1901 S&W?

[mreed911]

Bought at auction. I believe this is a 1901 38 Spl. SN 16589 (matches cylinder and under barrel) with a pinned barrel. Pics attached.

Would love help identifying her - I'm sending in the history letter request today to establish its heritage.

I need to gently de-rust her, but her action is still incredibly smooth and the cylinder not loose at all. VERY nice weapon!

Thanks for any help!

-- Mike












image url upload

 

[opoefc]

Welcome to the Forum. Your gun is a Model of 1899, 1st Model. Probably made near the end of the 1st Model production in about 1901 or 2. There is no Model of 1901. The extractor rod knob is a replacement. If the grips are original, they should be numbers to the gun also. Check the back side of the right grip panel. Ed.

 

[mreed911]

Thanks, I appreciate it. It's my first S&W, so I'm still learning. The serial number is "written" (etched?) into the back of the grip panel and matches. Appears as if by hand? Very faint. Thanks for that tip!

What do you mean about the extractor rod knob? Any reference pictures you can point me to?

I paid $200. Sounds like a fair price, yes? I'm hoping to de-rust her and figure out where to go from there. Advice on that is appreciated, too. I'm not looking to do ANYTHING quickly.

 

[mikepriwer]

Here is a picture of 3 1899's, so that you see what the extractor rod nob looks like.

Mike Priwer

 

[opoefc]

The extractor rod is the little doo-hickey you push rearward, when the cylinder is open, to extract the empty cases after you have fired the gun. Notice in the pics that Mike has posted, the muzzle end of the rod has the correct knob on it. On your gun the knob is a smaller nut. Probably made do from another gun to replace a lost original knob. These knob can work loose from repeated firings and then get lost before the shooter notices. Good idea to put some lok-tite on the threads on any guns that still have their original knobs. It appears this old war horse has been there, done that, in it's life, but keeps on ticking ! Worth the $200 you paid, if all it ever does is increase your knowledge about S&Ws! Ed.

 

[DWalt]

Virtually any K-frame that will still shoot under its own power will be worth $200 to someone today. In this case, yours is among the first of a very long line of these revolvers as made in many variations by S&W over the past 100+ years, and as such, it does hold considerable historic interest, even in its present condition. It's essentially the Ford Model T of hand ejector S&Ws.

 

[mikepriwer]

Model T, eh ?

Well, that's one way of putting it. I think of it as being only two engineering changes
away from what is produced today. The first change was the extractor rod, with its
center pin and locking lug under the barrel, in 1902. The second change was the
thickening of the barrel where it meets the frame face, in about 1904. At that point,
its the model for what is produced today.

Regards, Mike Priwer

 

[handejector]

Model T, eh ?

Well, that's one way of putting it. I think of it as being only two engineering changes
away from what is produced today. The first change was the extractor rod, with its
center pin and locking lug under the barrel, in 1902. The second change was the
thickening of the barrel where it meets the frame face, in about 1904. At that point,
its the model for what is produced today.

Regards, Mike Priwer

Silly me.
I also always kinda liked the rebound slide, extractor dowels, revised cylinder stops, and hammer blocks.

 

[mikepriwer]

Lee

The two changes I mentioned are very much observable. just by looking at the guns.
The lug under the barrel is the most prominent, and the thickening of the barrel resulted
in the shoulder on the barrel. Interestingly, this second change also increased the
threaded diameter of the barrel threads from 0.500 to, maybe, 0.540, where I think it
still remains today.

Of course, there are many other engineering changes, mostly over the earlier years,
but they are all internal, and don't have any impact on the external appearance of
the gun. The revised cylinder stop is an interesting change, because it added the
5th frame screw, which is certainly visible. However, a post-WW2 engineering change
did away with that trigger-guard frame screw, restoring the appearance to the Model
of 1899.

The rebound slide development was, no doubt, very important. Not only did it vastly
improve the trigger pull, but it also greatly simplified the lockwork. However, from a
visual appearance, unless you know exactly where to look at the ends of the frame
studs, its not obvious at all.

And, of course, there have been lots of metallurgical and heat treating changes that
are very significant, but again, they don't change the appearance of the gun.

Finally, and most interesting from my perspective, is that the much-heralded Model of
1905, with its innovative square butt, met its demise ten or more years ago. The
frames are all round-butt now, just like the Model of 1899.

Regards, Mike Priwer