Stainless S&W 15 ?

[onehalfmvsquared]

I'm suddenly curious about snub nosed K-frames.
I found this one, but did S&W ever make a stainless M15? Am I right that this is actually nickel plated?
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/996338245

the stainless version of the 15 is the 67, right? Was that ever made in a 2" or 3" barrel?

[Lon]

20 stainless Model 15s were produced as a test run, but less than 10 were shipped out. That serial number is wrong to be stainless.

[Navin Johnson]

Most, if not all of the nickeled guns from that era had “case hardened” looking hammers, and triggers

The stainless had stainless looking hammers and triggers

One of the reasons I thought the nickel versions looked like shit

[wanderinwalker]

Yep, that was actually nickel-plated, and from the factory even. The final sale price seems pretty reasonable for a nickel 2" Model 15. Probably because of the ugly grips and incorrect listing title.

For any of those not savvy with the S&W secret decoder ring, the stainless models usually start with a "6". This isn't 100% fool proof, but it's usually a give-away you're dealing with a nickeled revolver when the description says "stainless Model 10" or "polished stainless M-19".

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

[Chuck Whitlock]

One big tell that it is a factory nickel-plated gun is the prominent "N" stamped on the cylinder in photo #8.

[Jim Watson]

Two inch M15s aren't real common, a FACTORY nickel was a great catch.

I have only ever seen 4" M67s.

[03RN]

Two inch M15s aren't real common, a FACTORY nickel was a great catch.

I have only ever seen 4" M67s.

Gave this to my wife when our first born was born

[Spartan1980]

Definitely a nickel gun.

1) The machine marks on the end of the barrel are plated over, which most people can't discern unless they are machinists or worked in plating/finishing shops.

2) Nickel has a different color and hue than stainless.

3) I've never seen a stainless S&W polished to a shine that matches nickel come out of the S&W factory.

[SteveThePirate]

No thread hijacking intended, but I recently picked up a nickel 15-4 2" that appears to have a stainless hammer, trigger, and internals like the rebound slide. Looking around at other pictures, it looks like case hardened was the standard finish for the nickel guns. Would the internals have been nickel plated as well, and could the hammer, trigger, and rebound slide be nickel plated and not stainless?

[LtDave]

S&W didn't nickel plate any of the internal parts on nickel guns. Stainless guns got flash chromed hammers and triggers. I think the original stainless parts had problems with galling. The finish on the gun in the picture looks a little dull to be nickel and presents more like stainless to my eye.