I just received my “mystery” S&W .22 from a recent GB auction. I could see from the terrible auction photos it was a S&W four inch, .22 and assumed it was probably a model 18-(something), but it was only advertised as a “Smith and Wesson” and no model number or other information was in description. I bid what I figured it was worth as a shooter grade and was high bidder.

Luckily, it is in amazing condition and with the exception of a couple very tiny blemishes and rubber grips, it looks like new with barely a turn line. (I quickly replaced the grips)

It is marked 18 (without a dash) and has 4 screws. The serial number is K4335xx (on crane and frame butt) and according to my research puts it at 1961, but isn’t that supposed to be 18-2 territory? I thought that the 18 no dash ended in 1959.

If it is actually a mis-marked model 18-2, shouldn’t the 4th screw be gone?

I’m certainly not complaining either way and to be honest, I also wanted an excuse to brag a bit about this beauty.

__________________
Free advice is worth the price

My book also says 1961. My book also says it should be a -1 or -2. Go figure. Check to see if it has the -1 or -2 changes. Pretty wood.

__________________
No life story has happy end.

The ejector rod in the above posted pics indicates it is a Model 18 (no dash).
The 18-1 ejector rod had a small channel cut right behind the knurling to ID the new LH threads just in case the two batches got co mingled .. (pictured below)


(IIRC Model 18-1 and early 18-2 also had the letter "L" stamped on the cylinder face to ID them as LH threaded)

The 18-2 revision eliminated the trigger guard screw.

PS although the target stocks have been sanded at the heel they are also period correct for your revolver.

I see it has a 4-Screw frame and I think loss of the 4th screw was one of the changes, no? Maybe this gun was a late bloomer in the assembly area?

__________________
No life story has happy end.

K4335xx indicates almost certainly 1961 manufacture and shipping. But -1 is supposed to have started in 1959 with the change to a LH extractor rod thread. So that is a bit strange. Could the cylinder and rod have been a later replacement? The -2 would not have the screw ahead of the trigger guard.

I think bragging is entirely in order----you might want to post a little sign along with it----something along the lines of EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!

Ralph Tremaine

I just received it today and have no knowledge of its history other than it came from a pawn shop and appears to be completely original (except grips). Everything is tight and new feeling with almost no visible wear. All of the screw heads look to be untouched. I can't imagine it having replacement parts, but I guess anything is possible.

I'm not sure if it's worthy of getting a letter, but that may be my best option if I want to know for sure.

__________________
Free advice is worth the price

Wild Guess
Assembler to shop foreman, "I found a K22 frame with the screw hole for the cylinder stop spring. What do you want me to do with it?" Go grab one of the left over cylinders with the right hand thread ejector assembly from the parts dept and put it together as a 18 no dash.

S&W motto, waste nothing. Some motto's stick around a long time.

IMO not out of the norm with these for comparison :

Model 19, K 411823 March 1961
Model 19, K 422034 May 1961

YOUR M-18 K 4335XX

Model 15-1 K 436822 June 1961
Model 19-1 K 466523 Nov 1962

I'll call that a worth find! A pawn shop you say, not an auction? You done well!

__________________
Old paratrooper in NC

"I just received my “mystery” S&W .22 from a recent GB auction."

Seller was a pawn shop but the purchase was made through a Gunbroker auction as stated in original post. First sentence in original post no less.

__________________
No life story has happy end.

It was a pawn shop that was auctioning it on GB. They didn't know what it was and listed it only as a Smith and Wesson. If they would have mentioned it was a model 18 in the description, it would have attracted more attention and I probably would have been out-bid.

__________________
Free advice is worth the price

Well, you can lead a horse to water; but there ain't no accounting for some folks inclination to be lazy---or ignorant----or

So count your blessings!

Ralph Tremaine

The date an engineering change was authorized and the date it was actually implemented for a specific model are usually very different. The change to the extractor rod and stem with a left hand thread was authorized on December 22, 1959, but generally not implemented until 1962.

Bill

Tony,

That's a fine catch!!

People put way too much credence in the dates of changes and shipping. They're the least reliable of all S&W "trail markers". It's the features of each individual gun that's most important to identify what it is.

There's no mysteries about your gun, everything is kosher. The K22 Masterpieces were out selling the 4" models then. Your gun sat in the frame rack before being assembled a year or two later and shipped, hence it still has a 4 screw frame. It's completely normal for it to still be a 1961 Mod 18 pre dash especially with the lack of the engineering changes matching the lack of dash numbers. The ones that give us headaches are those that don't match; dash #s and no corresponding changes or changes with no corresponding dash #s. There's plenty of those around!

I have no doubt all parts are original. And the evidence is on the gun. The serial # is usually no longer on the barrel and cyl in that period (see below). HOWEVER all you have to do is check the back side of the extractor star because it's still stamped there. I bet it matches the gun # and your gun is 'golden'.


POST WAR SERIAL # LOCATIONS:
To confirm all parts are original, one can check for the 6 matching serial # locations on post war Hand Ejectors thru ~1956 and a few as much as 3 years later.

1. Gun butt - or fore strap on I frames/pre war single shots with grips that cover the butt
2. Barrel - bottom of barrel or in extractor shroud
3. Yoke - on rear face only visible thru a chamber with a flashlight (except the .32 Model 1896 and no doubt a few others)
4. Extractor star - backside
5. Cylinder - rear face
6. Right stock only - on back; stamped, scratched or penciled depending on vintage and stock material. (except most post war target grips because individual fitting not required.)


DECREASING SERIAL # LOCATIONS:
The number of serial # locations or if a Model/dash # is stamped on a particular S&W Hand Ejector has more to do with where it was in the production/assembly stages then when change orders were issued, therefore as we've learned to expect with S&W, there are great variances and exceptions galore.

Officially, on May 1, 1957 S&W eliminated the Soft Fitting Operation: So it generally corresponds with model numbers ordered June 12, 1957. It was no longer necessary to routinely stamp the serial number on the barrel, cylinder & yoke arm rear surface and show up unstamped over a transition period. So guns in process or in inventory as of 5/1/57 can still have more than 3 and up to 6 locations, and guns shipped after this time may have some of the former number locations because assembly was done over time and as inventory from the old process was used up.

The 6 serial # locations were down to only 3 left on the majority of models (but not all) from c. late 1957 to 1959 which are:

1. Butt

2. Extractor star - backside

3. Right stock – backside (except most post war target grips because individual fitting not required.)


ASSEMBLY (factory work) #s:
These multi-digit numbers of 3 to 5 digits, are on the yoke at the hinge, in the ‘yoke cut’ on frame (accompanied with a stamped inspector letter) opposite the yoke near the hinge, and inside of the sideplate, for the pre war and early post war period. Once the gun is shipped, the only use for the assembly # is to confirm the three parts it's stamped on are original.

In 1957 the assembly # in the yoke cut of the frame was relocated to the left side of grip frame after model #s were assigned and the serial # was eventually added in the ‘yoke cut’ where the assembly #, now moved to the left side of the grip frame, used to be. You know they are assembly (factory work) #s because of those 3 locations that always match on guns that are original, and that’s the only usefulness for them after guns leave the factory; still used to this day, long after serial number locations decreased.


MODEL NUMBER STAMPING:
began eventually, sometimes months after being ordered June 12, 1957, but the serial number was not yet stamped in the ‘yoke cut’ of the frame.


YOKE CUT STAMPING of the assembly # vs. serial #:
changes after Model # stamping got more confusing. When Model Number stamping began some months after being ordered June 12, 1957, the serial number was not yet stamped in the frame ‘yoke cut’ on the frame side of the yoke hinge. But in the l958-1959 time period as the use of target grips became more common and if the revolver was ordered with or was standard with target stocks which covered the butt serial #, the serial number is also stamped in the yoke cut of the frame. The assembly number would also be in this area as it was stamped on the gun long before the revolver was serial numbered.

But soon after, all models have the serial # stamped on the frame in the 'yoke cut', except on the smaller frames at first where it just didn't fit well. So eventually after the serial # was stamped on the frame in the ‘yoke cut’, the frame assembly # from the 'yoke cut' was moved to the left side of the grip frame. The 3 assembly # locations, on yoke, left side of grip frame and backside of side plate remain to this day. However, the post 1959-60 yoke cut serial # location on these later guns is the reason for many pre 1957 guns to be incorrectly registered by the useless assembly (work) # on the frame in the yoke cut.

Therefore by about the end of 1959, serial # locations went up to 4:

1. Butt

2. Frame in yoke cut

3. Extractor star until ~ 1980 when the new extractor star shape was introduced.

4. Back of right stock, until ~ 1979 when no longer hand fitted, (except most post war target grips because individual fitting not required).


EXTRACTOR STAR Serial #:
“…were numbered from the early Hand Ejector models through about 1980. They were numbered because the ratchet lugs had been fitted to each particular gun’s lockwork, and it would be separated from the gun at some points of finishing. This is true for blue, nickel, and stainless guns.

"I've observed a lot more since I made that statement. Oddly, I have often observed all original 4 Screw K and N frames with numbered cylinders when none of the other parts were numbered, including the extractor.

“Obviously, something had changed in the fitting and/or finishing sequence for a short time that did not require numbering the extractor.

“Apparently, that sequence was changed again, and we arrive at the long used process of serial numbers on the frame and extractor only.” Regards, Lee Jarrett

Once the new shaped extractor star is introduced apparently beginning c. early 1980’s, and completed on all models by c. mid 1990s, it seems to have been coincident with deleting serial # stamping. Only the butt and yoke cut stamping locations remain to this day. But again with exceptions like anything S&W, as we some later introductions with laser engraved serial #s in new locations.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

You are correct, the extractor star does have a matching serial number on the back side. I didn't notice it before, but its definitely there and matches the frame/crane.

I guess the lesson here is when it comes to S&W serial numbers and model designations there is sometimes a bit of over lap through transition periods. It makes sense from a manufacturing stand point, but can be confusing for the end user trying to nail down definitive model production and distribution dates.

Thank you for all of the very interesting information. It is greatly appreciated!

__________________
Free advice is worth the price

Tony:

Beautiful K-22 Combat Masterpiece! For reference, my 4-Screw Model marked 18 (with no dash) is in the same range as yours (SN K433575) and although I have not ever dated it, I always believed it to be shipped in 1961. Here are a few terrible photos of my gun.





Congrats and thanks for sharing,

__________________
Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Very nice early Model 18 K22. I just took my latest purchace, a much earlier 1951 K38 Combat Masterpiece, to the range and found it to be very accurate. am sure yours can be a tack driver as well, just smaller holes in the paper. Now that you got all the ship date guesses out of the way, the obvious question for collectors is how much did you pay? It is not being nosy, but collectors want to keep tabs on prices paid for S&Ws in high finish condition. It is obvious that a premium was due for the gun you just bought.

__________________
Gary
SWCA 2515

Thank you for the information on your Model 18. I guess you could say we're in the "same range". We are only 5 serial numbers apart!

__________________
Free advice is worth the price

Don't hate me.

Smith & Wesson - Revolvers at GunBroker.com : 793878265

__________________
Free advice is worth the price

Good for you. Just love when I come across a bargain. If one keeps looking, there are always nice S&Ws that come in under the radar once and awhile. My 99% 1951 CM was about $100 more, and I think I did fine on that one, so you did very well indeed.

__________________
Gary
SWCA 2515