My Grandfathers S&W

[csgrv]

Well, This weekend my father (90 years old) passed on to me my Grandfathers 32 Hand Ejector. This Pistol left the S&W factory on March 29, 1920 according to the S&W Historical Department. If was purchased for my Grandfather later that year. It was given to my father in 1963 by Grampa.

I have been waiting for this day for years. The pistol is currently really gummed up and will not function. I took about 30 minutes with Break Free and restored partial operations. I intend to soak in Hoopes #9 and then clean again. A trip to a gunsmith will be in the near future to determine it the timing is still good. Last time I remember it being fired I think it was spitting lead but I am not sure.

Just happy to have it in the safe!

[csgrv]

Typo left factory in 1910

Sorry

[JEBar]

sure hope your gunsmith can quickly put it back into working order .... it sure looks familiar .... below is a picture of my grandfather's Smith 38 .... the inside of its barrel is pitted from ammo with corrosive primers .... at 25 yards it still shoots well and at 50 ain't to bad

[ESquared]

Looks like an interesting project pistol. Please keep us posted on the progress. Makes a lot of people cringe, I'd imagine, to see that "before" picture, but always fun to see it progress to the "after" state.

Quite the heirloom, thanks for sharing!

[RanchRoper]

Beautiful, love to see it all cleaned up and functional.

[North Country Gal]

The Hand Ejector series was the forerunner of all the famous S&Ws, so the historical aspect of that gun, alone, makes it worth salvaging. The fact that it's been in your family for so long is much more important, of course. Yes, as mentioned, do let us know how the project is going.

[Mistered]

I intend to soak in Hoopes #9 and then clean again.

Simply 'soaking' it in Hoppe's # 9 without disassembly will be marginally effective and will need a complete disassembly To be properly cleaned to restore it to proper operation.
It's not hard to do if you are careful and have experience in disassembling guns.
If not then find a 'smith who works on S & W guns and tell him you want it completely disassembled and cleaned.
It's possible this gun has never been completely disassembled and the internals are probably pretty well gummed up with possible rust.

[csgrv]

I will be doing the disassembly as carefully as possible.......talked to Dad last night and he confirmed that he personally has never broken it down to clean. I doubt that my Grampa did. I will post post updates as I make progress.

[daytime dave]

I hope it all goes well for you. That is a great keepsake. My grandfather had a Smith and Wesson .38. It was purposefully diverted from me because of a bad history of the gun. I still wish I had it for the keepsake. I'm glad for you and will look forward to your postings.

[GFK]

Seems like a project. Good for you!