Please help

[Paul 313]

I recently inherited a revolver that was my grandfather's that he had given to my mother. I can find no information about it and I know very little about revolvers. I'm attaching photos of the pistol, please let me know if more info is needed. It is a. 38 special

 

[Art Doc]

Not an expert but looks very early. A Military & Police Model of 1899 maybe. Someone with better info will be along.

 

[delcrossv]

Art Doc nails it. It's a Model of 1899. First in a long line of fine guns leading to our present Model 10.

Looks like it's been refinished nickel sometime in the last 120 years or so. There's a knob that's missing on the end of the extractor rod. Replacements are available on Ebay. Look at threads below, a similar knob request was made in the past few days.

They work best with lead bulleted, standard pressure .38 Special ammo.

If you post the serial number on the butt of the gun, we can get you a possible shipping date.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome! Correct on the ID above, likely from about 1900-1901. It was the first K or medium frame Hand Ejector (swing-out cylinder) revolver and also the first made in .38 Special. Its mechanical descendants number in the multiples of millions produced.

If you are interested, a letter of authenticity would give you its exact factory age (the ship or sales date) and to where it was sent. If your grandfather bought it new it might have interesting information to your family.

http://www.swhistoricalfoundation.com/swhf_letter.pdf

 

[merl67]

Welcome to the forum. You have inherited a neat gun as others have said it is a Model 1899 Military & Police from right around 1900. Thank you for giving enough information in your first post to help us help you not everyone does...

 

[Paul 313]

Thank you all so much for the information. I had no idea it was that old. The only number on the butt of the gun is 15967. My grandfather was a police officer in Dallas and I believe this was his first service weapon, I think that because I also inherited a pair of Derringers in 38 that were his boot guns. The grips on the pistol are not factory and they don't fit well, where can I find grips? Also the gun doesn't function properly, the hammer hangs up when trying to cock it and the trigger has a lot of take up. Would it be worth sending to Smith & Wesson to have it serviced? I would also like to have it refinished but I don't know if it was originally a nickel plated gun or not.

 

[H Richard]

Smith & Wesson will not work on one this old. In all probability it may have an accumulation of dried up oil & grease. With the grips removed cock the hammer back and take a can of brake and parts cleaner (do this outside) and spray liberally. Let soak a day or two and do that again while working the hammer in between sprays. You can do this for 3 or 4 days. I'm betting it will loosen up. If this does help, try and blow it out with compressed air, then spray in with a gun lubricant such as Break Free, or any of the dozens on the market.

Good luck, these are amazing, for 120 years old they are still usable, I know, I have two of them.

 

[merl67]

Many of us would completely submerge it in a mixture of one part automatic transmission fluid one part acetone for several days outsinde in a sealed container preferably glass or a old metal pot with a lid. Then blow it out with compressed air then reoil with your favorite gun oil.

 

[delcrossv]

.... The grips on the pistol are not factory and they don't fit well, where can I find grips?

The correct grips are (usually) black hard rubber. Reproduction grips are available:

Smith & Wesson .44 DA Grips

Also the gun doesn't function properly, the hammer hangs up when trying to cock it and the trigger has a lot of take up. Would it be worth sending to Smith & Wesson to have it serviced? I would also like to have it refinished but I don't know if it was originally a nickel plated gun or not.

H Richard's idea of spraying it out with brake cleaner followed by Break Free is a good thing to try first.

If the original finish was blue, you may be able to find a small B stamped on the side of the grip frame. At this point, if you want to keep it nickel, there's some replaters that do good work. Come back when you get to that point because a good plating job is not cheap.

 

[glowe]

Welcome to the Forum. The collector name for your gun is 38 Hand Ejector, 1st Model. Often referred to as a Model 1899 that was manufactured from 1899 to 1902. Serial number range was from 1 to 20,975. Your revolver was most likely shipped in 1901 or 1902.

My guess is that its finish is bare metal, since it was poorly wire brushed, probably to remove surface rust. The S&W logo is partially worn off indicating heavy use as well. Below is what the stocks look like on an early 38 1st Model. They can be found on ebay by searching for a set of hard rubber round butt K frame stocks. Reproductions can also be purchased online, check out vintagegungrips.com.

 

[deyomatic]

Paul, I didn't see anyone else say this but it sure SOUNDS like you want to keep it, which is great. If you choose to refinish it it will add no value to the gun. As they say, it only has the original finish once.

 

[delcrossv]

Paul, I didn't see anyone else say this but it sure SOUNDS like you want to keep it, which is great. If you choose to refinish it it will add no value to the gun. As they say, it only has the original finish once.

Point being , it doesn't look like it has the original finish now.

 

[Paul 313]

I will definitely try the brake clean. I do have an ultrasonic cleaner, would it hurt the gun if I put it in there and ran a cycle? The trigger is pretty loose in the the gun also. The other problem in having is I could not get the cylinder disassembled and didn't want to bend the ejector Rod. I did run the whole cylinder in my parts cleaner and it still wouldn't break free, would brake clean and clp take care of that also? As far as the finish I found MAHOVSKY'S Metalife and was thinking about sending it to them to get the gun hard chromed but I would like to get it functioning properly first. Again, thank you everybody for all the knowledge. It is very much appreciated!

 

[Paul 313]

Also, I do indeed plan on keeping the gun. I figured refinishing it would add nothing to value I just wanted to make sure it would detract from the gun itself. But I kind of thought it had been refinished before. I really just want to get the gun sorted out as a way to honor my grandfather a bit.

 

[delcrossv]

I will definitely try the brake clean. I do have an ultrasonic cleaner, would it hurt the gun if I put it in there and ran a cycle? The trigger is pretty loose in the the gun also. The other problem in having is I could not get the cylinder disassembled and didn't want to bend the ejector Rod. I did run the whole cylinder in my parts cleaner and it still wouldn't break free, would brake clean and clp take care of that also? As far as the finish I found MAHOVSKY'S Metalife and was thinking about sending it to them to get the gun hard chromed but I would like to get it functioning properly first. Again, thank you everybody for all the knowledge. It is very much appreciated!

An ultrasonic cleaner would work if you can use solvent in it (not water).

Brake clean+ CLP is a preferred method.(use it myself)

Rather than hard chrome, you may want to re-do it in nickel as chrome never was a standard finish for these.

There's a good shop that can redo the worn off logo, fix the action issues and replate it. Wiregrassguy on this forum has used them. PM him.

 

[glowe]

My suggestion after soaking would be to remove the cylinder assembly and using a wood padded or brass faced vice, is to put the extractor rod in the vice and fill the chambers with spent brass. Hand turn the cylinder to the left and that should unscrew the front rod section, allowing complete disassembly. Second, remove the sideplate to check the pin & stud holding the trigger in place to see if it is loose. These studs are threaded into the frame and if loose, you will need a slotted screwdriver to tighten it up. If not tight in the frame, that might cause a loose feel to the trigger.

One last note, you mention that the gun was your grandfathers and if you are going to chrome plate it, the gun would no longer be the S&W your grandfather knew or would have recalled owning. This model was never done in chrome, but rather only blue or nickel plate. You might be able to check the rear of the cylinder under the star to find remnants of the original finish.

 

[Paul 313]

I will definitely try all of these suggestions. In my ultrasonic I've been running simple green pro HD for all my other guns. From what everyone has told me here I will go with nickel. Thank you all for the advice I'll definitely keep posted on the progress with the gun.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! Your Model 1899 has an obsolete action that uses flat springs and levers to advance the cylinder and return the trigger. These springs can break and there are very few original replacements. If the action is hanging up, I would not force it until the why can be identified and remedied. It is also missing the knurled knob on the end of the extractor rod. Replicas are available on eBay with a search of "Ejector Rod Knob for S&W Model 1899." Lastly, I believe it was refinished in nickel because it appears the hammer and trigger were plated. If you plan to plate it, leaving them plated is probably ok since that's how a previous owner, maybe your grandfather, wanted it.



Hope that helps!

 

[deyomatic]

Point being , it doesn't look like it has the original finish now.

I thought it looked chromey myself, but I thought the debate was still going. I should have emphasized my other sentence, that (another) refinish won't add any value.