Alphabet soup frame

P

pdmoderator

New member
Hi, all,

Is there a FAQ anywhere that explains what makes a J frame a J frame and not a K frame, and vice versa, etc?

Thanx,
- pdmoderator
 
It's very simple what differentiate a J frame from a K frame from an L frame, etc...

It's all in the size.

In order, from smallest to largest frame sizes...

M (no longer made, collectors items)

I (no longer made)

J (replaced the I in the 1950s)

K

L

N
 
One easy way to visualize the differences is to note the number of .357Mag shells that can fit in each:

J = 5 shot (also set up as 6 rounds of .22LR, .22Mag or .32Mag - started life as five rounds of .38Spl)

K = 6 shot (oldest current frame size, started as six .38Spls, also available in .22).

L = 7 shot (started life as a beefier 6-gun than the K for longer life with hot .357s, is also found as a five-shot .44Spl)

N = 8 shot (actually started as a six-gun big-bore in .44Spl/.45ACP (think "Indiana Jones"), was then used for 6 very beefy rounds of .38 and then .357, became the .44Mag sixgun (Dirty Harry's gun was N-Frame) and is now set up for 8rds of .357, 8rds of .38Super or six rounds of 10mm/.45/.44.)
 
The letters were chosen by S&W simply to differentiate the frame sizes in the factory. There is no real meaning except that the size increases as the position of the letter in the alphabet increases.

Jim
 
Cept when it doesn't -- C.R.Sam
Click to expand...
Or when it's an S&W internal designation. To wit:

Blue vs. Stainless...

J vs. E
K vs. F
L vs. H
N vs. G

I think I got this from Mike... :cool:

Now, they won't be stamped with the internal codes, but the codes exist nonetheless.
 
The last time S&W had sequential designations that went with the frame size was over 100 years ago...

No. 1, No. 1 1/2, No. 3, and No. 3, all break tops, with the No. 3 being the frame on which the Russians and the Schofields were built.
 
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