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March 12, 2013, 07:13 PM | #1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: March 11, 2013
Location: Lake Stevens, Washington
Posts: 4
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S & W King Super Target 38 Special engravings
I was curious if anyone could help me? I'm trying to find more information on the engravings. I have mailed out a history form to S & W to see what info they have. Thanks, Jeff.
Last edited by jeffj377; March 12, 2013 at 07:28 PM. |
March 12, 2013, 09:31 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: October 25, 2001
Location: Alabama
Posts: 18,535
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Very handsome, but not a style I have seen from the factory.
It apparently had target grips fitted when engraved, note the unengraved area revealed by the Magnas that would have been covered by targets. |
March 12, 2013, 09:58 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: March 11, 2013
Location: Lake Stevens, Washington
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I was thinking maybe Kings did the engraving. The original Kings Armory, I guess was sold. They stilll have a web site, but there is no useful information from it.
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March 13, 2013, 06:36 AM | #4 |
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Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
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Definitely not S&W factory engraving.
I'm not familiar with any engraving that K.A. might have done in the past, though.
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"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower. |
March 13, 2013, 07:30 AM | #5 |
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Join Date: September 19, 2008
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It looks like it was engraved for/when it had a larger set of combat/target grips on it, instead of the smaller ones now mouted.
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March 13, 2013, 09:34 AM | #6 |
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Join Date: December 20, 2008
Location: Pittsburgh PA
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First, Kings Gun Sight company (not Kings Armory) did not engrave guns, AFAIK. I never heard of them engraving a gun. They customized the guns but not in that way. They commonly replaced hammers and front sights, and added barrel ribs, etc. King modified guns are fairly scarce today.
While the engraving may not look factory, no one here can say that for sure. I doubt any of us have any true factory engraved guns, and of course, you would have to compare guns from that period, to analyze the engraving. The gun is a post war K frame, likely a K-38, and if the hammer is original (its a speed hammer aka fish hook hammer), its likely a 5 screw as well, so you would have to compare it to post war engraved S&Ws. Alvin White and Russell Smith were two of S&Ws more famous post war engravers. The target grips or lack thereof have nothing to do with the lack of engraving pattern near the grips. The person who ordered the engraving would have specified which type of grips. Since the grips were removable, there was no point in accommodating the grip type with the engraving UNLESS the engraving was ordered that way. I have saw many engraved 44 mags, which never had magnas as standard, have the inner aspect (which was covered by target grips) engraved. The owner then just put on magnas to show the engraving.
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March 13, 2013, 10:06 AM | #7 |
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I don't claim to be an expert, but S&W factory engraving has one definite characteristic, the engraver will always leave a clear area around the cylinder so the cylinder stop "drag" does not cut over the engraving.
Jim |
March 13, 2013, 11:05 AM | #8 |
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Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
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Agreed.
Also, S&W, at any time, has employed very few engravers, and none had a style such as the engraving on that gun. It appears to be more sculpted than engraved, a style no engraver at S&W ever employed. I'm also more than familiar enough with the work of S&W's in house engravers to feel confident in saying that no, that gun is NOT factory engraved. It's aftermarket.
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"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower. |
March 13, 2013, 07:31 PM | #9 |
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Join Date: March 11, 2013
Location: Lake Stevens, Washington
Posts: 4
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Thank you all for looking and giving any advice it is appreciated.
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