Howdy, my husband just purchased a Iver Johnson Top break, and we are trying to determine the age, so we will use the correct ammo when shooting...i,e, powder or powderless! Any Iver Johnson fans that could help us out will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Iver Johnson .32 Top Break revolver
- Thread starter ajoy
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rcmodel
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Going to have to have more information then that.
Iver Johnson made revolvers from 1873 to 1993.
Or 120 years.
If you could post a good photo, and any markings on the gun, someone might have a clue how old it is.
My crystal ball is in the shop this week getting a wax & buff job.
rc
Iver Johnson made revolvers from 1873 to 1993.
Or 120 years.
If you could post a good photo, and any markings on the gun, someone might have a clue how old it is.
My crystal ball is in the shop this week getting a wax & buff job.
rc
Also need serial number and letter prefix from under the left grip, the number on the trigger guard is unreliable , also need the wording and dates of all markings. Some times it is only possible to ID a Iver Johnson by the location of the various markings. and patent dates.
PonyKiller
Member
we found one years back cleaning out a dead relatives house, thing was in great shape. They are a bit hard to date if memory serves me right, and if the grips and things aren't original it makes it much harder, serial numbering seemed to be an art not a science back then. Ours was .32 s&w short. We dated it to roughly 1904 by detective work of features, which is kinda how you have to do it.
Ours Actually shot, and shot fairly well the ejection system worked, it locked up tight.
They seemed popular in their era, but were made infamous as the gun that killed president McKinnely.
Ours Actually shot, and shot fairly well the ejection system worked, it locked up tight.
They seemed popular in their era, but were made infamous as the gun that killed president McKinnely.
Howdy, sorry having some trouble trying to figure out how to respond on this website, so if you have already received this my apologies! The gun's serial number under the left grip does NOT have a letter preceeding the number 72956. The owl which is on the top of the grip, his chin is facing the trigger. And the last patent date out of a series of about 3 is Aug 23' 96. Thanks for your reply!
Well, maybe it can be narrowed down. The Patent date of Aug25-96 was used on a slew of guns, however the only guns with no letter prefix and that patent date on both frame sizes , would be in 1895. Iver Johnson did not go to a stronger " Smokeless " frame until 1909. The pressure of modern 32 S&W cartridge is the same as the old black powder cartridges. The big difference is that smokeless powder has a higher pressure peak. firing a few rounds of 32 S&W shorts is not going to blow up the gun, but continued use of smokeless cartridges will very quickly ruin the gun, breaking the hinge and loosing the cylinder.
True, what Ron says, but those guns have a lot of flat springs which often break without warning. Parts are scarce and gunsmiths who will work on them are even scarcer. I really recommend, if you want a gun to shoot rather than as a collection piece, that you obtain a new, or at least newer, gun.
Jim
Jim
Clark
Member
My grandfather carried an Iver Johnson break top revolver in the Alaskan Gold Rush.
I started buying them at gun shows 10 years ago at $50 for working and $35 for broken.
The most common failure is the trigger spring.
I have fixed a lot of them.
Prices have gone up.
It is now $50 for broken and $100 for working break tops.
I overloaded a 38 S&W with a 38 Super +P load and the latch got loose.
I said to my father, chief engineer over 150 engineers in a gun and vehicle design company, "I had too much pressure."
He snapped at me, "That is not from pressure! That if from recoil pulling on the barrel mass and from bullet friction!!"
It took me a while to understand that, but now I do. I only shoot soft lead bullets in break top Iver Johnsons.
The 38sw latch is a tiny piece of sheet metal with a hole in it, and pinned with a #5-56 screw, or something odd like that. The latch stretch and makes the action loose by making the hole in the sheet metal oblong.
The 32sw latch is even smaller, #8-64 screw or something odd like that.
The 32acp jacketed ammo [it is actually semi rimmed] will drop in and fire in a 32S&W, but just one shot can stretch the latch.
There are many variations in the Goforth book, and the later revolvers seem to have a tougher latch.
These days I typically put one grain of Unique or Bullseye in a 32sw with a soft lead bullet. That can be a lead ball.
I started buying them at gun shows 10 years ago at $50 for working and $35 for broken.
The most common failure is the trigger spring.
I have fixed a lot of them.
Prices have gone up.
It is now $50 for broken and $100 for working break tops.
I overloaded a 38 S&W with a 38 Super +P load and the latch got loose.
I said to my father, chief engineer over 150 engineers in a gun and vehicle design company, "I had too much pressure."
He snapped at me, "That is not from pressure! That if from recoil pulling on the barrel mass and from bullet friction!!"
It took me a while to understand that, but now I do. I only shoot soft lead bullets in break top Iver Johnsons.
The 38sw latch is a tiny piece of sheet metal with a hole in it, and pinned with a #5-56 screw, or something odd like that. The latch stretch and makes the action loose by making the hole in the sheet metal oblong.
The 32sw latch is even smaller, #8-64 screw or something odd like that.
The 32acp jacketed ammo [it is actually semi rimmed] will drop in and fire in a 32S&W, but just one shot can stretch the latch.
There are many variations in the Goforth book, and the later revolvers seem to have a tougher latch.
These days I typically put one grain of Unique or Bullseye in a 32sw with a soft lead bullet. That can be a lead ball.
matakovich
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- Mar 12, 2015
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need help on my iver johnson 32
I would like some help on my Iver Johnson .32sw short. Thanks to your post I found the serial number. It has pat apr 6 86 feb 15 97may 1087☆☆ then below that it has mar 13 88 aug 25 96 patent pending. I would like to know more about it if you can help me. The serial number is F53984.
I would like some help on my Iver Johnson .32sw short. Thanks to your post I found the serial number. It has pat apr 6 86 feb 15 97may 1087☆☆ then below that it has mar 13 88 aug 25 96 patent pending. I would like to know more about it if you can help me. The serial number is F53984.
Please start your own thread when you have questions like this rather than adding on to an old one.
Your revolver is likely a Safety Hammer Model Two, Second Model made 1897-1899 designed for black powder cartridges only and has little collector value.
That's all I can say without photos.
Your revolver is likely a Safety Hammer Model Two, Second Model made 1897-1899 designed for black powder cartridges only and has little collector value.
That's all I can say without photos.
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Older Iver Johnson .32 Top Break Revolver?
I had my dad's Iver Johnson out trying to find out how old it is when I came across this discussion. My father, who is now deceased, was given the gun as a gift from a district attorney back in the 1930s for assisting the DA in a murder trial. This gun was used to kill the victim.
Anyway, here is the information from the gun:
"Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works Fitchburg, Mass. USA
Pat'd Apr. 6 86, Feb. 15 87, May 10 87, Dec. 26 93 Pat's Pending"
Serial # C41255
Any assistance in helping narrow down the date of manufacture will be greatly appreciated.
I had my dad's Iver Johnson out trying to find out how old it is when I came across this discussion. My father, who is now deceased, was given the gun as a gift from a district attorney back in the 1930s for assisting the DA in a murder trial. This gun was used to kill the victim.
Anyway, here is the information from the gun:
"Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works Fitchburg, Mass. USA
Pat'd Apr. 6 86, Feb. 15 87, May 10 87, Dec. 26 93 Pat's Pending"
Serial # C41255
Any assistance in helping narrow down the date of manufacture will be greatly appreciated.
Your Iver Johnson was made in 1899/1900 based both on the Serial number and the listing of the patent dates and company legend. Since IJ didn't go to a stronger smokeless frame until 1909 your revolver is considered to be a black powder frame. Hope that helps.
Ajoy's gun, 72956 is puzzling. An IJ revolver with no letter prefix should date to 1894-1895, yet obviously a gun made before 1896 won't have an 1896 patent date on it.
The August 25 (not 23), 1896 patent date is for two patents, a cylinder retainer for a top break revolver, and the famous IJ transfer bar.
Jim
The August 25 (not 23), 1896 patent date is for two patents, a cylinder retainer for a top break revolver, and the famous IJ transfer bar.
Jim
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