8-16-1948, from a forum member and it is real nice and all matching. I will not buy any more except for a one liner to match my K22. Thanks, Big Larry

[fungunnin]

Big Larry,
Congrats on your narrow barrels! I know you have been hunting for a while.
To All,
What is the consensus about One Liners? We know that K-38's started at K 2137 and early on was mostly K-22s. Leads one to believe that there may only be 5-10k One line K-38s produced. I handled K 36XXX this weekend that was a four liner. What is the highest one line out there?
Thoughts?

[DCWilson]

I don't know of any K-22 or K-38 one-liners above (round number) K25000 or thereabouts. The vast majority of those will be K-22s. A very few one-line K-32s are known, mostly in the K56000-K70000 range; part from a couple of K-0000 (four digit) salesman samples, that's where the lowest K-32 serial numbers are found. I suspect the estimate of 5000 one-line K-38s is high. I would guess 2000-3000 tops.

[larryofcc]

I saw a beauty for sale a while back. Real nice K38 one liner for $750. If it hadn't of had mismatched grips, I would have bought it, but I continue to be much of a purist when it comes to my guns. Picky, Picky,Picky. Big Larry

[fungunnin]

I talked to a guy who knows somebody who said it shoots real well too!

[DCWilson]

Walter and Larry, I should have said earlier: fine revolvers!