A couple of weeks ago I won an auction on Gunbroker for a nickel Ladysmith. I’m pretty sure I beat out forum member Murphydog in the bidding – sorry dude. Well, not really sorry, not at all.


From the pictures in the auction it looked a bit rough, but when I picked it up from my dealer I was pleasantly surprised. Overall it was in very nice shape, with original finish and clean chambers and barrel interior. The rust on the barrel needs to be taken care of but other than that it’s good. I thought I’d group it with my other 3rd Model Ladysmiths, and another GB acquisition I got about a year ago – a Rossi Princess, made in Brazil.

In the first picture, from right to left are:

My first Ladysmith, an overbuffed and renickeled specimen I picked up via Gunbroker in 2009. But it’s fully functional and intact, with real (non-S&W) mother of pearl grips. I posted about it when I first got it, shortly after I joined the forum.

The second I acquired from forum member Coug45 in 2010.Original blue finish with only a few scratches, and really nice checkered wood grips. Aside from a set of scratches on the left side from the ejector star, it is in fabulous shape. It looks worse in the pictures than in real life.

The third is the aforementioned nickel model, also with checkered wood grips.

Fourth is the Rossi Princess, a slightly less refined (but still cute!) lady from the southern hemisphere. Grips are ill-fitting plastic with checkering, but it came with a nice little fitted case.














Here's the new nickel gun:







Check out the serial number - 26000! According to the SCSW the highest serial number for a Ladysmith is 26154. Numbers match on the cylinder and barrel, and I think I can just barely make out the same number on the underside of the ejector.











Here's the blue beauty from Coug45. Only a few fine scratches on this side, and the S&W logo. Note that the nickel gun did not have a logo on either side, nor did my older renickeled Ladysmith. Some got 'em, some don't.











The ejector scraping against the side must've been like nails on a chalkboard.





Here's the South American version, with its nifty little case.








Not sure why some Rossis have those ugly grooves in the flutes. For greater purchase in case you have to turn the cylinder by hand?






From a company in Washington D.C.! Obviously imported before the Gun Control Debacle of 1968.



Chambered for the mighty .22 Long Rifle, as opposed to the .22 Long of the Smiths. I think I'll stick with CB caps and such, thank you.



No serial on the cylinder or barrel, just the butt.






By themselves, it’s difficult to appreciate how petite the ladies are. Check a couple of my other threads for a sense of scale:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/226247-amazing-colossal-ladysmith.html


The Incredible Shrinking 1917!!! (also in nickel!)

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the Ladysmith show. The blue one is my favorite. I have one like it but with a factory re-finish.

I've never seen a Rossi Princess so that one is interesting as well. I believe the grooving in the flutes was a production expedient. Polishing those little flutes from a machinist's perspective is difficult and time comsuming to do well. By milling with a grooved cutter a smooth milling cut and polishing was avoided.

Thanks,

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

I have seen a few of the Rossi ladies at gun shows but have never examined any closely. I knew about the S&W Ladysmith, but I don't remember ever seeing one. I have understood they had very delicate mechanisms, easy to break and very difficult to repair. I wonder if the Rossi is the same?

Tom, Here's a little trivia about the Rossi seven shooter copy of the Ladysmith. Some years ago at an annual meeting to the S&WCA, a member had on his sales table a Rossi copy of the Ladysmith. Show rules are that only S&Ws are allowed to be for sale, on sales tables, at the shows. The S&WCA Vice-President's duties include the post of "Sheriff of the Shows" to enforce the rules. Our VP, being a diligent member, correctly requested the seller to remove the offending Rossi from his table, which was done. However the offending seller pointed out that the show had a number of non-S&Ws available on a certain tables and the rules should apply to all. The tables cited were those that had the new, just imported and popular, Uberti made Navy Arms copies of the Schofield. Those tables had to close shop and quite a few members were not happy, as the Ubertis were being offered at a substantial discount by the importer, as a favor to the S&WCA. The original member who had the Rossi for sale, has been known as "Mr. Rossi" by his close friends ever since! Ed.

DWalt,
The Ladysmith's mechanisms were tedius to produce but reliable and not prone to beakage. The typical problem of blowing out the barrel throat was only caused by unknowing shooters incorrectly shooting 22 Long Rifle cartridges instead of 22 Longs that they were designed for.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Those little 'ol gals are just about as cute as it gets!

I've never seen one in person, and hope to one day.

That's a neat collection rounded out with the Rossi.

I did not know 'ROSSI' had produced this Model.

How interesting!

Love the Ladysmiths, and nice to see such nice ones!

What's the best way to take this rust off of the nickel Ladysmith barrel? I know that Flitz is recommended for putting a shine on healthy nickel but have heard that it's not good for nickel that is already flaking. What do the big dogs use?

(Click on the picture for a larger version.)

I have had very good results rubbing with a rust penatrant like Kroil, Breakfree or the brand of your choice and 0000 brass wool, not steel wool. get all the black corrosion off and any loose nickel flakes. Then follow up by polishing with Flitz until the exposed metal shines as bright as the remaining nickel. The shiny metal won't match perfectly but will blend with the shiny nickel and look 100% better. Rub in gun oil or wax when done to protect the bare metal spots.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Even kerosene or mineral spirits (paint thinner) work well for removing rust using copper wool. Most any type of penetrating oil will also work. Aside from possible plating degradation on nickeled guns, bore cleaning solvent (like Hoppe's, Shooter's Choice, etc.) also works. Hoppe's is usually my first choice for rust removal on non-plated metal.