>I admit until that last part about the difference between the Type 94
>and Type 14, I was wondering if you were suicidal enough to have
>actually shot it.

I haven't, although that has more to do with ammunition costing more than a dollar a round when you can find it at all than because I'm concerned about the safety of the gun itself. I mainly bought it because I find it interesting, and because that particular example was inexpensive on account of the poor condition of its finish.

One thing I forgot to mention in the original post was that the Type 14 is also the indirect ancestor of the Ruger Standard/Mk II/Mk III family of .22-caliber pistols, which debuted in 1949. Bill Ruger's original idea was to make and sell reproduction Nambus, having acquired one from a returning GI after WWII, but after making a couple of copies in his garage, he decided to simplify the design and make a straight-blowback rimfire pistol instead. You can still see the resemblance, particularly in the grip geometry and the way the bolt is configured.

>If memory serves, didn't the 94 also have a nasty habit of the
>chambers blowing out, just to add additional hazard for the truly
>hardy?

As far as I know, that's not one of the Type 94's specific problems, though the build quality of the last-ditch versions was so ropy that anything is possible. It's not an inherently sturdy design, that's for sure, although the structural failure it was most prone to - firing pin breakage - would just make it stop working, not blow it up. Of greater concern is that exposed sear, and also the fact that the magazine release was so positioned that it could be actuated by holstering or unholstering the weapon. Again, that won't hurt you directly, but it's embarrassing to draw your sidearm and have the magazine fall out.

>Still, nifty bit of history to have.

Much of my collection is like that; there isn't much in there which is of a great deal of practical use. I'm generally more interested in the history, the engineering, and/or the aesthetics. I certainly don't collect for the investment value. (Or as my grandfather not unkindly put it once, "You inherited my taste in junk." :)

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
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