Model 1917, aresenal refinish??

[digi-shots]

This one definitely looks refinished. There's no arsenal markings on it that I can find.

I have read that the military reconditioned and rebuilt these 1917's from time to time. The markings on the butt of the gun look good. S/N 136168 on butt, cylinder and barrel flat match.

The left side of the frame has fairly strong refinish marks and a portion of the ordnance bomb stamping can be seen.

The serial number on the barrel flat is very crisp but has an additional stamping with the number 7795. This same 7795 also appears on the upper and lower portions of the cylinder crane. (the other number on the crane is S&W's assembly number).

In Charlie Pate's book, he mentions a Springfield Armory document regarding reworks... "requirement for small, steel number stamps for the repair process saying, 'Revolvers are not interchangeale and parts must be stamped when disassembled".

Does anyone know what these additional stampings are..?
Arsenal markings??

Thanks!

 

[Alk8944]

Your gun does not appear to be refinished. Look at how the polishing marks continue straight through the frame stud, if it had been refinished this would not be the case, they would go around the frame stud. Late WWI production M 1917s were not well polished, yours looks completely normal for an original finish.

Are the stocks numbered to the gun? That would be an extremely rare situation for an arsenal refinish.

 

[Masterpiece]

"requirement for small, steel number stamps for the repair process saying, 'Revolvers are not interchangeale and parts must be stamped when disassembled".

Hi Linda,

The above quote you posted from Charlie's Book is referring to the 7795 Numbers you are seeing stamped on the Barrel & Yoke!! These are the No.'s that were stamped on the Revolvers during the process of refinishing to make sure the original parts found their way back together when these were reassembled!! I would also except you'll see this No. stamped somewhere on the Grip-Frame & Cylinder as well!! Also, another clue as it being an Arsenal Rebuild is the fact that it had a Mis-Matched Pair of Grips installed which is sometimes seen on these Arsenal Rebuilds!! If I'm seeing the photos correctly it has an Early-Issue Concave-Top Grip on the Right Side as well as a Later-Issue Convex, or Round-Top, Grip on the Left!!

I would think Charlie Flick, (ordnanceguy), will see this Thread sooner or later & he'll be able to give you a much more detailed description of what to expect with these Arsenal-Rebuilt 1917's if I've missed something along the line!!

Nice-Looking Revolver though!!

 

[Masterpiece]

Linda,

Alk8944 may very well have brought up a good point in regards to the Finish on the Later Production 1917's that I didn't think of when I replied to your Post, but I still believe there's a good possibility that this has been Refinished by the Extra No.'s that are stamped on the Barrel Flat & in the Yoke Area as well as the Mis-Matched Grips!! Although the Grips could very well be something that happened in later years!! Hopefully Charlie will be along to clear this up!!

If I'm wrong I'll be more than happy to apologize for any misinformation if I was incorrect in my observations!! I'm certainly not an Expert when it comes to these 1917 Rebuilds, but on the other hand, I'm not a Novice either!! Guess we'll have to wait & see what Charlie has to say about it!!

 

[digi-shots]

Hi Linda,

The above quote you posted from Charlie's Book is referring to the 7795 Numbers you are seeing stamped on the Barrel & Yoke!! These are the No.'s that were stamped on the Revolvers during the process of refinishing to make sure the original parts found their way back together when these were reassembled!! I would also except you'll see this No. stamped somewhere on the Grip-Frame & Cylinder as well!! Also, another clue as it being an Arsenal Rebuild is the fact that it had a Mis-Matched Pair of Grips installed which is sometimes seen on these Arsenal Rebuilds!! If I'm seeing the photos correctly it has an Early-Issue Concave-Top Grip on the Right Side as well as a Later-Issue Convex, or Round-Top, Grip on the Left!!

I would think Charlie Flick, (ordnanceguy), will see this Thread sooner or later & he'll be able to give you a much more detailed description of what to expect with these Arsenal-Rebuilt 1917's if I've missed something along the line!!

Nice-Looking Revolver though!!

Thanks for the comments!

Just checked the gun again.... no marks at all on the inside of the grips, and yes, one is the earlier concave design. It's always bugged me that they didn't match, but that's part of its history and I'll probably leave them mis-matched.

The extra "new" stamping of 7795 also appears on the backside of the cylinder hidden by the extractor star.

The hammer, trigger and lanyard ring still have case hardening color on them.

I really can't remember what I paid for this one, however,
a friend of mine just recently found a 1917 with the same extra stampings. I saw the gun and it looks very nice, other than the 2nd set of numbers. Any idea of what an aresenal reworked/refinished 1917 might be valued at?

 

[Masterpiece]

Linda,

I'm assuming that even though the Cylinder has the 7795 stamping under the Extractor Star that the Cylinder also has the Original Serial No. 136168 stamped on the Cyl. Face...Correct?? When you pulled the Grips to see if they were Serial No.'d, did you see the 7795 on the Side of the Grip-Frame anywhere?? Could have been Left or Right Side if I remember correctly!! Just curious!!

Also, the more I think about it, even though the Later Production 1917's do sometimes exhibit a lesser degree of polish to them on occasion, I don't remember ever seeing one of them have as rough of a polish as yours has!! Not saying it doesn't have the possibility of being original, but I believe it's highly unlikely!! Also, given the fact that the Flaming Bomb is nearly gone & also no evidence left of the Inspector Stamping that is generally seen in the Upper Rear Triggerguard Bow Area I believe this to be rebuilt!!

As far as it's value, I'm probably not the best one to ask for a speculation of value at this point in time as I've been out of the game for a bit now, but I'm sure there are others here that are more capable of giving you a more current idea of it's worth in today's market & will be along shortly to give you a fair assessment of it's worth!!

Where's the "Expert" when you need him?? Ha!!~Ha!! No worries, I'm sure he'll be along sooner or later to give us "The Rest Of The Story"!! Hopefully I'm not too far off base!!

 

[mkk41]

Most original Smiths I've seen are are darn near toolmark free. Most original Colts show sanding , filing and mill marks.

I'm thinking it was 'cleaned up' and reblued post- Gov't ownership by a surplus importer or dealer. The added 7795 number stamps tell me they knew to keep the frame , crane and cylinder together.

I'm thinking that if it had been refinished at a US arsenal, it would have been Parkerized. From what I've read , most guns were Parkerized during R&R at US arsenals from 1918 on.