Is This A Factory Rework Date Stamp?
- Thread starter quinn
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Looks to me like it might be 10.45
It's a date code, Randy. It looks like October 1945 but the 2nd digit is hard to make out. Could be a 2...
My eyesight is not what it once was, but that's what I see also...
...BenWell, hard to make out it is; but the stamp is where it should be, and if the first two numbers are those indicating a month of the year, I'm told S&W's Service Department was open for business throughout WWII.
Then again, if the first two digits do not indicate a month of the year, whose to say he who stamped them didn't make the mistake of grabbing the wrong punch? It ain't like he could erase his boo-boo, and start over.
Ralph Tremaine
Then again, if the first two digits do not indicate a month of the year, whose to say he who stamped them didn't make the mistake of grabbing the wrong punch? It ain't like he could erase his boo-boo, and start over.
Ralph Tremaine
Model19man
Member
That's not what I see. The year is clearly 1945. The month is a bit harder but maybe 1 (January) 9 so maybe the revolver was reworked on January 9 1945?
If the paperwork exists it might be interesting. Or not.......
Was the work date stamp intended for the factory to keep track of their work and not really for the public?
He makes a good point! The only date stamps I've seen up close and personal are a month number and a year number---and the oldest one is 4 60. I have no clue as to whether or not they ever threw in a day number (at no extra charge)!!
Ralph Tremaine
I take that back! I had an RM with FIVE stars stamped here, there and yonder, and there were two five or six digit numbers stamped on the grip frame; and either one or both could've been dates.
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The oldest on any of my guns is on this Model of 1903, shipped 8/1903...Went back for unknown work 11/1918...
...BenAttachments
OP
The oldest on any of my guns is on this Model of 1903, shipped 8/1903...Went back for unknown work 11/1918...
Ther's that period between the month and year that I was questioning. The phoos on my post look clearer than the digits in my hand. Thanks guys for the responses.
You'll see periods---and dashes (-)--------and nothing.
Given my blissful ignorance (and what I've been told by some of the hipper hip dudes hereabouts), that's normal---the numbers tell the tale.
As to the purpose of the numbers, again what I've been told, they're there for the benefit of S&W's Service department folks----simply confirming prior work---and indicating the when of it---which is to say they'll have a file on the gun.
Ralph Tremaine
Given my blissful ignorance (and what I've been told by some of the hipper hip dudes hereabouts), that's normal---the numbers tell the tale.
As to the purpose of the numbers, again what I've been told, they're there for the benefit of S&W's Service department folks----simply confirming prior work---and indicating the when of it---which is to say they'll have a file on the gun.
Ralph Tremaine
Sadly not all, Ralph...I have two date stamped guns for which no record could be found...
...Ben
Can we all agree service work was done some month in 1945?
WRT locating the service records, it is my understanding that these records were filed by customer, not serial number. So, it is no surprise to me that some records can't be retrieved without knowing who sent the gun to S&W for work.
WRT locating the service records, it is my understanding that these records were filed by customer, not serial number. So, it is no surprise to me that some records can't be retrieved without knowing who sent the gun to S&W for work.
RM Vivas
US Veteran
Smith & Wessons repair dept. was --very-- busy during the war.
The deal was they could fix guns using only parts on hand. Once they were out of a part, they could not make new ones. I don't doubt that some k-frame parts that were supposed to go to Victory revolvers wound up in repair bins. Everything else tho.....once it was gone, it was gone.
On very rare occasions, which I have documented elsewhere on the forum, the repair dept. would take pre-war parts that were not yet completely machined and would finish them by hand for a repair job. This sort of thing was uncommon and done only in very special cases. A very special case included a .38/44 HD that I'm assisting someone with right now that I can't speak about until the publicly announce it, but its a gun where the factory said they were out of parts but because of the guns 'special history' they would make them up.
The Repair Dept. would also make up 'new' guns from condemned parts for special people or special purposes. Almost always these were either M&P's or Heavy Duty/Outdoorsmans. On at least one occassion, they did construct a Magnum using a variety of parts.
Best,
RM Vivas
Almost certainly January 9, 1945. You can make out the 9 if you enlarge the image. Below is the enlarged stamping and a clear stamping of a serial number with a "1" and "9".
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Yes, I agree 19.45.
But, the common practice was to stamp the month and year when the work was performed or completed, or nearly so, and not the specific date. I assume if this was the specific date, it would be 1.9.45 and not 19.45.
My guess is the work was completed likely October 1945, and a '9' die was picked up instead of a '0' and the employee left it as 19.45 instead of 10.45. A less likely possibility is it should have been 12.45. The only other two digit month is November ('11'), but that seems unlikely as the '1' was already in hand and creating an '11' simply meant punching that '1' a second time.
Has a Historical Foundation deep dive been considered?
And, lastly, to clarify: I stated the month and date code was applied not when received but when shipped, or not much before that because I have a Triple Lock revolver that a Tennessee sheriff appears to have blown up, or nearly so, and the Historical Foundation did a deep dive producing correspondence from September and October 1929. The revolver was received by Smith & Wesson before, if not well before, the end of September 1929 and it was returned with the work completed in October 1929. The date code is '10.29', telling me this month and date code was not stamped by Smith & Wesson revolvers that needed work completed on them immediately upon receipt.
I think records are first searched for by serial number, so the digitized records should find the gun without any date under normal circumstances. Of course not all the documents were available. Also, no records for guns returned before 1920 are digitized, making it very difficult to search. In those cases, an accurate return date is most important.
OP
I had another set of eyes look at the stamp with the gun in hand. I think the findal concensus is Oct. 1945. I also as the SWHF for a deep dive, but no new info was found. Thanks all.
