I have an oldish (made in 1994) Model 442 (no dash) and a brand new 642-1 (no IL). One among many differences between these two revolvers is the mainspring swivel. On the 442 the swivel is metal on the 642 it's rubber(ish).

Any thoughts on the relative virtue of the rubber over the metal? I have found the metal version much easier to work with in regards to extracting the mainspring. I've tried the metal one in the 642 and it works fine. The socket in the frame is identical. I'd actually like to change the rubber out for the metal. The problem I'm having is finding a part number for the metal one. S&W lists the same PN for both revolvers. I'm inferring that S&W has superceded the old metal one with the new rubber one using the same PN. Anybody know of a source (NOS) for the metal ones. I'd like to downgrade both my 642 and 317.

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NRA Benefactor

I was never able to source metal ones but would like some myself.

Try Numrich Arms
Numrich Gun Parts Corporation

I bought 3 a few years ago from Brownells and they were metal.
MAINSPRING SWIVEL - Brownells