The Smith & Wesson K-22 Masterpiece Series

This series wasn’t planned. It started with one K-22… and turned into something else entirely.

What began as a simple purchase turned into a deep appreciation for the post-war Smith & Wesson K-22 Masterpiece revolvers — guns made at a time when craftsmanship still mattered more than production speed. Before long, I found myself studying serial numbers, chasing variations, and learning the subtle differences between five-screw, four-screw, and three-screw guns.

Classic revolvers from the Gregory J. Cook Collection — Notice the difference in hammer profiles over time — a subtle but telling indicator of production changes.

This five-part series documents that journey — not just the guns themselves, but what they represent: a moment in American manufacturing history that cannot be recreated today.

Read the Series

Each part looks at a different chapter in the K-22 story: the overview, the first post-war showcase gun, the 1948 production surge, the 1953 five-screw example, and the 1957 four-screw pre-Model 17.

Part I

The K-22 Masterpiece Overview

How to identify five-screw, four-screw, and three-screw Smith & Wesson target revolvers.

Part II

The 1946 Factory Showcase Gun

The first production K-22 Masterpiece completed in 1946, later connected to Gil Hebard and Roy Jinks.

Part III

The 1948 K-22

A look at one of the busiest post-war production years and the features that make early third models so interesting.

Part IV

The 1953 Five-Screw

A personal look at old-gun craftsmanship, hand fitting, and the appeal of a mid-century Masterpiece.

Part V

The 1957 Four-Screw

One of the last pre-Model 17 examples, with the shift from five-screw to four-screw construction.

The Post-War K-22 Timeline

The Third Model K-22 Masterpiece began after World War II and ran until Smith & Wesson adopted model numbers. That short window is what makes the pre-Model 17 revolvers so interesting to collectors.

1946 Production resumes after the war. 1948 Strong production year for third model guns. 1953 Five-screw craftsmanship still present. 1955 Fifth screw disappears. 1957 Final pre-Model 17 period.

Why This Series Matters

The K-22 Masterpiece was not a defensive sidearm, a duty revolver, or a fashionable magnum. It was a precision .22 target revolver built in a period when Smith & Wesson was still leaning heavily on skilled labor, traditional fitting, and old-school metalwork.

Smith & Wesson K-22 Masterpiece with mother-of-pearl grips — The mother-of-pearl grips on this example are highly sought after and are valued at approximately $800 on their own.

That is what gives these revolvers their charm. The appeal is not only that they shoot well. The appeal is that they carry the feel of the post-war American gun trade — forged parts, hand-fitted wood, careful polish, narrow ribs, pinned barrels, recessed cylinders, and the kind of workmanship collectors still talk about decades later.

Collector Takeaway: The K-22 Masterpiece isn’t just a .22 revolver — it’s a snapshot of American craftsmanship before efficiency replaced artistry.

Smith & Wesson K-22 third model serial number graph — The serial-number history gives the series a natural collector roadmap: production years, screw changes, and the transition into the Model 17 era.

How to Use This Series

Start with the overview if you are trying to identify a gun. Start with the 1946 showcase gun if you want the most historically significant story. Start with the 1953 or 1957 examples if you want the most personal collector reflections.

The best way to read it, though, is straight through. Taken together, these five pages show how one modest .22 target revolver became a collector study in post-war manufacturing, family gifting, serial-number research, and old-gun appreciation.

From My Bench

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About Greg Cook

Greg Cook writes about firearms collecting, personal history, and the stories behind interesting guns. His Army MOS was 76Y, Unit Armorer, and he brings that practical background to his collector articles.