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Early Savage 1928 Serial S-17738 Comes Home


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Hello All:

 

I thought I posted Pictures of this Savage which we refer to as a "Commercial"

It does have Colt Shiny Blued Fire Controls. Tom Davis has a few of These Pictured in

His book with MPD(Memphis Police Dept? ) markings. I need to do a FOIA letter to get more history.

 

It is early enough to be the First variation of the 4 types that Tom shows in his book.

It is because it has the New York Address and Patent Numbers, not dates as in the next variation.

 

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Edited by Haris357
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The safety looks to be a Colt part, the fire selector is a Savage-made part. The rear grip is not original to the gun or has been heavily sanded. Notice that the bottom front portion of the grip does not meet the bottom of the trigger guard and there is a sharp point present. The early Savage guns of that serial number range had more well-formed grips that resembled the Colt style grips. That is a WWII era grip that doesn't fit right or has been sanded heavily. Other than that it is a nice early Savage gun.

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TD sent me some clearer pictures from the original auction photos of this gun. The safety and fire select levers are clearly Savage made, not Colt made parts. I have attached some photos of the fit of the grip of the early Savage gun being discussed in another thread on the Board. This is an 31,000 series serial number and is how the grip should look where it meets the trigger guard. The very early 17,000 serial number guns would have a grip very similar to the Colt contours and the grip would be flush with the edge of the trigger guard. In my opinion, this is not the original grip that was on this gun when it was made.

 

Savage # 81456.jpg Savage # 81456(1).jpg Savage # 81456(2).jpg Savage # 81456(3).jpg

 

 

Serial # 17738

 

# 17738-1.jpg # 17738-2.jpg

Edited by gijive
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the middle one is mine off my gun...i believe it to be a correct marked early S1928 grip..notice the font difference and the location of the stamp on the grip...these are very hard to find....i got this one thanks to a forum member who had a pile of grips and that one happen to be different than the rest...got lucky!

 

S is a larger font

 

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Edited by huggytree
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Yeah, the early Savage 28 grips are very hard to find. That along with a Dittenborn rear grip. Still haven't come across either yet. Although I do have to say the Strombeck (M) grips for the most part look better than the later Savage grips.

 

Andrew

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All,

 

Here is what an early unmolested Savage grip is supposed to look like. This is on a 27,000 serial number range Thompson. Notice the fit of the wood and metal at the rear of the trigger guard and also notice the well-defined edges of the finger groove. They are smooth, but pointed and well-defined. not rounded.

 

Savage Grip-27000 serial range-1.jpg Savage Grip-27000 serial range.jpg Savage Grip-S with serifs.jpg

 

 

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All,

 

Here is what an early unmolested Savage grip is supposed to look like. This is on a 27,000 serial number range Thompson. Notice the fit of the wood and metal at the rear of the trigger guard and also notice the well-defined edges of the finger groove. They are smooth, but pointed and well-defined. not rounded.

 

Savage Grip-27000 serial range-1.jpg Savage Grip-27000 serial range.jpg Savage Grip-S with serifs.jpg

 

 

Gijive, that particular Thompson looks parkerized. Is it or is it just the camera lighting? Very nice Thompson BTW.

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All,

 

Here is what an early unmolested Savage grip is supposed to look like. This is on a 27,000 serial number range Thompson. Notice the fit of the wood and metal at the rear of the trigger guard and also notice the well-defined edges of the finger groove. They are smooth, but pointed and well-defined. not rounded.

 

Savage Grip-27000 serial range-1.jpg Savage Grip-27000 serial range.jpg Savage Grip-S with serifs.jpg

 

 

Gijive, that particular Thompson looks parkerized. Is it or is it just the camera lighting? Very nice Thompson BTW.

Halftrack,

 

No, it is original finish DuLite blue. The early Savage guns had the receiver and trigger frame bead-blasted. When blued it gives the appearance of a matte finish, commonly mistaken for Parkerizing. I have seen the gun in person (it is not mine) and it is definitely original DuLite finish. The barrels were not blasted and have a dull blue appearance.

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So what I am gathering is the grip is most likely original to the weapon but just sanded down through the years. I wood stick with the sanded down grip which is original to the Thompson. Also, lets say I have a particular wood furniture that is authentic to a weapon that a GI decided to carve into or sand down. Is the weapon it belongs to anyless of an example or less desirable than one that stayed on a shelf somewhere and looks as if it were never used?
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I find no marks whatsoever on the foregrip.

Buttstock has matching serial numbers which is correct and pistol grip has the "S"

 

Is there any numbers under the butt stock slide hardware?

 

Andrew

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So what I am gathering is the grip is most likely original to the weapon but just sanded down through the years. I wood stick with the sanded down grip which is original to the Thompson. Also, lets say I have a particular wood furniture that is authentic to a weapon that a GI decided to carve into or sand down. Is the weapon it belongs to anyless of an example or less desirable than one that stayed on a shelf somewhere and looks as if it were never used?

halftrack,

 

My personal opinion is the grip is likely not original to the gun. It appears to me to be a later Savage grip, somewhat flat on the sides, similar to the later production Savage 1928A1 Models when they were pumping them out for the war effort. The early Savage grips that I have seen tend to have the Savage "S" stamp with serifs (see huggytree's post # 6). The later grips usually have the "S" sans-serifs. The very early Savage grips, especially one on a 17,000 serial number gun, would be more carefully finished. The pictures in post # 9 show a grip similar in contour to the original Colt era grips.

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i think to fit that loose its more than sanded down....why would someone sand it down around where it fits the gun???

 

im thinking its not quite the right grip...sanding would be on the sides or bottom....a correct grip like that is hard to find!....i think asking forum members would be best..its how i found mine...ive looked for a spare on ebay and GB for 3 years and have yet to ever see one....its a specific piece of wood.....

 

hoping you have the 3rd matching # on your stock...if not a forum member has a 3# matching one for sale....dont remember who he was, but his asking price was too high for me at the time..ive got a 2 matching like you have and i use a un numbered latch....not sure if they ever left the factory w a un numbered latch or not

 

i will also say the inside of stock metal is pristine!!!...mine has a bit of rust in there....yours looks factory new....

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So what I am gathering is the grip is most likely original to the weapon but just sanded down through the years. I wood stick with the sanded down grip which is original to the Thompson. Also, lets say I have a particular wood furniture that is authentic to a weapon that a GI decided to carve into or sand down. Is the weapon it belongs to anyless of an example or less desirable than one that stayed on a shelf somewhere and looks as if it were never used?

halftrack,

 

My personal opinion is the grip is likely not original to the gun. It appears to me to be a later Savage grip, somewhat flat on the sides, similar to the later production Savage 1928A1 Models when they were pumping them out for the war effort. The early Savage grips that I have seen tend to have the Savage "S" stamp with serifs (see huggytree's post # 6). The later grips usually have the "S" sans-serifs. The very early Savage grips, especially one on a 17,000 serial number gun, would be more carefully finished. The pictures in post # 9 show a grip similar in contour to the original Colt era grips.

Thanks!

 

I learn something everyday from this board.

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ive been offered a stock all 3 # matching from a forum member for $550....i didnt buy it for that price, i walked away as at the time i felt it was over market(but who really knows)..... its a pretty rare thing you have...and metal condition on your stock hardware looks like brand new.....amazing stuff harris!

 

you made me pull out my printouts of colt vs S1928 front grips...the arch i think is too high to be a S1928 grip...more colt to me..your arch goes all the way into the top horizontal part of your grip...while a S1928 has a tiny bit hanging below it on its arch

 

ive owned (2) untouched S1928 front grips and each was different when studied closely....so i dont believe any 2 grips are 100% the same....had yours had a S in it id still consider it could be a S1928 grip even though the arch looks wrong....im not a colt grip expert, but looks like there's a chance it could be a colt....i think in this case the S1928 grip is more valuable(or has been in the past ($1550 on ebay auction))....i paid $750-850 for my S1928 front grip after years or searching.....just to give you a value....talking price is rude to some, but its good to know the market or at least what another idiot(me) paid as we have the same gun and want both to be the best they can be....

 

amazing condition is all i can say over all.....

Edited by huggytree
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Is there any rhyme or reason as to the numbering? Did they just number the parts sets as they made them?

I will tell you , grasshopper. The stocks and buttplate numbers are called assembly numbers.

The metal is fitted to the wood and separates for finishing and then they can match them up later

Has nothing to do with the serial of the gun.Just has to do with each other.

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