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Well, I got my NIB Interarms PPK/S today. Still has the cosmoline on it! I doubt anyone would guess why I bought it, no, I wasn't convinced by all the internet talk about how superior the Interarms pistol is compared to the S&W one.
I bought it to do a side by side comparison of the two, from a machinist's viewpoint. Right off the bat I saw a negative, the grips are two piece but they join at the back, I prefer my S&W because it's easier to swap out grips, or make your own.
But the main item I want to look at is the safety, because of the S&W recall. Some folks are saying that the newer pistol has a weaker safety, I doubt it. Why? Because I found a gunsmith book written in the early seventies that talks at length about how weak PPK safeties are if you allow the hammer to actually drop against it, that they broke quite often.
I suspect (But don't know yet) that the S&W safety is identical. Of course I'll be looking at whether or not the Interarms safety is cast or machined from barstoke, but suspect it's cast. At that point, if they are both cast, and the section measurements are the same the only difference would be metallurgy or quality inspection.
My belief, until I prove otherwise, is that the times we live in are much more brutal from a liability standpoint than when the Interarms pistol was made. I believe S&W was advised by their lawyers to do something to "close the window" on that.
I'll let you all know soon.
Parts
I bought it to do a side by side comparison of the two, from a machinist's viewpoint. Right off the bat I saw a negative, the grips are two piece but they join at the back, I prefer my S&W because it's easier to swap out grips, or make your own.
But the main item I want to look at is the safety, because of the S&W recall. Some folks are saying that the newer pistol has a weaker safety, I doubt it. Why? Because I found a gunsmith book written in the early seventies that talks at length about how weak PPK safeties are if you allow the hammer to actually drop against it, that they broke quite often.
I suspect (But don't know yet) that the S&W safety is identical. Of course I'll be looking at whether or not the Interarms safety is cast or machined from barstoke, but suspect it's cast. At that point, if they are both cast, and the section measurements are the same the only difference would be metallurgy or quality inspection.
My belief, until I prove otherwise, is that the times we live in are much more brutal from a liability standpoint than when the Interarms pistol was made. I believe S&W was advised by their lawyers to do something to "close the window" on that.
I'll let you all know soon.
Parts