View Single Post
Old January 21, 2015, 10:07 PM   #18
James K
Member In Memoriam
 
Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
That "thingy" is actually neither a sear not a drop safety (hammer block); neither is needed on a hammerless (concealed hammer) revolver, since the hammer can't be cocked for SA nor can the hammer be struck and cause a round to fire.

It is a rebound lever; its purpose is to rebound the hammer, drawing the firing pin out of the fired primer and making it easier to open the gun. Some companies, even those that made hammerless guns, put them on all guns simply because it was easier, but others left them off hammerless models and the hammer had to be drawn back to half cock before opening the gun.

As to maker's names, it was very common at that time, and since, for one company to make guns for another company and put the latter company's name on the product. One example is the well-known Merwin & Hulbert; they were a marketing company and never made a gun; the guns were made by H&A. In more recent years, companies made guns for Sears, Wards, Western Auto, and the like, marking them with the selling company's tradename. Many Colts, for example have been made in Spain, Remingtons in Serbia, Winchesters in Japan, etc. The practice was/is not limited to guns; it has been done on appliances, electronic products, household goods, and even cars.

Of course, it can be very confusing, but figuring out who REALLY made a gun is part of the fun of collecting guns of that era.

Jim
James K is offline  
 
Page generated in 0.02292 seconds with 8 queries