Need Help identifying this revolver

raffi · September 23, 2012, 07:12 AM

Hi all,

First of all if this tread is posted in the wrong place please change it.

I had this revolver since I was child and I don't know where and when I owned this. I think its something collected by my dad. Lately I wanted to restore it. I know its a hard work but I'm into it. Someone told me that if you restore a gun it will loose its historic value in case it has some.

I did some research and I found a pic of a Montenegrin gun that resembles this one in many aspects also I noticed that the British Bulldog has very similar mechanism. (I attached a picture of the Montenegrin).

Mine has an Ottoman Empire stamp and some Arabic characters (Turks used to Arabic characters before they started using Latin). I couldn't read the characters except one thing that says "Year 27) and an M character on one side of the barrel and an R character the other side the serial number is 55352.

I'll appreciate if someone can identify this revolver also please let me know if its a good idea to restore it.

Thank you Guys

**4V50 Gary** · September 23, 2012, 11:10 AM

Nagant revolver. Don't ask me if it's Belgian or Norwegian or some other make.

RJay · September 23, 2012, 11:49 AM

raffi, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but what you have is a " relic ", recognizable as a firearm, but way too far gone for restoration. By the time you remove all the corrosion there would be very little firearm left, along with the fact there are no known parts source. It is yous to do with as you wish, but IMO it would be best to soak it in a penetrant, let it drain and display it as it is.

Hawg · September 23, 2012, 04:50 PM

Its not that bad. It has some light pitting but nothing detrimental to function. Not worth much and parts will be hard to find tho.

James K · September 23, 2012, 08:14 PM

I think the photos found by raffi lack scale. Judging by the scale of the fingers, the relic revolver is not one of the so-called "Montenegrin revolvers"; those were huge guns in the .44 caliber range. Both the unknown and the Liege revolver shown appear to be of the small pocket revolver type with folding triggers. The ivory handled Liege revolver appears to be for the 5.6mm Velo-Dog cartridge and would be a small gun that could be covered by a hand.

Revolvers of that general type were made in Belgium (Liege) by the ton in the late 19th and early 29th centuries. They were also made in Germany, France, Spain, and by crude "factories" in the middle east and places like the Khyber pass area. In the latter areas, trademarks and other marks on European guns were crudely copied and often are unidentifiable as to origin.

Jim

raffi · September 24, 2012, 09:08 AM

Thanks guys for the quick reply.

RJay, this is exactly what my dad told me that this gun is way too far gone for restoration. But I agree with Hawg Haggen that its not that bad. Thanks 4V50 Gary, and James K for the information. I think this gun was made in one of those crude "factories" in the middle east in time of Ottoman Empire.

James K, this is not a foldable trigger its a broken one

So, I'm sure now that this gun does not have any important historic or collectible value and I think I decided to restore it. I was a goldsmith and I'll consider this a fun project to spend some time in.

I already created the main spring for the hammer and tested to sandpaper the back of the grip and discovered that the pittings are not that deep. I think there are other 3 springs to be made today I'll create wooden grip covers to test the hammer spring.

September 23, 2012, 11:10 AM	#2
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,832	Nagant revolver. Don't ask me if it's Belgian or Norwegian or some other make. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

September 23, 2012, 11:49 AM	#3
RJay Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2005 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,936	raffi, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but what you have is a " relic ", recognizable as a firearm, but way too far gone for restoration. By the time you remove all the corrosion there would be very little firearm left, along with the fact there are no known parts source. It is yous to do with as you wish, but IMO it would be best to soak it in a penetrant, let it drain and display it as it is. __________________ Ron James

September 23, 2012, 04:50 PM	#4
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,188	Its not that bad. It has some light pitting but nothing detrimental to function. Not worth much and parts will be hard to find tho.

September 23, 2012, 08:14 PM	#5
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	I think the photos found by raffi lack scale. Judging by the scale of the fingers, the relic revolver is not one of the so-called "Montenegrin revolvers"; those were huge guns in the .44 caliber range. Both the unknown and the Liege revolver shown appear to be of the small pocket revolver type with folding triggers. The ivory handled Liege revolver appears to be for the 5.6mm Velo-Dog cartridge and would be a small gun that could be covered by a hand. Revolvers of that general type were made in Belgium (Liege) by the ton in the late 19th and early 29th centuries. They were also made in Germany, France, Spain, and by crude "factories" in the middle east and places like the Khyber pass area. In the latter areas, trademarks and other marks on European guns were crudely copied and often are unidentifiable as to origin. Jim