MIM differences in 3rd Gen

[spistols]

I know the years are a little obscure in when Smith started using MIM parts. Here are two guns with black hammers and triggers, but they are different. I also listed one with silver hammer and trigger, which I am sure is not made of MIM parts.

My question is, are both black hammer/trigger guns made with MIM parts, or is the one with the concave hammer the only MIM gun? Is the smooth hammer a black flash chromed part, if that is what they call it?

 

[armorer951]

I believe they still refer to the "stainless" looking finish as "flash chromed". (2nd image)

The pistol in the first photo appears to have MIM parts, and the hammer and trigger in the last image appear to be forged blue parts. To confirm whether they are MIM or not, you can often see mold lines and "sprue" marks (small round indents) on the MIM parts. You will not see these artifacts on the forged parts....they will be smoth.

 

[Fastbolt]

I agree with armorer 951. The left pic appears to have the tub-shaped void of a MIM hammer, and the middle & right pics have flash-chromed & blued, machined carbon steel hammers. FWIW, the older carbon steel triggers are usually flatter across the trigger face than the MIM triggers, and have smoother, more uniformly shaped "ears" (which engage the V-notch in the drawbar head) than the older machined triggers.

Here are 4 hammers I once used in a pic for another post. The left 2 spurless hammers are machined carbon steel. The far left is from an early 6906, is flash-chromed and has serrations on the top. The second from the left was made for a "Value Line" model, is blued/black and has no serrations.

The 2 hammers on the right are MIM, with the only difference being one has a spur, and the other is spurless.

There have been some other variations made by the compnay at one time or another, depending on the model and production order (like a spurred hammer with a "ring" hole).

 

[spistols]

Great info, thank you.