need info on .32 lemon squeezer

M

MommaB

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I inherited a .32 lemon squeezer from my dad that belonged at least to my grandpa, not sure if it goes further back or not...my dad traded him a coon dog for it in the early 60's. I know very little about guns so be patient with me :-).

I don't think it has been fired since the 70's... It was the only handgun i ever shot and they used it when teaching me to shoot.

the serial # on it is 1764xx*. That is stamped on the bottom on the bottom of the handle. on the barrel it says "K32 S&W CTG".

there appears to be some rust on it, but not a lot...its a darker color (not the shiny silver i've seen in some pics) almost a dark gray? and it has black grips? i guess they are called ...

it measures end to end about 7" and if I am measuring correctly it has a 3.5" barrel. I've tried to get a pic of it in small enough file size to upload but not having much luck...

any help and info on this would be greatly appreciated. i wanted it just because it was my grandpas and wanted to know how old it was and anything else you knowledgeable folks might be willing to share...
 
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CTG is an abbreviation for cartridge as the gun is 32S&W CTG.
Dark grey could be the last of the blueing going to patina. Lemon Sqeezers are early 20th century guns. The grip safety, the raised lever on the back of the grip must be fully depressed to fire, but you knew that. The black grips are probably hard rubber.
 
You can still get 32 S&W ammo, and due to their use in a lot of old guns most commercial ammo is loaded mild. Still wouldn't hurt to have the gun checked out by a gun smith, you never know if it was put away 30 years ago because something broke and no one ever got around to fixing it.
 
The K32 Masterpiece revolver is a standard 'K' frame .32 S&W. Called a Model No. 16 when Smith started numbering in 1957. Made from the late 1940s to the mid-70's. (Not made for squeezing lemons.) Usually with a 6" barrel and made for target shooting. Actually worth a fair chunk of money depending on condition, too. Two or 3 grand. Your's is on the low end due to the rust. Surface rust will come off(without bothering the rest of the bluing) with 0000(extra fine) steel wool and light oil.
The grips rubber or plastic?
 
the gun is about 7" from end to end and like i said i don't know a lot about guns but if i am measuring correctly the barrel is 3.5" I really can't tell what the grips are made of..and i can't get a pic small enough file size to upload of it :-(
 
What you called a K that has Toheir confused is a little symbol that Smith & Wesson uses to bracket their barrel markings.

You describe a Safety Hammerless early Third Model or perhaps late Second Model made around 1909. Second Model has patent dates on barrel, Third does not.

S&W made a lot of them and the dollar value is not much unless in tip-top condition. Its greatest value is as Grandpa's Gun.

Some oil and a coarse cloth would get most of the dirt and rust off. I would not steel wool it without a lot of study.
 
Wait...............he traded a coon dog for one .32 revolver?

Up around Henning, Tennessee, good coon dog may bring $25,000. Man that mans the rest center told me of seeing one bring $28,000.

Bob Wright
 
Bob, that is what my daddy said....said it was in 61 or 62 or maybe even 63, he couldn't remember exactly...he told me he traded papaw a coon dog for it...i always figured it was papaws way of making sure his only daughter got took care of...(they had married in 61)...course daddy wasn't really a coon hunter and papaw was, so maybe he knew what he was getting out of it and daddy didn't lol
 
There is a sticky in the revolver section that can help you find the date of manufacture using the serial number.

The cartridge is what some now call 32 S&W "short", though originally I think it was just called 32 Smith and Wesson. You can find these online easily.

If it was made before 1905 or so (I am clueless on lemon squeezer dates) it was not recommended for use with smokeless cartridges.

The black grips are some kind of plastic-like stuff that I think is maybe hardened rubber. I have an old S&W 32 with grips like that.

More knowledgeable members can doubtless tell you a lot more.
 
Quoted From CC&R Post

What you called a K that has Toheir confused is a little symbol that Smith & Wesson uses to bracket their barrel markings.

You describe a Safety Hammerless early Third Model or perhaps late Second Model made around 1909. Second Model has patent dates on barrel, Third does not.

S&W made a lot of them and the dollar value is not much unless in tip-top condition. Its greatest value is as Grandpa's Gun.

Some oil and a coarse cloth would get most of the dirt and rust off. I would not steel wool it without a lot of study.
Click to expand...

This is taken from the CC&R thread MommaB started.
 
K-32 master piece, M16 huh. Never herd of a hand gun called a lemon squeezer. Not real up to date on many handguns but I had never heard the term, lemon squeezer! Mine has a 6" barrel and one of the nicest shooting hand guns I've ever had but then all I shoot from handguns is cast bullet's.

I checked on the S&W site when I got it about value and back then, if I remember right, it was about $3200. Couldn't believe it. I shoot, don't collect, so if I had to pay any where near that, I wouldn't have the gun! Beautiful gun though and one of the best shooting hand guns I've ever had.
 
With a 176 S/N yours is a third model made somewhere between 1913 and 1915.

There are folks over at the S&W forums that can nail it down better but that is what my quick look came up with.
 
Don Fischer said:
K-32 master piece, M16 huh. Never herd of a hand gun called a lemon squeezer... I checked on the S&W site when I got it about value and back then, if I remember right, it was about $3200.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty confident that the gun is NOT a K-32, and that Jim Watson's theory about the "K" symbol is correct.

K-32s were NOT marked as such. None of the K-22/32/38 Masterpiece or Combat Masterpiece series revolvers were; the model designation was used only on the box, factory literature, and advertising. The barrel rollmark on a K-32 would read ~.32 LONG CTG.~ (I'm using the "~" symbol as a stand-in for the cryptic bracket symbol used by S&W.) Additionally, the serial number is wrong for a K-32 unless preceded by a letter "K."

Perhaps most importantly, if you Google "lemon squeezer gun," it's pretty hard to imagine someone mistaking a K-32 Masterpiece for one of those. :rolleyes:

Correct original black grips should be made of gutta-percha, a natural latex made from tropical tree sap. Do NOT attempt to remove them! They are notorious for tenaciously bonding themselves to the grip frame and disintegrating when removal is attempted, and there's generally no compelling reason to do so unless the gun is nonfunctional; in the case of an heirloom, originality probably trumps function. :) Reproductions are available, but again, why tempt fate? If removal is truly required, some gunsmiths have ways of getting them off; let the pro take the risk. ;)

Also, I've been warned NOT to dry-fire these revolvers excessively, i.e. pull the trigger through without a live round or snap cap (i.e. a special dummy cartridge) in the chambers. The firing pin is fragile, and replacements are reportedly very hard to obtain, as most parts guns at gun shows got that way because the firing pin broke. :(
 
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Welcome to TFL, Momma.

You're getting a lot of good answers for information on your S&W.

That said, one of the things we don't do at TFL is cross post the same question in multiple forums. It tends to dilute the conversation.

I'm going to merge the thread in Curios and Relics into the thread you created in Revolvers.
 
"K-32 master piece, M16 huh. Never herd of a hand gun called a lemon squeezer. Not real up to date on many handguns but I had never heard the term, lemon squeezer!"

Lemon squeezer is a nickname that the buying public gave the early S&W breaktop safety hammerless revolvers because, so the story goes, the gun, with its safety lever on the grip, reminded people of the kitchen utensils of the same name.
 
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