A Pair of N Arizmendi Revolvers

[Hardcase]

Put on your thinking caps and help me out. My wife's grandmother gave me this very interesting pair of double action revolvers to clean up today. Grandpa picked them up in the 1930s somewhere in Kansas, maybe Kansas City.

They are marked on the top of the barrel:

N. ARIZMENDI Y Cia
EIBAR (SPAIN)

There are also these proof marks:

The most that I've been able to find is that the manufacturer was Norberto Arizmendi Y Cia and that apparently they made a lot of shotguns. These revolvers are chambered in .38 Long...Colt? S&W?

One of them locks up nice and tight, but the other one is a little loose, but I don't plan on shooting either. And the holsters are a hoot - they don't match, they're not the right size, but grandpa had 'em all set up as a two gun rig!

According to my father in law, the last time he remembers them being shot would have been around 1950. They were spot on the money back then.

EDIT:

Found some other marks. The serial number is on the bottom of the grip of each gun. Also, the year of manufacture, 1929 and the letters N.A.C. "Made in Spain" and Eibar are also down there. It's a bit crowded...

FURTHER EDIT:

Man, these things are the spitting image of a Smith and Wesson Model 10.

 

[Scorch]

Man, these things are the spitting image of a Smith and Wesson Model 10.

That's just about what they are, copies of a Smith & Wesson that were made in Spain. You used to see lots of them, they are a lot less common now than 30 years ago. I guess most of them have been trashed or turned into paperweights by now. Spanish copies of Smith & Wessons have a mixed history and a bad reputation. Many copies of S&W revolvers (from Spain and other places) were imported into the USA from the late 1800s on to the 1950s when S&W was successful at barring their import (this was prior to model numbers on S&W revolvers, so they are not just like your Model 10). In general, they were a mixed lot, many were poor copies made of poor steel. Some were actually quite nicely made but poorly heat treated or not heat treated at all. And there were some that were of superior quality and workmanship, but those were the exception to the rule. Most people agree that many are unsafe to fire with any ammo, let alone high-pressure ammo. Yours look nice. Have you shot them?

 

[Hardcase]

I haven't fired them because I don't really trust them Besides the fact that they're 80 years old, one of them doesn't lock up too terribly tight.

Once they're thoroughly cleaned and oiled, I'm going to give them to my brother in law - they were his grandfather's.

 

[PetahW]

FWIW, While they're in your possession, and you're "cleaning them up", you might well consider driving out the crosspins that hold the firing pins in the hammer noses.

Remove the firing pins and store the FP's & crosspins inside the grips - so someone that doesn't know any better won't be able to touch off some +P or other modern ammo in them.

.