Help ID a K-22

[DWalt]

"I threw together a pic of a K frame and a J frame. Which is which?"
From your picture alone, one cannot distinguish between the two grip sizes, and in fact they are dimensionally very close. However, they are not dimensionally close enough to be interchangeable. The best way to tell is to put them against each other - RH K-frame onto the LH N-frame. You will see the difference.

 

[glowe]

. . . From your picture alone, one cannot distinguish between the two grip sizes, and in fact they are dimensionally very close.

THANK YOU!!! That is the exact point I was trying to make. The picture is of the section of the stocks that make some people call the J frame a high horn, while the exact same feature on a K frame cannot be called high horn. It is apparent it is an arbitrary term and that was what I was trying to understand. Not a company named feature, not found in S&W catalogs, etc.

 

[Hondo44]

Gary,

You're missing the entire point and meaning of the terms, which are not at all arbitrary. The high horn/med horn terms only distinguish between three different size horns of J frame Magnas! It is irrelevant to and doesn't apply to K or N Magnas, both only have one standard size horn.

Are you seeing the horn SIZE differences on these J frame Magna stocks?

None of the collector terms are company named features or found in S&W catalogs. They could give a wit if we notice the size difference.

 

[DWalt]

"The picture is of the section of the stocks that make some people call the J frame a high horn, while the exact same feature on a K frame cannot be called high horn."

Correct. It was used only on those J frames (Centennial and Bodyguard) with the hammer enclosed. This makes the frame wider in the hammer area, and a longer "horn" is required to cover it. Thus the "high horn." That should be apparent from the picture in posting #9.

As earlier noted, there many seemingly "arbitrary" terms used by collectors that S&W never used, and that can be a source of confusion. A prime example is "change." You will often see references made such as "Model of 1905, second change" Problem is, S&W did not use that terminology. The "change" nomenclature was invented by collectors back in the 1930s to distinguish among mechanical differences incorporated into revolver production at various times.

 

[Hondo44]

Correct, there are only two sets of J Magna stocks in the photo that have the same horn size proportion to the stock size as the K frame Magnas.

 

[linde]

. . . Are you seeing the horn SIZE differences on these J frame Magna stocks? . . .

It might be even easier to see the differences off the gun . . . check out post #2 in this thread for a side-by-side comparison.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...4-s-w-model-38-grips.html?highlight=high*horn

Russ

 

[Hondo44]

linde,

That is a good illustration. The Centennial high horn is even more dramatically taller.

Med high horn from Bodyguards on left, Post 1953 I and J frame ctr, and Pre war I size/pre 1953 Magna I frame, and pre 1953 J (Baby) frame right:

Photo by linde

 

[glowe]

Like they say - a picture is worth a thousand words! Now let's talk about ejector rod knobs.

 

[md8232]

Thanks for the replies. There is a lot to learn for us new guys.

Found a possible birth year gun.
Does K98116 sound right for a 1950 K-22 Masterpiece?

 

[JP@AK]

Does K98116 sound right for a 1950 K-22 Masterpiece?

Yes it does. Congrats!