S&W N Frame

[scratcherky]

I have a S&W N frame 38 Special that is either nickel or chrome plated and the plating is in poor condition. The gun was made in 1933. Can one of you S&W historians shed some info if it is chrome or nickel and the best way to remove the plating?
Thanks,
Don

 

[Guillermo]

need more info

a couple of pics would be helpful

I can't think of a N frame in 38spl but Oro and Old Fuff and Saxon will be along soon and set be straight

 

[Oro]

If it is an N frame from that era, then it is an early Heavy Duty model or possibly an Outdoorsman model. Those are interesting and collectible guns and the thing to do is determine if the (hopefully nickel) finish is original. If it's original, it's nickel - if re-done then it's hard to say what it is without seeing it. These guns are actually .38 "High Velocity" caliber - a proto-.357 in a .38 Special case. If it is one of those, you might want to leave it as-is, or be really careful about the refinishing to preserve (or enhance) it's value. If it's been poorly refinished in the past, you'd be better off sending it to a good refinisher for stripping and return it to the original finish.

Do you have pictures of it? They can say a lot more than words. An easy tell about these is they will be .38 Special marked on the barrel, but the barrel will have the shroud around the ejector rod on the underside like a later magnum model.

 

[scratcherky]

I don't have pics but the S/N is 4135XX. On the left side of the barrel is "SMITH & WESSON" in large caps. On the right side of the barrel is "38 S & W SPECIAL CTG" in smaller caps. On top of the 4 inch barrel in very small caps is "SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS USA PATENTED FEB 6 06 SEPT 14 08 DEC 28 14". On the right side of the frame in front of the side plate is "MADE IN USA" in large caps. It is a 4 screw sideplate. It does not have a shroud around the ejector rod. The same S/N is on the flat underside of the barrel.
I believe my father got the revolver from a police officer. I am sure the gun has never been refinished but I would like to have it refinished though not necessarily the original finish. Internally the gun is in good condition.
I will try to get my son to show me how to post a pic.
Thanks for the help,
Don

 

[Oyeboten]

Hi scratcherky,


Sounds like a K-Frame rather than an N-Frame.

But indeed, pictures would be helpful.

 

[scratcherky]

Hi Oyeboten, I am fairly sure from the S/N that it is a Pre-War N Frame made in 1933. I will try to post a pic when I run my son down. He is a photographer so he should know how.

 

[Oyeboten]

If you have a Digital Camera, simply make the images, and, post them on any free site, sich as 'Fotki', 'Webshots' and so on.

This usually in a little Album.

Once done, there is an option shown for obtaining the URL for hot-linking each image to a Forum.

 

[Oro]

I am fairly sure from the S/N that it is a Pre-War N Frame made in 1933.

I am pretty positive from the s/n it is a pre-war K frame made in the interwar period. A K-frame could have that s/n - an N never would. They did not reach into the 4xxx,xxx range until the mid 70s, and then with an "N" prefix.

Without the shroud, and being .38 Special, there's no chance at all it's an N-frame.

 

[Radagast]

scratcherky:
You have a .38 Military & Police Model of 1905 4th Change manufactured between December 1920 (serial 358xxx) and 1927 (serial numbers in the 500xxx range).

Nickel finish was a factory option on these guns. Hard chrome is a more recent finish and is not likely to be flaking/cracking, so the finish is almost certainly original or an old refinish in nickel. If the trigger and hammer are nickeled then it is a refinish as these were always color case hardened.

It isn't an N frame as all had ejector rod shrouds and the serial numbers only went to 62335 prewar. Post war they had a S prefix to denote the new hammer block safety.

If you wish to have it restored http://www.fordsguns.com/ do magnificent work. You won't recover the cost if you try to sell it, but it will be good to hand down to another generation if you keep it.

 

[Guillermo]

Scratch,

I don't know who told you that it was an N frame but these guys are the best

What these guys say you can take to the bank.

 

[scratcherky]

This thread is why I thought it was N frame:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=356710 (sticky)
See posting by SaxonPig:
Please note that this list is a general guide and not meant to be exact. There is some dispute regarding the dates on some serial numbers and your gun may actually be a year off from what is listed. The precise shipping date as "lettered" can be several years off depending on model. For the exact date on your gun request the letter from S&W Historian Roy Jinks.

Pre-War N frame.

Year/Beginning Serial

1908….. 1-------------1926….. 25000
1909….. 2050----------1927….. 28500
1910….. 5000----------1928….. 29500
1911….. 7050----------1929….. 30000
1912….. 9100----------1930….. 34000
1913….. 11150---------1931….. 36000
1914….. 13200---------1932….. 38375
1915….. 15250---------1933….. 41200 My S/N Would fall here. No letter in my S/N.
1916….. 15500---------1934….. 43350
1917….. 16000---------1935….. 45500
1918-1919 None--------1936….. 47200
1920….. 16200---------1937….. 48700
1921….. 16300---------1938….. 52000
1922….. 18400---------1939….. 57200
1923….. 19600---------1940….. 59000
1924….. 20800---------1941….. 62350
1925….. 22000---------1942-1945 None

 

[Dave T]

The serial number you posted is one digit longer than the ones you are looking at in that list. The other guys here are right, you don't have an N-frame.

Dave

 

[scratcherky]

Thanks a lot. I posted the right S/N but misread the chart. Back to the other question, what is the best way to remove the plating?

 

[Guillermo]

companies that do plated can often reverse the process.

watch out though...it might not take long for you to have WAYYYY too much money in the project

 

[scratcherky]

I am thinking of maybe using Duracoat on it but would like to remove the plating first. Have any of you had any success with Duracoat?

 

[mnrivrat]

Check with Brownell's as they have a solution that is made to remove nickel finish. If you are planing on duracoat you may not need to worry about removing the nickel , you could just bead blast and go from there.

I have to do a duracoat project one of these days - I have used guncote , and Brownell's bake on finishes with good results on the guncote . Jury still out on the Brownell's brand . Advantage of duracoat is no need to bake the finish and it has a lot of followers that seem to stand by it.