DW Johnson- On the early nickel DA swing out cylinder revolver you show, there is no side catch for opening the cylinder. Was that accomplished by pulling the ejector rod forward?
Also, was that a standard factory engraving/roll mark on the cylinder? If so, could we please see a closer photo......
Howdy Again
You are correct, there was no thumb piece on the 32 Hand Ejector 1st Model (Model 1896). The cylinder was opened by pulling the extractor rod forward.
As far as I know, the roll engraving between the flutes of the cylinder was standard. At least it appears on the two I own. Since it was a six shooter, there were six places between the flutes that were engraved and each place bears a separate inscription. As can be seen here, SMITH & WESSON appears in one place, and SPRINGFIELD MASS appears in the next. The next place reads USA PATENTED. Then some patent dates: JULY 1, 84 APRIL9, 89, then MARCH 27,94 MAY 29 94, then finally MAY 21, 95 JULY 16, 95. So that gives a pretty good history of the patent dates for the Model 1896.
Speaking about the evolution of firearm designs, the S&W 32 HE 1st Model was kind of an evolutionary dead end.
I'm not exactly sure why, perhaps S&W was in a hurry to put a swing out cylinder revolver on the market. I would have to look into what Colt was doing at the time.
Anyway, unlike any other S&W side swing revolver, the cylinder lock up mechanism was very unusual.
The cylinder locking method was a throw back of the old Tip Ups from the 1850s and 1860s.
There was a bump on the top of the hammer. The bump was actually part of the firing pin.
The bump had a knife edge in front, and was rounded on top.
The locking bolt was actually above the cylinder, in the top strap, rather than under neath the cylinder in the frame, like almost every other revolver. It was pinned in place, and could rotate slightly to free the cylinder to rotate. A spring held the bolt down in the locked position.
When the hammer was cocked, either single action or double action, the rounded bump tilted the rear of the bolt up, retracting it into the top strap, to allow the cylinder to rotate. When the hammer fell, the knife edge separated the legs of a split spring which held the bolt down, so the bolt did not rise again, but kept the cylinder locked in battery.
The rear sight was part of the bolt. When the hammer was cocked, the rear sight would rock slightly. That is why it was placed directly above the pivot point of the bolt, so it would not move at all vertically.
These photos of a S&W #2 Old Army 32 Rimfire may explain the concept better.
To load (or unload) the latch at the bottom of the frame was disengaged, the barrel was rotated up, (hence the name Tip Up) and the cylinder was removed. Spent brass (or copper in this case) were poked out by using the rod under the barrel. Then the cylinder was reloaded, popped back into place, and the barrel was rotated back down and latched.
Here is a view of the bolt, and the split spring directly under it.
The tiny notch at the rear of the bolt was the rear sight. When the hammer was cocked, the rounded bump on top of the hammer rotated the bolt up out of the cylinder locking notches.
When the hammer fell, the sharp front edge of the bump divided the two legs of the split spring. The spring then kept the bolt down, engaged in one of the cylinder locking slots as the cartridge fired.
Here is the business end of the bolt protruding down out of the top of the frame.
The cylinder locking system employed by the Tip Ups was very simple, and it worked very well. The only real drawback was the split spring under the bolt could break easily. It is very common to find an old Tip Up with a broken spring, with only one leg remaining. When the Top Break revolvers replaced the Tip Ups, they used a conventional bolt underneath the cylinder.
But I have wandered a bit.
I suspect S&W reverted back to this strange cylinder lockup system because they had not quite yet perfected the system they eventually used in the 1899 Military and Police model. Checking one of my Colt books it appears Colt first offered a revolver with a swing out cylinder in 1889. So perhaps S&W decided to offer their unusual Model 1896 just to be competitive.
Anyway, the 32 HE 1st Model was only made until 1903, when the 32 HE 2nd Model (32 HE Model of 1903) appeared. By this time, the bolt under the cylinder was standard, with a thumb piece to unlatch the cylinder.
I don't have a 32 HE 2nd Model, but here is a 32 HE 3rd Model. Notice the straight vertical section of the frame in front of the hammer is gone by this time. The 32 HE 1st Model was the forerunner of the I frame, which became the forerunner of the modern J frame.