Watson’s revolver

[mightymads]

Help! The brand of Watson’s firearm was mentioned in the canon, but I can’t find it. It was mentioned in someone’s fic, and I remember checking it. I thought at the time that it was Webley, but it turned out to be something else. Now I can’t remember the exact wording, and searching the entire canon doesn’t help. So frustrating.

UPD: Thank you scfrankles for finding the exact quote: “An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots..." (SPEC)

A quick research returned the following:

In any case the revolver Holmes asks Watson to slip into his pocket is not Watson's old service revolver. It is not exactly "an Eley's No. 2 either. The gun is actualy a Webley's No. 2, .320 bore, a small, heavy, but relatively effective weapon; the smallest really practable weapon of it's time. The cartridges for it were the Eley part (which was often printed on the barrel to differentiate it from the Smith and Wesson .32). Holmes and Watson both knew this of course, that is in fact why Holmes used the sort of shorthand expression- because they were both more than well enough versed in guns to know exactly what Holmes was talking about. (source)

See also: John Hamish Watson, MD or The Mystery of the Carried Gun

Comments

[scfrankles]

In SPEC Holmes says to Watson: "...I should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots..." Is that it...?

[mightymads]

Yes! Thanks so much!

[scfrankles]

Glad to be able to end your frustration ^__^

Just having a quick further rummage on the internet though - it looks like the Eley's reference might just be a reference to the bullets, rather than the gun itself. But I know nothing of the subject ^^"

[mightymads]

Yes, no wonder my search for “19th century british revolvers” returned no such thing. I remembered distinctly that the canon did not mention Webley, although most likely that was Watson’s revolver loaded with Eley’s cartridges.

[smallhobbit]

Although how much one can rely on a story which has a milk drinking snake ...

[scfrankles]

Good point, well made, madam ^____^

[brewsternorth]

...Iiiiiiinteresting. So, comparable to a modern-day!Watson carrying not a full-up 9mm handgun, as in BBC Sherlock, but a subcompact concealed-carry style weapon like this one, which would be much more plausible. Or even a derringer like the DoubleTap, as carried by Root in "Person of Interest".

[mightymads]

That would make sense in cases when being discreet would be of paramount importance :)

[brewsternorth]

exactly! I believe in the script for the first episode of the (USSR) Russian "Holmes" adaptation, which was a merger of SCAN and SPEC, they *did* refer to Watson's gun as a Webley, but I'm not sure that it was that particular model

[mightymads]

Yes, in Lenfilm they referred to Webley & Scott .38, but since it was in service from 1887, it was just a tad anachronistic

[oldshrewsburyian]

A belated reply, but Leslie S. Klinger's article, "The Guns of Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson," is a useful resource on how they use their guns, as well as which guns they use.

[mightymads]

Thank you so much! I'll look it up :)