Differences in Iver Johnson 1900 .22s - what gives?

C

Carmady

New member
One has a notch in front of the hammer, the other one doesn't. They're both IJ 1900 .22s.

The one without the notch was made around 1941, the last year or so of production.

Any thoughts, insights, guesses?
 
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probably a safety hammer...

BTW... who had the "hammer the hammer" catch phrase ???

most of the companies were looking to have a safer gun if it got dropped
 
I'm not sure what a safety hammer is, but that sounds like progress and makes sense. I was guessing they eliminated the hole to prevent stuff from flying out into the shooter's face.

"Hammer the hammer" might be a H&R phrase; I know I've seen it while searching for info on old H&R's and IJ's.
 
The Model 1900 did not have the "hammer-the-hammer" transfer bar. Goforth shows a Type I and a Type II, the former has the notch, the latter does not, but he says that the only difference is in the markings.

It looks to me that the notch was to allow the .22 firing pin to clear the frame as the hammer moved. The .22 firing pin was higher up on the hammer because of the rimfire cartridge, so it probably needed the extra clearance. The later guns seem to have been changed in some way, possibly a lower firing pin that did not need that clearance cut.

Can you compare the two hammers and see if that is the reason for the cut?

Jim
 
"Goforth shows a Type I and a Type II, the former has the notch, the latter does not, but he says that the only difference is in the markings."

Type I and Type II; does that mean black powder and smokeless powder, or are they two types of smokeless?

I have no pics of either one with the hammer cocked.

Here're two pics of another one with the notch. This was indentified as a black powder gun, and has the BP owl face direction. It also has different stamping on the top, no address.

This notch looks different from the other notched gun. This one has a little slit in it, unless that's part of the hammer hanging over the top.
 
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"Hammer the Hammer was a 1905 Iver Johnson add for there revolvers."

It's hammer time, about 60 years later.
 
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I will be happy to be corrected, but AFAIK, IJ never put the transfer bar on their solid frame revolvers, only on their top breaks, and post-war ads for the solid frames specifically say "does not have the Hammer the Hammer safety device."

According to Goforth, the Type I was made from 1900 to 1915, and the Type II from 1915 to 1941. The date usually given for the IJ change to smokeless powder is 1909, so if a change was made in the Model 1900 at that time, its outward appearance was not changed.

Jim
 
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