Re: WEBLEY SCOTT SETS UP PLANT IN INDIA
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:00 am
This is an interesting video - thanks for sharing.
One thing I notice, this new revolver has not incorporated the hideous safety lever used on the IOF models.
You should note (as this is a very important personal safety issue) that in the video, starting around 0:47, the presenter pulls the trigger. When the hammer drops and he lets go of the trigger, you can just barely see the hammer "rebound" back a slight amount.
The original design of Webley revolvers had a "rebound lever" (I'm not sure that's what the British called it) that brings the hammer back slightly. This feature in the mechanism draws the hammer back in a normal, uncocked state, so that the hammer's firing pin is not resting on the primer of a loaded chamber when the revolver is loaded and closed.
The old Single Action Army Colt "cowboy guns" did not have this feature, and for that reason, this revolver and many others were always loaded so that the firing pin rested over an empty chamber, preventing an accidental discharge if the hammer was struck when a live round was chambered underneath it.
Even though the rebound lever does draw the hammer back, double action revolvers of this type (Webley, Smith & Wesson, Colt, etc.) were still not safe to have a loaded round under the hammer. The angle of the rebound lever against the bottom of the hammer was such that, if the hammer were struck sharply, it could still be pushed forward and discharge a round underneath it.
I suspect that IOF put the safety lever on their revolver to prevent this, but I think that IOF uses a modification of the original Webley and Scott lockwork, so I cannot be sure of what is going on inside of it.
Back around 1905, Colt came out with a modification of their lockwork that raised a block, so that, unless the trigger was pulled which pulled the block down and allowed the hammer to completely fall against a round in the chamber, the block prevented the hammer from completely falling. This is the difference between the Colt Police Model and the Colt Police Positive Model.
The same lockwork was incorporated in the big frame Colt New Service and the medium frame Colt Army Special (forerunner to the famous Python) about this time.
Smith & Wesson had no such feature, and still depended on the angles of the rebound bar and hammer to keep the hammer away from a loaded round in the chamber. This was insufficient. There is a record of a sailor being killed during WW2, when a loaded Smith & Wesson dropped to the deck and discharged.
Sometime after this, at least after WW2, Smith & Wesson also incorporated a positive locking method, 40 years after Colt introduced theirs, that would positively prevent such accidental discharges, and all Smith & Wessons are made this way today.
This is why I have said that a properly made revolver does not need a safety. A properly designed revolver is capable of being loaded in all chambers without fear of an accidental discharge if the hammer is struck. This technology is over 115 years old, and there's no excuse for not having it, nor is there any excuse for putting a clumsy safety lever on the side of a double action revolver made today. A properly made revolver has a positive, blocking safety that prevents accidental discharge designed into its lockwork.
"But, but, but, . . ." I know some will say. I'm only describing the mechanical operations of double action revolvers here. How and what anyone might do with such information is their decision, but one's personal situation doesn't change the properties of a revolver. Guns fire and bullets fly, whatever one's feelings and intentions may be! I say this only to provide information. How a person chooses their own course of action and procedure to remain safe is their own decision.
One thing I notice, this new revolver has not incorporated the hideous safety lever used on the IOF models.
You should note (as this is a very important personal safety issue) that in the video, starting around 0:47, the presenter pulls the trigger. When the hammer drops and he lets go of the trigger, you can just barely see the hammer "rebound" back a slight amount.
The original design of Webley revolvers had a "rebound lever" (I'm not sure that's what the British called it) that brings the hammer back slightly. This feature in the mechanism draws the hammer back in a normal, uncocked state, so that the hammer's firing pin is not resting on the primer of a loaded chamber when the revolver is loaded and closed.
The old Single Action Army Colt "cowboy guns" did not have this feature, and for that reason, this revolver and many others were always loaded so that the firing pin rested over an empty chamber, preventing an accidental discharge if the hammer was struck when a live round was chambered underneath it.
Even though the rebound lever does draw the hammer back, double action revolvers of this type (Webley, Smith & Wesson, Colt, etc.) were still not safe to have a loaded round under the hammer. The angle of the rebound lever against the bottom of the hammer was such that, if the hammer were struck sharply, it could still be pushed forward and discharge a round underneath it.
I suspect that IOF put the safety lever on their revolver to prevent this, but I think that IOF uses a modification of the original Webley and Scott lockwork, so I cannot be sure of what is going on inside of it.
Back around 1905, Colt came out with a modification of their lockwork that raised a block, so that, unless the trigger was pulled which pulled the block down and allowed the hammer to completely fall against a round in the chamber, the block prevented the hammer from completely falling. This is the difference between the Colt Police Model and the Colt Police Positive Model.
The same lockwork was incorporated in the big frame Colt New Service and the medium frame Colt Army Special (forerunner to the famous Python) about this time.
Smith & Wesson had no such feature, and still depended on the angles of the rebound bar and hammer to keep the hammer away from a loaded round in the chamber. This was insufficient. There is a record of a sailor being killed during WW2, when a loaded Smith & Wesson dropped to the deck and discharged.
Sometime after this, at least after WW2, Smith & Wesson also incorporated a positive locking method, 40 years after Colt introduced theirs, that would positively prevent such accidental discharges, and all Smith & Wessons are made this way today.
This is why I have said that a properly made revolver does not need a safety. A properly designed revolver is capable of being loaded in all chambers without fear of an accidental discharge if the hammer is struck. This technology is over 115 years old, and there's no excuse for not having it, nor is there any excuse for putting a clumsy safety lever on the side of a double action revolver made today. A properly made revolver has a positive, blocking safety that prevents accidental discharge designed into its lockwork.
"But, but, but, . . ." I know some will say. I'm only describing the mechanical operations of double action revolvers here. How and what anyone might do with such information is their decision, but one's personal situation doesn't change the properties of a revolver. Guns fire and bullets fly, whatever one's feelings and intentions may be! I say this only to provide information. How a person chooses their own course of action and procedure to remain safe is their own decision.