A Spanish Ruby Perhaps?

[rags]

A friend of mine got this from his Uncle and we're trying to figure out what it is.

Eibar proof house
"N" = 1942
Not sure about "EA" barrel stamp.
Like the flaming bomb! US Navy AO is the same with wings...

Any thoughts? Sorry for all the pictures! Thought they'd help.

 

[Tex1001]

I'm no Ruby expert, but it looks a bit small to qualify as a military grade "Ruby". Looks like more of a pocket pistol.
Have you tried to find magazines yet?

 

[s&wchad]

EA appears to be the code for Arostegui Eulogio, Eibar Spain.

It looks like there’s an inscription in the sight channel. What does it say?

 

[Absalom]

I'm no Ruby expert, but it looks a bit small to qualify as a military grade "Ruby". Looks like more of a pocket pistol.

Many of the Eibar gunmakers who manufactured the full-size military-contract Ruby pattern pistols in .32/7.65 also produced a compact .25 variant for the civilian market, modeled on the FN Baby/Colt Vest Pocket the same way the Ruby was a copy of the 1903 Browning design.

This looks like a quite well-made pistol of that type.

 

[s&wchad]

Bob,
I looked closer at your photo and that’s an F.A., not an EA. That’s the mark of Francisco Arizmendi. The grips with the eagle? holding a shield with a star and a crescent moon seem to indicate that it’s a Roland pistol.

 

[Absalom]

Bob,
I closer at your photo and that’s an F.A., not an EA. That’s the mark of Francisco Arizmendi. The grips with the eagle? holding a shield with a star and a crescent moon seem to indicate that it’s a Roland pistol.

The Roland seems to be a bit different in shape, around the safety, and the heel release, and also clearly labeled as such.

The Spanish pistols of this type I've come across, both full and small size, have all had clear labeling like this Roland; I wonder whether this slide has been scrubbed and refinished at some point.

As this comparison shows, with the exception of the missing grip safety, an understandable structural simplification, the OP's pistol appears very similar to the Vest Pocket.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Side story (AKA, thread drift!): in the early 80's on a fall Thursday night our gunsmith was trying to dissuade us from being gunsmiths! He gave my best friend and I a full size Ruby 32. It was an "L" shaped ball of rust! I ask about a magazine's availability? "You get that piece of junk working and I'll give you the mag!" We took it to my friends service station. In 2.5 to 3 hrs, we had it disassembled, sand blasted white, Parkerized, assembled and firing! Our gunsmith was more POed than impressed. Having never seen a Ruby before, it took a little long. I think we could do it now in 1 to 1.5 hours.

That gunsmith ducked out on his family about 6 months later, and still owes me some merchandise!

Ivan

 

[Mrnurse]

That gunsmith ducked out on his family about 6 months later, and still owes me some merchandise!
Time for Ivan the Terrible to exact Old Russian Justice.

 

[rags]

I'm no Ruby expert, but it looks a bit small to qualify as a military grade "Ruby". Looks like more of a pocket pistol.
Have you tried to find magazines yet?

It has one mag however he didn’t send me the picture.

 

[LVSteve]

It has a lot more markings and proofs than mine.

Mystery vest pocket pistol

 

[El Pasota]

I have to check, but I think that on the photo, it is not the good model which is put if we take into account the description which is made.
This says that it dates from the 1920s, but if I judge by the markings, it would rather be a weapon made after the year 1931.

 

[2152hq]

Probably refinished as the Spanish auto pistol proof marks are polished flat and blued over. No evidence of being stamped into the finished/blued surface of the completed pistol as would have been done.
That leaves the tell-tale raised edges around the stampings.

The 2-tone blue and belt grinder finish is another good clue to a refinish.

I think the makers initial/letter code was probably swiped clean from the frame in the polishing.
Belt grinder polishing is very efficient and small details can dissappear quickly if you're not careful, or if you want them too because they are unsightly. A rusted, pitted area comes clean quick.

** The pistol is missing it's 'disconnector'***
A small flat bar that sits in the verticle groove in the frame under the left grip panel.
As the slide retracts upon firing (or manualy), the disconnector is pushed downward and pushes the trigger bar out of engagement with the sear so it can't fire out of battery.

I'd guess, and it's just my guess that the grip panels that are on the gun don't belong to the pistol.
Though they 'fit' well and the screw holes line up,
The dried oil/dirt imprint from the grips, especially the left panel, doesn't quite match the shape of the existing panel.
The cut out for the safety in the left panel looks like it was made to fit another pistol.

I'm thinking this set of (Spanish) pistol grips was from a parts box and simply went on to the gun after refinishing to complete the pistol.

 

[leonardocarrillo]

EA appears to be the code for Arostegui Eulogio, Eibar Spain.

It looks like there’s an inscription in the sight channel. What does it say?

I agree with you that the letters EA correspond to EULOGIO AROSTEGUI, the weapons of this manufacturer were sold under the brands EA, BLUE, AZU and perhaps some other.