Type
26 Photos-Horizontally Grooved Grips
A friend of mine bought this gun for
me in a
Here is the left side.
The markings are on the right side. At the top is the Tokyo Arsenal
mark.
The hinge pin screw is somewhat the worse for
wear, probably from using a screwdriver with a blade that was too thick.
When buying a Type 26, always ask
for close-ups of the end of the barrel. This is usually where the pitting is
worst since it would be in contact with the sweat-moistened leather of the
holster. Pitting and other finish blemishes often don’t show up in overall
photos of a gun. You needn’t reject a gun because of such pitting (almost all
Type 26s have it to some extent), but you should be aware of it so you can
match the price you pay to the condition.
Another spot to check is the thumb
notch on the bottom of the frame. After pulling down the trigger guard, this is
where you insert your finger or thumb to swing open the sideplate
for cleaning, inspection or repair. This one is not that bad, but some have
been mutilated in this area through misuse of tools. The sideplate
should swing open freely with just finger or fingernail pressure.
The inside of the left grip panel
has the same assembly number as the frame, 114 (shown below). However, it has a
different prefix, the katakana phonetic symbol se.
The parts were serialized with
assembly numbers on Type 26s. These numbers are on the two sides of the grip
frame and often bear no resemblance to the serial number. In this serial range
they got a three digit number with the last two digits matching the last two
digits of the serial number. On the left grip frame (under the grip panel) is
the katakana phonetic symbol ka above
the number 114.
Don’t try this at home, kids! The
cylinder on this revolver would not go back on when I got it. The problem was
that the little washer in the lower right of the photo had come out of its
appointed position on the extractor shaft and prevented the cylinder assembly
from sliding back onto the hollow shaft it fits onto. Because of that, I had to
disassemble the cylinder assembly, something you should not do unless there is
a problem like this. I drifted out the extractor bearing pin (bottom middle of
photo), which allowed me to slide off the extractor bearing (bottom left) and
then remove the extractor and spring from the cylinder body. The washer is not
on standard parts diagrams, so I think it was added to tighten up the locking
of the sylinder somehow. If I figure out how that
worked, I will put it back in. I have shown the parts inside the cylinder so
that, with your curiosity sated, you will not attempt this procedure
needlessly. Leave it alone unless it is broken.
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Last updated: June 7, 2006. All contents are copyright Teri unless otherwise specified and may not
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