Webley 1905

William Whiting was an engineer who spent his entire adult career with the Webley company, and was responsible for all of their in-house self-loading pistol designs. This work initially focused on a behemoth of a pistol, the Model 1904 intended for military contracts. The gun proved insufficiently attractive to the British military though, leaving Webley with a large R&D outlay with nothing to show for it. The solution was to scale the system way down and look to the civilian market with a pocket automatic in .32ACP.
The first version of this commercial pocket pistol was this model 1905 design. It proved to be a popular concept, and the gun was revised to address a few shortcomings and opportunities for simplification. In its final version, the Model 1908 would prove to be Webley's best-selling automatic pistol, and it is still a relatively easy gun to find today. However, its 1905 predecessor is far scarcer, and it is interesting to examine the changes made between the two models.

Пікірлер: 128

  • @amaethon2117
    @amaethon21178 жыл бұрын

    Looks like someone trying to describe a Walther P38 over the telephone.

  • @sneakycactus8815

    @sneakycactus8815

    5 жыл бұрын

    LMAO

  • @theodoreroosevelt3143

    @theodoreroosevelt3143

    4 жыл бұрын

    i love the jokes people are coming up with thank you you made my day

  • @grzegorzbrzeczyszykiewic3338

    @grzegorzbrzeczyszykiewic3338

    3 жыл бұрын

    it's still pretty impressive because this was made 30 years before it, and semi automatic pistols were still not perfected yet.

  • @CatTechSupport

    @CatTechSupport

    2 жыл бұрын

    Apt, very apt.

  • @kenibnanak5554
    @kenibnanak55548 жыл бұрын

    I think finding a second function for the trigger guard was a very clever thing.

  • 8 жыл бұрын

    under hammer percussion muzzle loaders sometimes used the trigger guard as a hammer spring. oddly elegant design

  • @leofender5033
    @leofender50332 жыл бұрын

    At some point in recent human evolution mankind became immune to .32 and .25 ACP...

  • @greavous93
    @greavous938 жыл бұрын

    Got to love an early Sunday morning pistol show! When I was a kid you had to get up to change channels and there was only church on..... Ian, you changed the world!

  • @randallanderson3079
    @randallanderson30792 жыл бұрын

    Mae and Othasis (sp). I have been a subscriber for some time now, watching almost all on my TV so I haven't commented on your EXCELLENT AND IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS oF the various firearms you have covered. I can't tell you how much I have learned and have enjoyed immensely. Since I am at last commenting on your youtube channel I intend to become a sustaining member. I am a 70-year-old firearm collector and have many of the firearms you have reviewed. It is an art to me in form and function. I sincerely hope you can sustain your channel into future investigations and look forward to seeing the next one dropped. By the way, I own a Ross as Mae shot, and it an indeed a Marksman's rifle. Not good for combat, but it beat the shit out of other arms in post-WWI competition. Just make sure you assemble the bolt properly. That's how I obtained mine in Canada as it was reassembled incorrectly and would not cycle (lucky for them) I paid $50 for it and brought it back to the states. I apprenticed as a gunsmith at 14 and have never lost my fascination with firearms engineering. Also have a 1903 Colt 38 ACP military, U.S. Krag, 1898 Colt 38 revolver, 1909 Colt 45 Colt military, 1903 Springfield, 1911 Colt Government model (manufactured 1917) SMLE Mk 1 No.3 , SMLE Mk 4 No.1, S&W hand eject 455 second model British, Broom Handle Mauser, pre-WW1. French Ruby, WWII 1911A1, several M-1(CMP), 1882 Springfield Trapdoor, rod bayonet, 1903 Mannlicher-Schoneaur (sp) in original caliber. A fair number of Brownings firearms and many more. So I have been around the block a few times. thanks for your work, R. PS, by the way, I wouldn't give you 10 cents for all the black guns made, and I carried the M-16 in Vietnam.

  • @thudable
    @thudable8 жыл бұрын

    Nice little pistol. I found the design interesting. I especially like the recoil buffering by the trigger guard. Thanks for posting.

  • @gimking
    @gimking8 жыл бұрын

    I felt really bad giving this a like from 303 to 304. So British.

  • @22tanmay
    @22tanmay5 жыл бұрын

    There are still quite a few 1905s surviving in India. I have fired one. And, like you said, the 1908 model sold in thousands in British India. Lovely review Ian.

  • @tomthompson7400
    @tomthompson74006 жыл бұрын

    trigger guard recoil spring is just pure genius

  • @mikeblair2594

    @mikeblair2594

    6 жыл бұрын

    tom thompson -and rather common back then.

  • @Ratrazor
    @Ratrazor3 жыл бұрын

    I really like that 1905 version compared to the other version with the wings on the site and it's got a good nice sight picture compared to other pistols of that time and the barrel moving using the trigger guard as a spring that's a ingenious design all around for the time and having this slide spring in the grip it's really innovative.

  • @skyzefawlun
    @skyzefawlun8 жыл бұрын

    I'm such a terrible person. I kind of wanted those pieces to go "zinging off across the room" and hear Ian shout out obscenities at the camera.

  • @FAL0perator

    @FAL0perator

    8 жыл бұрын

    I also would love to see Ian lose his cool lol!

  • @Calvin_Coolage

    @Calvin_Coolage

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Chevy Orange Deere Green I don't think it's possible in this or any other universe for Ian to lose his cool.

  • @gimking

    @gimking

    8 жыл бұрын

    I'll have to look for one of the videos where Ian and Karl are doing a competition, Ian has problems. At most he got exasperated.

  • @jeremyluteran505

    @jeremyluteran505

    5 жыл бұрын

    😂😂😂

  • @trooperdgb9722

    @trooperdgb9722

    Жыл бұрын

    @@gimking "on camera"..... lol

  • @crashhanna
    @crashhanna8 жыл бұрын

    I wish KZread had an auto-like button because this channel has such consistently high quality informative content. Keep up the good work Ian.

  • @NephilBlade
    @NephilBlade8 жыл бұрын

    You feature so many interesting .32 ACP pistols, thank you.

  • @andrewthomas4569
    @andrewthomas45698 жыл бұрын

    Ian, found your channel a few months ago and haven't stopped watching it yet! I love that you explain the history and mechanics of the weapons instead of just saying "it shots good" like so many other firearms "experts" on youtube. Keep it up!

  • @tobuslieven
    @tobuslieven8 жыл бұрын

    I love the early British guns, thanks Ian : )

  • @_grandpa_
    @_grandpa_6 жыл бұрын

    Wow William Whiting's Webley Weapon *w o w*

  • @gavinhudson5251

    @gavinhudson5251

    5 жыл бұрын

    A good piece of alliteration there.

  • @monkeymonk2278
    @monkeymonk22783 жыл бұрын

    Oldschool .32 autos are one of my favorite firearm types and i cannot give a rational explaination as to why. And for those who say that .32 is not a viable self defense cartridge, please check out ballistic gel tests of Lehigh Defense Xtreme Cavitator .312" 60gr projectiles. If only they had knowledge of this bullet technology well over a century ago.

  • @trooperdgb9722

    @trooperdgb9722

    Жыл бұрын

    No rational explanation is required. We like what we like.

  • @elsoldadomarquez
    @elsoldadomarquez7 жыл бұрын

    A Webley's semiauto hanguns playlist will be nice.

  • @KainzMusic
    @KainzMusic8 жыл бұрын

    That trigger guard/spring assembly...I can't even...

  • @blanktank999
    @blanktank9998 жыл бұрын

    i like how simple it is

  • @richhart7267
    @richhart72678 жыл бұрын

    very cool. great video thanks

  • @drawlin3546
    @drawlin35468 жыл бұрын

    your videos are addicting haha keep it up!

  • @vroddavidson7780
    @vroddavidson77808 жыл бұрын

    Right on time ian thanks agin

  • @captainnemo4770
    @captainnemo47704 жыл бұрын

    Imagine a Webley semiautomatic pistol in .577 Webley.

  • @rickg9090
    @rickg90902 жыл бұрын

    Looks a lot like the walter p38 or kind of like the m9 as well

  • @thetriode
    @thetriode8 жыл бұрын

    The looks remind me of a Chinese mystery pistol. I realize that there is a huge difference in machining costs, but it's quirky in the same way.

  • @damiangrouse4564
    @damiangrouse45648 жыл бұрын

    Some features you still see today: slide "wings" on hk vp9, trigger guard disassembly s&w mod 41. I wonder who copied whom on the diamond grips? The grips look very ergonomic/comfortable. Anyone that has fired the pistol out there please comment. Also clarify mag release please?

  • @waswolltihr1526
    @waswolltihr15268 жыл бұрын

    This looks like a very nice carry gun. :)

  • @mrkamm71
    @mrkamm715 жыл бұрын

    Would love to know more about the interim pistols from this one and the 1908. I have a W&S .32 which is almost identical to the 1905 except the safety has been moved to the side and trigger guard spring does not pull fully out of either the front or back. Still has the same sights and disassembly as the 1905.

  • @9drtr
    @9drtr4 жыл бұрын

    Just for the record, 42 shillings sixpence is exactly half of 85 shillings. Twelve pence to the shilling.

  • @someweirdguyew9757

    @someweirdguyew9757

    2 жыл бұрын

    I love weird systems like the pre-decimalization UK currency because you can look at it and *know* that there's a series of very specific events behind it but have absolutely no idea what those are.

  • @borjesvensson8661

    @borjesvensson8661

    Жыл бұрын

    @@someweirdguyew9757 The romans mostly

  • @baronpolarbear3273
    @baronpolarbear32738 жыл бұрын

    I could of purchased one of these today, $3500, but i didn't know what it was lol, it was at a gun show

  • @thelaughinghyenas7962
    @thelaughinghyenas79628 жыл бұрын

    A very interesting mechanism with that flat recoil spring. What was the durability of the spring like vs. a coiled spring or did it matter in a .32? Hey, did you ever get a Mauser for a mud torture test? If not, I might be able to help you.

  • @sharpie443
    @sharpie4438 жыл бұрын

    I own an H&R .32 that looks like a copy of this gun.

  • @LOUDcarBOMB

    @LOUDcarBOMB

    8 жыл бұрын

    That's because it's a licensed copy from Webley, which Ian says near 0:31.

  • @douglasfulmer5483

    @douglasfulmer5483

    8 жыл бұрын

    They were licensed copies.

  • @phillipsullivan3400

    @phillipsullivan3400

    4 жыл бұрын

    Minus the hammer. I have one too and everyone who fires it is surprised at how accurate and pleasant it is to shoot.

  • @chomper720
    @chomper7207 жыл бұрын

    It looks so adorable! o3o

  • @frostthefoxxo7192

    @frostthefoxxo7192

    6 жыл бұрын

    ネーナ・トリニティ stop that

  • @john__lemon
    @john__lemon8 жыл бұрын

    Hey Ian. Have you ever had a look at an SKT 40? The carbine SVT 40. I hear they had a wicked muzzle blast, would be really interested in seeing one.

  • @john__lemon

    @john__lemon

    8 жыл бұрын

    I asked about the Skt 40...

  • @MasterTaters
    @MasterTaters8 жыл бұрын

    Intuitive little thing!

  • @graham1034
    @graham10343 жыл бұрын

    Given that the direction the lever and grip spring work I wonder if they'd contribute much rotational torque to the gun causing the front to lift.

  • @Frankencookie
    @Frankencookie8 жыл бұрын

    I currently own a pistol that resembles the 1908, but has a much shorter barrel and no sights, do you know what model this could be?

  • @fastmongrel
    @fastmongrel8 жыл бұрын

    Any idea on how many of the .32s were made

  • @rednecksniper4715
    @rednecksniper47158 жыл бұрын

    Hey Ian I saw your weapons of battlefield 1 do you think this pistol will make it into the game

  • @ForgottenWeapons

    @ForgottenWeapons

    8 жыл бұрын

    No, but I would be surprised if the 1913 military semiauto version did not.

  • @grc70
    @grc708 жыл бұрын

    What was the magazine capacity of this pistol. From the look of the length of the grip, I'd guess 8 rounds. Also, would it feed new 32 ACP? Or would you need hand loads or custom made ammo?

  • @ForgottenWeapons

    @ForgottenWeapons

    8 жыл бұрын

    It will run normal modern .32ACP just fine. Don't recall the mag capacity offhand, either 7 or 8.

  • @vaibhavuchil7936
    @vaibhavuchil79364 жыл бұрын

    Any info on Webley 1907 pocket pistol?

  • @petesampson4273
    @petesampson42736 жыл бұрын

    Are there any guns with the Webly name that don't look like they were made with a sledge hammer, a hacksaw, and a whole lot of polishing? The fit and finish seems OK but the main components always look like British engineering at its most sloppy. Dad was a electrical engineer and spent considerable time working with Brits back in the 1960's. His tongue in cheek, or mostly tongue in cheek, description of a typical meeting still gets lots of laughs. It goes something like... A bunch of engineers assemble around a table at @ 9:00 in the morning. They spend their time furiously doodling until, around 10:30, one of them will point at a drawing and say "that'll do nicely, let's go to the pub!"

  • @hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo

    @hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo

    4 жыл бұрын

    We had the best engineers in the world.

  • @RockSolitude

    @RockSolitude

    3 жыл бұрын

    Fit and finish might leave a bit to be desired but it is a cleverly designed gun.

  • @drmaudio
    @drmaudio8 жыл бұрын

    I rather like the original. The simplified version has much less to set it apart from the field.

  • @chuckcochran8599
    @chuckcochran8599 Жыл бұрын

    Wow, that's really a complicated design for the recoil spring. Makes me wonder if Whiting could have gone up in caliber all the way to 9mm (.380 obviously would have worked), and if it would have still tamed the recoil from say 9 mm?

  • @slaughterhound8793
    @slaughterhound87934 жыл бұрын

    As long as it works it's okay, but that 1905's trigger especially looks almost homemade.

  • @bam111965
    @bam1119658 жыл бұрын

    What is that metal tab sticking out onto the trigger?

  • @DaedalusProps
    @DaedalusProps6 жыл бұрын

    I legit thought this was a Liberator at first glance.

  • @ashleysmith3106
    @ashleysmith31068 жыл бұрын

    When did Webley change to the safety to the frame?

  • @howardchambers9679

    @howardchambers9679

    4 жыл бұрын

    1908?

  • @geepcj2a
    @geepcj2a8 жыл бұрын

    What do you collect?

  • @andrewince8824
    @andrewince88248 жыл бұрын

    The 1908 safety would be safer. The 1905 could be accidentally disengaged by simply catching the hammer by mistake.

  • @williamprince1114
    @williamprince11148 жыл бұрын

    We any of the Webleys designed/produced semi automatics ever adopted be a police agency within the empire? I was told there were some marked as being from British Palestine but I never found anything to support that or reference to any other adoption.

  • @ForgottenWeapons

    @ForgottenWeapons

    8 жыл бұрын

    Yes, the London Metropolitan Police adopted a Webley semiauto, and I'm sure other agencies did as well.

  • @kimjanek646
    @kimjanek6468 жыл бұрын

    why is the extractor often a individual piece instead of a part of the slide on these old pistols?

  • @27dcx

    @27dcx

    8 жыл бұрын

    So if you break the extractor (common failure) the entire slide doesn't need replacement. Or are you referring to external vs internal extractors?

  • @ForgottenWeapons

    @ForgottenWeapons

    8 жыл бұрын

    Also, because the extractor needs a very different set of hardness vs flexibility attributes than the slide itself.

  • @PureCountryof91

    @PureCountryof91

    8 жыл бұрын

    extractor *claws* can snap off, I have a ruger mk3 and anyone who has one knows what a pain in the ass the extractors are. and the firing pins.. but the latter is another story..

  • @SynthLizard8
    @SynthLizard88 жыл бұрын

    From a distance, it looks like a miniature micro-uzi.

  • @user-ok9lm3fj5l
    @user-ok9lm3fj5l8 жыл бұрын

    It looks similar to P38 Walther. How exactly old is the history of slide action on automatic pistols?

  • @ForgottenWeapons

    @ForgottenWeapons

    8 жыл бұрын

    Browning invented the pistol slide in roughly 1899.

  • @ArcturusOTE

    @ArcturusOTE

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ForgottenWeapons Which would lead to the FN 1900, right?

  • @thescatologistcopromancer3936

    @thescatologistcopromancer3936

    2 ай бұрын

    ​@@ArcturusOTEI'm pretty sure 1899 led to 1900

  • @leebennett7165
    @leebennett71658 жыл бұрын

    Burr-ming-um, just stick all together thats how you say it, rather that Berr-ming-ham

  • @brianreddeman951

    @brianreddeman951

    8 жыл бұрын

    American enunciation, we've got a Ber-Ming-ham Alabama--so you pronounce as you are familiar. :)

  • @Whitpusmc

    @Whitpusmc

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Brian Reddeman Yeah, but don't tell those across the pond how those here in the south pronounce Lafayette....

  • @brianreddeman951

    @brianreddeman951

    8 жыл бұрын

    :)

  • @triumphant39

    @triumphant39

    8 жыл бұрын

    You could never convince me as an Ohioan to not say "ham" when I pronounce Birmingham.

  • @suveran11

    @suveran11

    8 жыл бұрын

    In the uk we call it Brum,people from Birmingham are Brummies.

  • @SgtKOnyx
    @SgtKOnyx8 жыл бұрын

    We saw you clean your finger Ian!

  • @bryanespinosa6121
    @bryanespinosa61218 жыл бұрын

    Noice

  • @dronkvaett
    @dronkvaett3 жыл бұрын

    40 shillings and sixpence, about two weeks wages for a working man in 1908, today equivalent £2.03 or about $3 the price of half a pint of cheap beer in the UK. .

  • @fishcake959
    @fishcake9598 жыл бұрын

    NDA?

  • @Nukle0n
    @Nukle0n8 жыл бұрын

    What an "ugly" gun. It looks like it was made with hammer and anvil. I guess that has a charm to it though.

  • @beep-beep

    @beep-beep

    8 жыл бұрын

    I love fugly looking basement guns. For whatever reason, if it looks like it was crafted in a tool-shed and could blow up in your hand, I like it.

  • @whowantsabighug

    @whowantsabighug

    8 жыл бұрын

    Really? i think its quite nice looking, like a Walther P38 that discovered the curve.

  • @Owers100

    @Owers100

    8 жыл бұрын

    The gun would have looked nice at the time, it is very old remember.

  • @Nukle0n

    @Nukle0n

    8 жыл бұрын

    No it wouldn't. Look at other guns from around 1905, they almost all look nice compared to this.

  • @Del350K4
    @Del350K45 жыл бұрын

    If the butt´s full of V-shaped recoil spring, then where´s the magazine?

  • @sqeeye3102

    @sqeeye3102

    4 жыл бұрын

    I'm not sure if this is a joke I don't get, but if this is a serious question: The V spring and lever are very flat and as such don't take up much space inside the grip area. They are probably less than 1mm thick and the magazine itself is a single stack design so it's also very thin. They sit next to each other quite nicely side by side. The other early Webley automatics use a similar V spring and lever design if you would like to see a larger example of this system.

  • @gadsdenguy4880
    @gadsdenguy48808 жыл бұрын

    Is 1908 another name for 1906, being one of those designed in but adopted in type discrepancies? The only reason I ask is because as I was perusing the internet's supply of C&R guns, I came across this guy at the top: www.empirearms.com/pistols.htm Looks like the same thing to my untrained eyes.

  • @DarkestVampire92
    @DarkestVampire928 жыл бұрын

    Thats a VERY unsafe safety by todays standards.... all you need to do is bump the hammer and the pistols live.

  • @notpulverman9660
    @notpulverman96608 жыл бұрын

    I was 1,001th like!

  • @oskar007
    @oskar0075 жыл бұрын

    Интересненько,вери гуд,один хуй Не поймут

  • @septicwhelk3654
    @septicwhelk3654 Жыл бұрын

    BER MING UM bloddy american phesant

  • @keithmoore7390
    @keithmoore73908 жыл бұрын

    Brit companies and pistols just don't go together!!! either their revolvers are weak rounded or the automatics are clunky, they just don't do pistols well!!!!!

  • 8 жыл бұрын

    got to disagree with you. in my opinion the brits took a classic design and clunked it up. that extra weight at the muzzle might be useful in controlling flip, but it kills the aesthetics.

  • @davidbell1110

    @davidbell1110

    8 жыл бұрын

    What weak revolver are you talking about? Given the most famous British revolver would be the Webley .455. Would you call that weak? I am sure that's what most people would think of if you said name a British revolver.

  • @keithmoore7390

    @keithmoore7390

    8 жыл бұрын

    David Bell compared to some of the commercial rounds hell yes!!!especially the 45 colt!! I was taught you put them down right off and don't waste ammo especially if the fight is one more than one!!! from the ballistic charts I've seen the 455 is basically a 38 spec. class round!!

  • @davidbell1110

    @davidbell1110

    8 жыл бұрын

    I guess you have to consider it in context for it's time. In it's day is was not considered weak but then it's day started 130 years ago. It also started as a black powder weapon and made the transition to cordite. I did find a testing figure from the Thompson-LaGarde Tests of 1904 that rated it above .45 Colt in power. Not ACP obviously. So it might be called a weak round from a modern perspective but in it's day it was not considered so and it compares well to it's early competition but it started to look worse over time as it was in service for so long.

  • @jimh6763
    @jimh6763 Жыл бұрын

    Why are Webley guns always so goofy looking?? Some neat features. John Browning seemed to understand what a gun should look like. Much prefer the slim and clean lines of my 1903 pocket hammerless to this bulky silly looking Webley. I'm sure it's a well designed quality gun.

  • @user-fr5zw7sv6z
    @user-fr5zw7sv6z2 жыл бұрын

    Early automatic pistols are really ugly. Cool, but ugly.