I had two of my Model 28-2 revolvers out of the vault today, and I noticed some subtle changes in the two over the span of a little over 12 years. I thought they were identical, but I see that some probable manufacturing shortcuts/cosmetic changes were taken in the 1980 gun compared to the 1968 gun. I'm sure there was nothing functional that was affected, and it's only on close examination that these changes become evident. So for the students of this fine revolver, I give you some non-documented changes to muse on.

John

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Interesting comparison.. Thanks for posting.

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Eccentric old coot

To me, the older ones are more aesthetically pleasing. The truncated front sight seemed to start around the introduction of the L frames, about 1980. It just seems incomplete to me, don't know why Smith started doing that.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Thanks for posting.

I don't own an early S serial. The one in my safe is a 1975 6".

Just put $ down today on another one LNIB from the 1979 era that I could not pass up.

Take a measurement of the cylinder latch, appears to be a whisker longer in the newer model. Or my eyes are playing tricks on me.

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Dave Th.

The touches that they eliminated, aren't they called dehorning? As on a muzzle crown or any other sharp edge that might catch on something? That is what you would especially want on a concealed carry gun.

Or is that something else?

Well, the truncated front sight actually adds a sharp edge, although a small one.

What I want to know is what year did they change the size of the rollmark on the 28-2 that says "Smith & Wesson"?

On the barrel of my '73 28-2, it is significantly smaller than on the barrel of my 1964 one.

It's interesting to me that on the two pictured in this thread, the marks seem to be the same size.

Anyone know?

Also, is the truncated front sight on later guns still technically a Baughman?

I forgot to point this out in the pictures, but the "SMITH & WESSON" stamping on the left side of the barrel of the 1980 gun is considerably deeper than on the 1968 version. It may be that they changed the die as the older one became blunted. Dimensionally, they are the same, though. I changed the illustration in the OP to reflect this.

John

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The cylinder releases on the two guns are dimensionally the same. There is a very slight difference in the scale of the two pictures.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

This is a great thread and thank you for spending the time and effort on this analysis.

I am wondering if at least some of the differences were due simply to the variation in the workmanship and diligence of different employees. That is, are there other 1980 produced guns that are closer to the 1968 specimen and vice versa?

Playing the devil's advocate here: you are comparing one gun from 1968 with one gun from 1980. Is it really possible to say either gun is a good representative of its year of manufacture?

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You're shy a few manners.

Thanks, and I understand that if you're referring to it being stamped deeper into the metal. But what I'm referring to is...let's call it the "font size". Or "type size". The lettering on my '64 28-2 is larger. So that's what I'm asking...any idea when they changed the size, itself?

When I get time, I'll add a photo to this posting, or to this thread which might illustrate better what I'm talking about.

You make a good point, and the answer is that I don't know. This is really a "snapshot" of a couple of moments in time. I'm guessing that manufacturing standards and quality control procedures were uniform at the time of each gun's manufacture, and that these two are probably at least somewhat representative of the standards of the time.

Here is a picture of the 1968 gun and one made exactly a year earlier, in January of 1967. The front sights are much the same, although the one on the 6" barrel appears slightly taller, and the bottom of the slope is slightly blunted at its terminus. Barrel time yields different impact points, so a different height may have been standard for the 6" guns. The stampings on the barrels are the same, but it appears that the beveling on the cylinder flutes is more aggressive on the 1968 gun. The beveling on the rear of the cylinders is identical. The bevel on the rear of the barrels is the same. The top gun was purchased new by me, as was the 1968 model, which was later owned by my father. I give you that individual workmen probably turn out slightly different guns - that's probably more evident in the beveling on the flutes, which was undoubtedly done with a few strokes of a file in each case.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -