The Smith & Wesson Model 1913 gained quite a fame in Iceland because it was used as a murder weapon in January 1968, when a middle aged Taxi driver was killed with such a pistol. Pistols are really rare in Iceland and there was at the time just one Model 1913 known to exist in the country but it had misteriously dissapeared a few years before the murder. The gun was found in 1969 or 1970 and it let to one man beeing tried for the murder but investigators were never really able to prove that the suspect had the gun at the time of the murder. The case remains open to this day, one of only two unsolved murders in Iceland since 1945.

Not to sound too much like a shill, but you should tell RIA to add you as an option for "how you heard of us" on their registration page.

An excellent firearms author and researcher named Donald Simmons did the fundamental research on these pistols about 40 years ago. His article was published in the 1976 Gun Digest. From it, I would like to make a few points: 1) The story of the FBI using S&W 35 automatics is a myth. FBI agents were not even allowed to be armed until the 1930's, when both of these guns were out of production, after an event known as "the Kansas City Massacre". 2) The 35 automatic never sold well compared to it's American competitors such as the Colt 1903, the Savage 1908 (which was on the market by 1910 or so), or the H&R 32 Self Loader (which hit the market about 1916), or the Remington Model 51 (which dates from the 1920's). Even the slowest seller of all these, the H&R, sold about 16,000 units over about the same period of time it took S&E to sell less than 10,000 units of its 35 & 32 automatic pistols. The S&W was always too expensive compared to any of these, and the 35 demanded unique ammunition. 3) The use of 32 ACP ammunition in the S&W 35 was NOT a good idea. There are enough small dimensional differences to make problems; for example, the 32 ACP is semi-rimmed while the 35 S&W is rimless. But also, as Simmons makes clear in his article, the breechblock of the 35 S&W pistol was ALREADY seriously underweight for the 35 S&W cartridge, and had problems with opening too quickly. Using the (slightly) more powerful and somewhat undersized 32 ACP was only going to increase the problem. (Another point that Simmons makes is that increasing the tension of the recoil spring was NOT a substitute for the inadequate mass of the breechblock. The resistance of a spring is simply different from the inertia of a mass.) 4) Thus, the redesign of the S&W 35 automatic into the S&W 32 Automatic was only partly to simplify the gun and decrease the manufacturing cost. Another major goal was to increase the mass of the recoiling parts and render the gun safe to use with 32 ACP ammunition. The gun is, in fact, not as simple as it could have been, because S&W chose to retain the feature of a separate breechblock which could be disconnected from the slide for easier cocking and chambering of the first round. Therefore, the S&W 32 was still an expensive gun to manufacture. In fact, when new, it's retail price was about $35, which was substantially more than the $22-$24 dollars that the Colt Model 1903 32 automatic pistol cost at the same time. That seems like a small difference now, but it was about 50%. Think of one costing $420 and the other $280, and you will see what I mean. For the extra cost of the S&W, you got a pistol that held only 7 cartridges instead compared to the Colt's 8, and lacked any manual safety catch. That is an absence that would still raise eyebrows on a single action automatic pistol today. Aside from the separate breechblock mentioned above, the S&W 32 had no counterbalancing advantages. This goes far to explain its failure on the market. 5) Finally, the S&W 32 automatic was NOT the last appearance of the Clement style design in Smith & Wesson automatic pistols. The classic S&W Model 41 22 caliber target pistol is clearly mechanically similar to these two guns. It has a barrel fixed to the frame and released in fashion similar to the S&W 35, and its breecblock arrangement is also much the same. (It is also much more massive than the 35's breechblock, even though it only has to contain the power of 22 Long Rifle ammunition.) I realize that these are all detail points, and I apologize for picking nits about this basically fine video. However, I felt it would be better to have accurate information here, or at least to have people know that some of these points are in dispute. Also, how often does one get to demonstrate one's knowledge of early Smith & Wesson automatic pistols?! :)

Actually more info on the 35 S&W cartridge itself than in Barnes' "Cartridges of the World"! Kudos!

I love hearing about cartridge development.I think it's just as important as as the guns.There's a lot of information out there about guns but the ammo usually takes a back seat.John Browning is touted as America's premier gun designer,and rightfully so,but you never hear him called America's premier cartridge designer.Most of the cartridges he came up with outlived the guns he designed them for and are still widely used today all over the world.

A gun book I read in the 1970s stated that a reason S & W designated it a ".35," rather than a .32, was an advertising ploy to give the impression it was more powerful.

I did not know I could disconnect my slide. I hated that it was sooo strong. Thanks for educating me!

These are rather nifty little gun. The machining work looks surprisingly well made and it's been taken well care of for its age. Thanks for sharing them Ian

The late model has a wonderful cold war CIA concealed carry space age gun tingle to it, nothing beats beautiful old style deep blueing and gold inlay ingraving with these old full metal milled designs, I just want it under my pillow !

This helped me a lot actually. I have one myself and I was using this video as a disassembly guide! Good to know I don't have to custom make ammo for it!

The later pattern one is an Art Deco thing of beauty

love the videos

The later model was a handsome piece. Too bad a 380 was not also tried. It might have proven a better seller.

No Smill & Welson, Sprangfeld, Mus, EUA on the pistols... Those are clearly American copies from original Eibarrese ones.

I noticed the Machining was very nicely done. Their best automatic pistol in my estimation was the Model 39 steel-framed automatic pistol.

The recoil spring disconnect is brilliant. I have run into a fair amount of shooters that don't have the grip strength to rack the slide on small for caliber guns. I usually recommend these people go with a mid sized .380 (Ruger LC380, Glock 42, etc.) or in extreme cases a Beretta tip up, but a spring disconnect would allow these people to go with a more potent round.

Reminds me of the FNH 1900 with the recoil rod & spring over the barrel.

I would like to add both to my collection. But that's not going to happen. I really liked the 1924 revised design. Seems like they fixed the less desirable features and left the interesting ones. If only I had an excess of expendable income. Great video.

I have a 1913 .35 but never shot it using .32acp. Still have some of the original .35 ammo as well. Great video!!!

I like the looks of the later gen pistol

Ian knows so much about each weapon he presents. How much is research and how much is his encyclopedic brain?

So this is somehow an Open-bolt pistol when you use the disconnect button... anyway, awesome video and well done summary of this product!

So, one could say that the .35 cartridge lacked a certain. . .(*puts on sunglasses*). . . Wessonality.

When I bought my house I found one of these in my garage. the Previous owner didnt want it so now its just sitting in my bedroom collecting dust.

COOL!!!!

I never would have heard of this place if not you.

I could just be my 1913 (serial 69xx), but the .35 S&W chamber seems to not be identical to .32 ACP. Cases from my gun show bulging that are similar to shooting .380 in a 9x18mm chamber. Full disassembly is weird too. The walnut grip panels are riveted (2 brass plugs) to a piece of sheet metal which is then dovetailed into the frame. Removing the bottom screw allows the grip panel to slide downwards... as long as it isn't rusted into place which seems to be common. I have a Colt 1903, and it is superior in every way to the S&W. Rear grip safety, smoother magazine release, easier manual safety, 1 more round in magazine, a smoother recoil and an easier to manipulate slide.

A rather bizarre, yet clever system they had for this side arm. I can imagine a couple of guns that could have been made use of some of these mechanisms.

these pistols turn up often in old british movies. quite distinctive hump at rear end.

I would love to see this gun come back in production in 380

That was right edifying. Not being aware of these pistols and their dismal marketing, I have long wondered why S&W had not made auto loaders before they did.

I have a model of 1913 early version with the sideways magazine catch , I've shot .32 out of it but I end up with bulged cases when doing so .

I really hope whoever buys them lets you fire the original .35 one. I would be very interested to know how it shoots, with the low, fixed barrel and minimal amount of mass actually flying back and forth in the action. Are there other pistols with such a lightweight breechblock like that? I don't know how dubious it would become with more powerful cartridges, but I find this a very interesting design.

Maybe I missed this but would it allow you to fire with the recoil spring disengaged?

Smith and Wesson: You know that gun the Kolibri? Let's just make it bigger. Disclaimer: I'm sure this is horribly wrong but that's the first thing I thought of when I saw these lovely handguns.

Would like to see a Field Strip of the 2nd Edition also was it Conceivable that the Return Spring could be accidentally disabled whilst Shooting or Drawing the Pistol 😎🤔 Ian

I'm curious to know if there is a safety mechanism that prevents the firing pin to move forward if the trigger is accidentally pulled and the breechblock is disconnected, but in its foremost position. An unlikely event, but theoretically possible.

Hi, I have one original Smith & Wesson, S&W .32 ACP, the number 164 of 957, I need to find the original magazine cause my father loose it, so I am using a magazine that we made here, but some times don't work well. Do you know how i can find it? Thanks.

I wonder if the recoil spring disconnect could ever fail to properly reconnect the slide and recoil spring, and allow the gun to fire with nothing holding the slide in place.

I thought you would show how to break down the earlier model.

Interesting design on the earlier model even if not that practical.

Now *that's* what i call slim and *fine*

Really nice ! And that 1924 is a looker. And man, that bore axis ! Anybody knows modern automatic with this configuration ?

I think that was the first time Ian's actually dry fired a gun.

Question, my boss inherited one of the 35 caliber models and is interested in selling it because he is retiring down to Belize and guns are very strictly regulated down there. Almost impossible for an expat to get a license. He wants to know the best place to sell a working model 1913, and what is a typical price for one in average condition?

That 1913 model looks a lot like a 2.7mm Kolibri pistol. Is that a crazy coincidence or did someone violate some copyright laws even before WW1?

I think they are pretty cool. They just needed some better people in the advertising department. I think post war there was so much cheap surplus that it had to catch the eye.

I just noticed how much of a mess the S&W logo actually is.

I have the one on the left. What is it worth?

I'd carry that.

Hey Ian, do you get your research by yourself, or do the RIA has some historical help to make your work a bit easier?

Hard to believe these two pistols represent *early* American semi-autos. You know what else does? The Colt Model of 1911, which is a very damn good pistol.

Hi i have one S&W .32 CTG #854 I want to sell it how much its a good price?

Do you have a cot at RIA? You seem to damn near live there.

Grip safety to the rear plus manual safety up on the side plus a little testing on actual barrel wear with readily availble ammo = (more) successful gun. I wonder if some gun designers really took a look on the market while designing something. So often some guns have ingenious features, but other features, better call them quirks, are simply awkward.

I really like the 1924 model. Had they begun with this version, it may well have been a successful pistol commercially.

The 32 model only had a grip safety? If so, no wonder it didn’t sell.

It strikes me that the disconnector, being unsprung, itself, would be a hazard if the gun were fired without it being placed in the connected position. I saw no interrupter sear that would take this into account, and having only the unsprung bolt to hold it in place, however loosely, would do little to prevent a disaster if the trigger were pulled. Perhaps there WAS a spring, but no mention of it was made.

they are neat little pistols. You kind of see the change in pistol design at the time between the two of these. That being said, I also see why they failed, especially the last one. Bad marketing especially with the .35. I am sure saying it was .35 OR .32 would had helped. When they did finally get around to marketing a bit better and simplifying the design, the Browning 1903 and Savage pistols were their competition. S&W missed the boat.

Many of these early autos you can see clearly why they weren't successful. That however is a darn cleaver neat little gun. The recoil spring disconnect in particular. I could see a modern pistol using that feature today to help sell autos to women and others with weak hands worried about cycling the slide. It also of course would help lighten the gun, a big selling feature(shouldn't be) these days.

this looks like a scaled up kolibri

at 13:23 you see cal 35. at 15:32 you see cal 32. looks like instead of making a 5 punch they turned the 2 upsidedown.

Does the second one hinge open too?

Knowing your high standards of accuracy Ian, the FBI before 1935 was called the BI, or BOI, just The Bureau of Investigation.

A real size kolibri pistol

Such a light slide is more suitable for a BB gun.

Its a grown up Kolibri

15:33, that looks like 38 auto.

"Original founder" ???

About how much are these worth?

"Goes over like a Lead Balloon," you say? Oh, you clearly did not watch Mythbusters. Though still doesn't save this gun. It looks like a functional firearm. Though I feel that there may have been too many firearms in the same caliber that do the same job and do it well. That you may invent the better toaster. Yet if you price yourself out of the range of those who would make yourself the most profit in sells. Your toaster is toast. That is what happened here.

None of the "dislike trolls" yet? They must be preoccupied with World of Warcraft and Cheetos, or they like Smith and Wesson. The world may never know (I'm voting for WoW and the Cheetos)

Non sequitur, so, sorrybin advance. FYI the Remington 700 dispute about the rifle firing without pulling the trigger has new info. The original designer of the rifle flames he told upper management that the "SAFETY" was not safe. Memos were found proving REAL DECISION MAKERS knew the risk of death was very BAD. They could have fixed it for 5 and 1\2 cents per firearm. Boycott Them.

Am I the only one that hates it when calibers fail and become obsolete? I'm so sick of 9mm, .45 acp, .380 ect.

I found out that the name Smith and Wesson does not mean guarantee quality today. I bought a pocket knife at a gun show engraved with the S&W name into the blade for $25.00, to use at work. A month later I walk into Harbor Freight (China junk outlet) and lo and behold there is the exact same knife without the laser engraving on the blade. $3.00! Live and learn!

First

My grandfather has one of these.