Old Smith and Wesson revolver

[Griffen]

Grandaddy gave Grandmomma this revolver to place under her shawl or blanket for protection when riding in the horse and carriage by herself. She carried this for years. It appears to be a 1904 3rd Model Smith and Wesson top break .38 caliber. It was gifted to her in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s. I don’t know that she ever had to use it, but it is well worn. Originally nickel with pearl handles.

Thought it might be worth the viewing. I have ammo, but not likely to shoot it.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Very cool heirloom!

 

[skfullen]

A very nice piece of history.

 

[Jonesy814]

Very cool. Careful with those grips. They are fairly fragile and are quite valuable

 

[Slamfire]

Smith and Wesson made a quality revolver, and they were not cheap. Using and inflation calculator, it takes $331 in today's money to buy what $10.25 did in 1902. And given "Putin inflation", it might be $350 to $400 by the end of 2022!



These old pistols were made of plain carbon steels with a lot of residuals and slag. The simple metallurgical processes of the period could not remove non oxidizing elements, such as copper, nickel, tungsten, vanadium, etc, all naturally occurring in ores. Cheap Chinese nuts and bolts, made of plain carbon steels, are made from better quality steels, and have better material properties than the "same" vintage steels in these old firearms. That's the breaks.

Residual Elements in Steel

https://www.totalmateria.com/page.aspx?ID=CheckArticle&LN=EN&site=kts&NM=205

Residual elements (Cu, Ni, As, Pb, Sn, Sb, Mo, Cr, etc.) are defined as elements which are not added on purpose to steel and which cannot be removed by simple metallurgical processes. The presence of residual elements in steel can have strong effects on mechanical properties. There is therefore clearly the need to identify and to quantify the effects of residual elements in order to keep these effects within acceptable limits.

Residual elements, or at least some of them, have an influence on processing conditions and regimes, from casting to the final annealing, and possibly on all mechanical properties.

Cylinders and frame were not heat treated in this period, so the smart thing to do, is never, ever, hot load one of these vintage revolvers. Given the plain carbon steel materials, they do not have the fatigue lifetime of later alloy steels, and neither do they have the same yield strength. Top break revolvers are also very weak, over pressure loads will stretch the top strap locking mechanism. So, if you shoot it, take it easy on the old pistol.

If you have ammunition that is a couple of decades or more older, don't shoot the stuff in this old pistol. Gunpowder deteriorates and the subsequent burn rate instability has, and will blow up firearms. If you want to shoot this with factory ammunition, use new, and not anything that is listed as extra performance or +P!.

 

[Speedo66]

I wonder if they were safe with smokeless powder, those cylinder walls look awfully thin.

Neat pocket gun!

 

[bannockburn]

Griffen.

Your vintage S&W revolver makes for a great family heirloom. Love the factory pearl grips too!

 

[Griffen]

Thanks for the info and comments; I especially liked the Sears Catalog page. It may have been originally sourced from Sears given the time period it was manufactured.

I really have no desire to shoot it. I think it was 1907 or so before Smith and Wesson “guaranteed” their firearms to be safe for smokeless. It’s a pretty light cartridge, though.

The pearl has become quite fragile. I wonder if there is a way to stabilize it and not have to lose too much of the surface material. Has anyone dealt with this problem or know others that may have successfully restored pearl stocks?

 

[wcwhitey]

It needs a show case and some period correct loaded rounds for display! Guaranteeing it will last a few generations more!

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Here is a fun photo.

Three different Smith and Wesson double action Top Breaks.

Top to bottom: 44 Double Action, chambered for 44 Russian; 38 Double Action 4th Model, chambered for 38 S&W, 32 Double Action 4th Model, chambered for 32 S&W. I love the fact that they all share the same basic shape. The big 44 was the only double action revolver S&W built on the N frame. The smaller ones went through a few different models over the years. Note the 44 is a six shooter, the other two are five shooters. I have shot the big 44 with 44 Russian ammo loaded with Black Powder. I have actually never shot the little ones, but if I was going to I would only shoot them with ammo loaded with Black Powder.