Small Detail on 1930s N-frame

[TheTinMan]

I’m looking at a Registered Magnum and one detail looks “off” to me. I only have a few pre-WWII S&W revolvers, but the visible end of the hammer stud is domed and the hole it appears in just below the cylinder release is chamfered. Like this .44 Hand Ejector:


(Sorry I don’t know how to make a copy of the photo to crop just that area)

On the gun I’m looking at, the hole is chamfered the same. However, the end of the hammer stud is decidedly flat - not rounded (“domed”). Did Smith & Wesson start doing that later in the 1930s or should I be wary?

 

[lestert357]

For comparison this NRM shipped in early 1940…..

 

[TheTinMan]

For comparison this NRM shipped in early 1940…..
View attachment 750629

Thanks Terry! The end of the hammer stud on yours looks shallower (work choice?) than my earlier N-Frames but the end is still domed.

 

[arjay]

Isn’t that a sign in a prewar gun that it has been polished and refinished?

 

[TheTinMan]

Isn’t that a sign in a prewar gun that it has been polished and refinished?

That would make sense. The gun has a star on the butt and markings on the grip frame indicate a 1944 rework date. I also notice that while the ejector rod is clean and shows little wear, the bottom part of the crane that rotates into the frame is fairly worn. Makes me think the ejector rod got refinished but the crane didn’t.