Reply With QuoteI can't answer your question about the spring, as never owned a WR. However yours appear to have normal shaped triggers, which is a good thing.👍
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Here are two WR pistols. I will probably keep one and sell the other. One is a bit fascinating in that the lever to open the breech must have broken but the repair was made by someone pretty good and clever. He shaped the remain piece into a smaller lever that is very accessible to a thumb and index finger pulling it. He drilled a post into the grip to hold it into position. If you never saw a WR you could very well think that this was the way it was originally made. It looks neater? The second WR is normal and has a squared off spring, see pics. Does anyone know if this is original? To me it looks like someone fitted the spring by grinding it down? It goes against my norm but I will probably be keeping the repaired one. For some reason I like it more?
First pistol with repair
Second pistol
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I can't answer your question about the spring, as never owned a WR. However yours appear to have normal shaped triggers, which is a good thing.👍
Award-winning Airgun Anorak
Steve, since the example with the broken lever is otherwise excellent and has a lovely original-looking matt blued finish, it would make sense to swap over the release lever from the second pistol. You would probably be making a mistake not to IMO! Cue the horrified purists...
The spring looks like a modern one to me.
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..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
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Lol, I was already thinking that way but the pin for the original lever is not moving at all. Looking at the repaired one that pin is a little larger and comes out easily. I bet that he drilled the pin out and made one a little larger. Thus I would have to drill it out and fabric another slightly larger pin to get it done. Don’t really have the machine tools to do this properly I think?Originally Posted by Garvin
Steve, since the example with the broken lever is otherwise excellent and has a lovely original-looking matt blued finish, it would make sense to swap over the release lever from the second pistol. You would probably be making a mistake not too IMO! Cue the horrified purists...
The spring looks like a modern one to me.
Other issue is I really like that repair for some reason, it just works well and tells a story. I also think that I could get a better price for the pistol with less finish but all orginal, not sure that I want to have to say that its had a broken part repaired?
Last edited by 45flint; 22-09-2023 at 04:41 PM.
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Here is a video which probably is meaningless to true collectors
https://youtu.be/3iHPjmR2yQM?si=z75qWA2VlzagpbvF
Airgun Alchemist, Collector and Scribe
I have never seen a Westley Richards with a square section spring and is very unlikely to be original.
If you ever take the pistol apart, it would be interesting to know if the piston has its original red composition washer, as this is generally the first thing to be replaced (usually by a leather one) when some restoration has been carried out.
The collector formerly known as micky
Hi Steve, yes l would say that the square section spring is a replacement. nice to have 2 W.R HPs. could you give me the se/nos please.
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The repaired pistol is 990
Other is 1114
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Almost forgot believe it or not, the lever has the serial number stamped on it underneath. Impossible to justify exchanging a serialized part?Steve, since the example with the broken lever is otherwise excellent and has a lovely original-looking matt blued finish, it would make sense to swap over the release lever from the second pistol. You would probably be making a mistake not to IMO! Cue the horrified purists...
The spring looks like a modern one to me.
Last edited by 45flint; 23-09-2023 at 10:59 AM.
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WR put the serial number on a number of parts. Presumable because they were all individually made and then didn't get mixed up when sent for blueing? Has the "modified" lever got any trace if a serial number? Steve
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Yes, the modified part has the serial number given it’s on the underside near the pivot. As said I could get the pin out and I removed it thinking like Danny why not switch the levers. When I turned it over and saw the serial number I thought this kind of messes with this theory? Yes it’s very hard to see when attached but why mess with matching serial numbers on both pistols? Especially since this part works well and actually looks good and has grown on me as a collector? This part has kind of become part of my collecting journey. I bet this pistol retains most of its original finish because it was broken and probably not used much by the original owner?
Last edited by 45flint; 23-09-2023 at 08:32 AM.
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i agree with your approach,keeping the parts where they belong rather than as you say"messing with the serial numbers on both pistols".i have a mk1 webley that had a broken barrel catch,i could have got a replacement but the broken catch was numbered underneath so opted to have it repaired,the serial number was partially erased by the work and it's hidden but it's the one it was made with.
The collector formerly known as micky
Hi Steve, many thanks for the se/nos.
ATB
Mick
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Been shooting my WR and finding them pretty effective pistols. Mine was shooting at 325 fps with Hobbys, not great, but about the same as Jimmie Dee’s in his awesome article on the pistol. In sighting in the pistol I found the setting of the rear sight to be about in the middle, all you could as for. Trigger is much like the military pistol it was designed after. Put some moly on it and that helped. All and all a fun target pistol. I can see why most of these show quite a bit of use. Nothing quite like it really, makes my Webleys seem a bit anemic?
Last edited by 45flint; 29-09-2023 at 08:21 AM.
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I prefer the large Victorian revolver appearance of the WR Non-Concentric Highest Possible to it’s Concentric successor in the same way that I prefer the appearance of pre-war Straight Grip Webley models to the later Slant Grip examples, but the later designs certainly feel better in the hand and are consequently easier to shoot more consistently.
Although undeniably technically advanced, I have always thought the WR Concentric to be a bit of a retrograde step with its smoothbore barrel and fully fixed sights.
Both are nice pistols, but its easy to understand why the Concentric had such a very short production run having been launched around the same time as the much more compact and all conquering Webley Mk1 in the early twenties.
Brian
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