Howdy
Ah, Triple Locks. Glad to see you were able to get your hands on one.
For a long time, the Triple Lock, officially known as the 44 Hand Ejector 1st Model, and alternatively as the New Century, was my grail revolver. This was back when you could not touch one for under $1000.
I have a few now.
But first, let's talk about an interesting 44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model.
A fairly large number (666 I believe) of Triple Locks was sent to Great Britain in 33 separate shipments, from April 1912 to April 1916, the majority of which shipped October 21, 1914. I believe all were chambered for the .455 Mark II cartridge. But the Brits were not happy with the large shroud under the barrel. They were concerned the revolvers could be disabled in the field by mud collecting around the ejector rod in the shroud. Smith and Wesson introduced the 44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model in 1915. It lacked the underbarrel shroud and the fancy third lock of the Triple Lock. Whether because of the Brit's concerns about mud, or simply because it made the 2nd Models more competitive in the market place is unclear, but according to Roy Jinks in his book History of Smith and Wesson the Triple Lock retailed for $21 while the 2nd Model retailed for $19. The $2 difference was due to eliminating the cost to manufacture the third latch. $2 was a significant sum in 1915, an inflation calculator states it would be $52.30 today.
During the years when a Triple Lock was out of my financial reach I bought what was sold to me as a 44 HE 2nd Model for a reasonable price. Chambered for 44 Special of course. Notice the lack of the shroud under the barrel and the lack of the third latch.
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But after a while I became intrigued by the interesting markings on it. Yes, chambered for 44 Special.
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But I was curious what this marking was on the bottom of the butt.
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And this strange looking mark on the frame.
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Most curious of all, on the flat under the barrel where the Serial Number should have been duplicated instead I found this mark.
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Some guys over at the Smith and Wesson Forum told me what I had was actually a 455 Hand Ejector 2nd Model that had been converted to 44 Special.
So I had it lettered. Turns out they were correct. What I have is a 455 Hand Ejector, 2nd Model.
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As the letter states at the end, it appears my revolver was converted to 44 Special at the factory at some point. The diamond shaped mark under the barrel is a typical marking S&W put on revolvers they had modified. The lack of a SN there shows that is not the barrel the revolver shipped with. The crown shaped mark on the bottom of the butt is a British proof mark, and the odd shaped marking on the frame is the Canadian Broad Arrow. Just like the British Broad Arrow but with a C around it for Canada. At one point I bumped into the dealer I had bought the revolver from and mentioned all this to him. I wasn't looking to get any of my money back, I just thought he would find it interesting. The look on his face told me he knew this all along. Live and learn when collecting old guns.
Anyway, I'm lucky enough now to own a few Triple Locks. All chambered for 44 Special. This nickel plated one shipped in October of 1915.
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The Holiest of Holies, a target model that shipped in 1913.
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But my favorite is this well worn one that shipped in 1907. That is what Roy Jinks told me, despite most references stating the Triple Lock first shipped in 1908. Although most of the blue is worn off, that is oxidized steel we are looking at, and the checkering almost completely gone from the grips, it still locks up tight as a bank vault and is great fun to shoot. I got this one for a song, because it is so worn on the outside that none of the high end collectors looked at it twice. $650 out the door a few years ago.
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Interesting the way the chambering is called out. Not the typical 44 S&W SPECIAL CTG marking, just 44 S&W CTG. Roy told me he suspects the stamp with SPECIAL in it had not been made up yet. The Serial Number on this one is very low, under 200.
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Anyway, those are my Triple Locks.
I hope you have fun with yours. Don't forget when you take it apart that all these early N frame Hand Ejectors had a tiny spring and spring plunger inserted into a hole in the yoke. There is a dimple in the frame somewhere that the plunger indexes into. The idea was to keep the cylinder open all the way when it was swung open for loading. Lots of times the spring and its plunger are missing, having rocketed off to Pluto and beyond when an unwary kitchen table gunsmith disassembled the revolver for the first time.
