Nambu Type 14 Pistol
 

I think this is the third most interesting pistol on this forum, behind the Luger and the Mauser...And I had some information on them, so without further ado, here it is... :)

Warning! The reloading data shown in these articles refers to powder and bullets which may have changed since the articles were written! Use caution!

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Thank you Sir! I'm still working on mine, prior to its first range outing!

I was looking through Wilson's 'Textbook Of Automatic Pistols' last night and noticed this interesting picture...The book was published in 1943 and contains a publishers preface apologizing that the war in Europe interrupted the completion of the author's work. The pistols studied are from the 1884 - 1935 period. That makes this Nambu quite interesting...

It has the general grip shape of the Type 94 but resembles a Type 14, but an early one...Of note is the rear sight...I'm wondering if the flat grip section and adjustable rear sight indicate a shoulder stock???

I think that model may be refered to as a Grandpa Nambu but I could be wrong.

Here is a really strange bird right here:
http://www.forgottenweapons.com/earl...o-komuro-1908/

Thanks for the articles!

At one of the gun stores I shop at they have on consignment a Nambu type 14 that some GI brought back and had nickel plated. I've been considering it because it's only $300 (I'm sure because of the nickel plating).


Very cool Dave! I've never even heard of one of these!

A blow forward design with no locking mechanism and fixed firing pin, wow!

I don't know the popular term for it but now that I look in the other articles I see it is referred to as a 'Nambu Pistol 1904 Type'...Hmmm...Tangent sight... :thumbup:

Edit: I should read my articles more carefully...SAOTW says the 1904 Nambu can be found cut for a shoulder stock...

Edit2: I was just given a link to a site devoted to Japanese handguns -

http://members.shaw.ca/tju/jhg.htm

Looks promising!

Recently, I heard a theory regarding a few old nick names of some pistols in Northern China. The theory is, of course, unproven. Actually, no way to prove those nick names used in oral language. But at least, it could interpret a few popular nicknames.

Large frame pistol, which has a holster carried by shoulder strap, was called "Her-Zi", that is, "Box", regardless that holster's making material, or that holster could be attached as a stock or not, the key was the shoulder strap. So, Broomhandle was also called "Box gun", Nambu pistol was also called "Turtle box". Obviously, "Turtle" came from its leather holster's shape, and that holster has a long shoulder strap, so it's also a "Box-level" pistol.

If a pistol's holster is attached to belt, no shoulder strap, then, universally, it's a "Lu-Zi", that is, a "Puller". Probably referring to the slide-pulling operation. So, there were "Pistol-brand Puller" (FN 1900), "Horse-brand Puller" (Colt 1903), "Dog-brand Puller" (a Spanish pocket, with lion proof mark, but too small to be identified as a lion) etc. This was not limited to small frame pistol. Even large frame 1911 was "Big-bore Puller", due to its holster was attached to the belt. At that time, very very few people knew the meaning of Latin-character markings or brand name on the gun, so the nick name assigned was very popular.

However, that's not absolute. In some area, Nambu was also referred as "Chicken-leg Puller", obviously due to its grip.

I have a box of Mr. Nambu reloads - if that helps at all I'd be happy to mic one of the rounds for ya.

That would be great! I only need three measurements - The base, the shoulder, and the overall length. Thanks! :thumbup:

(Those would be B, G, and A in the cartridge schematic some posts above here)... :D

You could PM them to me - No sense cluttering up the thread with more posts... ;)

I have 20-30 loose rounds of original nambu rounds.

I like the nambu and have several, including one that had the nickle removed and the grips have brass inlayed grips with a us military captains name on them.

Rich, if you want a real cartridge shoot me your address.

PM sent! :thumbup:

I guess Jerry sold his three boxes... :crying:

Boy, Eugene's gonna be mad when he realizes I'm spending my carbine money on Nambu's... :evilgrin:

Might as well post it here, others may want it too :)

*IF* I'm interpreting the diagram correctly:

A, case OAL: .838"
B, Head dia: .412"
G, Shoulder dia: .395

If my terminology is off or these measurements don't make sense, someone chime in - I'm a Belly Dancer, not a ballistician!

Headstamped "H.D.S. 8mm NAMBU"

Be interesting to see how this compares with others.

Thanks for your help!

That one seems suspect...It's the area just in front of the groove....412" seems kind of high...That's why I am soliciting measurements; the Handloaders Guide shows .407" but on my 'W C C 6 6' 8mm Nambu case I'm seeing .377"...

Ok, did another measurement - the case diameter directly in front of the groove .412". Yea, I do see the .407" on the HL page - if its any help at all, the 'Rim Diameter' dimension 'D' is .412" on my example also - shown as .417" in the diagram.

This ammo is reputed to feed and shoot well, but as I have yet to try it myself in my weapon, all bets are off! Goddess only knows the provenance of the brass.

If you want to read an interesting story about 8mm Nambu cartridges/brass, read Larry Potterfields story on how he founded Midway...

http://www.midwayusa.com/general.mvc...ll-got-started

I have seen the HDS headstamp on one of the 8mm cartridge reloading sites; IIRC it's supposed to be good brass...

Nambus are cool :cheers:

Zorba -

Thanks for your measurements! They made me think (always a dangerous act)!!! :D

OK, I've got it now...I've been looking at my '8mm Nambu' cartridge as being original Japanese issue, or at least Western Cartridge Company clone...Now I realize I have a reformed military 5.56mm [M16] cartridge with a 102gr - .320" lead bullet...The headstamp should have been immediately obvious... :rolleyes:

http://forum.lugerforum.com/picture....pictureid=2757

In a way, that's good. It looks right and according to at least one online article will function correctly. :cheers:

But it means that I got ripped off back in 1977 or so! I've got half a mind to look that nefarious dealer up and demand my dollar back!!! :grr: :D :p

But I need a 'template' so I can sort through the junk box at my LGS and pull out other suitable candidates for re-forming. The list of donor cases is getting pretty long. Now I read that .357 Sig will work as well as 30 Remington, 30-30 Winchester, 38 Special/.357 Magnum, 38 Super, .223 Remington, and 41 Colt Long. 32 Remington and 375 Winchester can be used if they are swaged in a 30-30 sizing die before forming...Some need the rim trimmed and an extractor groove cut, but those are easy on a lathe. :D

I think your warranty has expired... :roflmao:

After all the talk about Nambus, I just had to get one! :D

I can't stay...My generator keeps conking out...and I need it to run my furnace...It's up to 55º now... :cheers:

[QUOTE=sheepherder;246622]After all the talk about Nambus, I just had to get one! :D

I can't stay...My generator keeps conking out...and I need it to run my furnace...It's up to 55º now... :cheers:[/QUOTE

Did you have bad storm over there?

If it's a gasoline generator, try running non-ethanol gas if not the highest pump gas 93 octane. Anything else in mine runs like, well you get the picture.

Congrats on the Nambu!

Ice storm last night; roads closed, transformers blowing up, power lines down, entire city & town of Lockport still without power. I had to hack into my furnace wiring and sacrifice an extension cord to run the furnace. I can run the PC but it's really sluggish...

Yeah, the generator kept sputtering out on me. Some dry gas cleared it up, it's much better now. ALL gas around here is 10% - 15% ethanol. Phone lines are good, so evidently no poles down.

My dog likes her sweater. :) 65º now! ;)

[QUOTE=sheepherder;246626]Ice storm last night; roads closed, transformers blowing up, power lines down, entire city & town of Lockport still without power. I had to hack into my furnace wiring and sacrifice an extension cord to run the furnace. I can run the PC but it's really sluggish...

Yeah, the generator kept sputtering out on me. Some dry gas cleared it up, it's much better now. ALL gas around here is 10% - 15% ethanol. Phone lines are good, so evidently no poles down.

My dog likes her sweater. :) 65º now! ;)[/QUOT

Best Wishes to you and a speedy recovery on the power.

lets not forget about the little guy! :cheers:

Is this one matching?

I won't know for another 2 or 3 weeks. :)

He say it do..."Very neat pistol, matching with matching magazine"...Comes with odd 'shipping case'...Ever see anything like this??? [pic]

68º...Lost a degree on the gas refill... :(

No power sucks. Sorry to hear of your trials and tribulations. It is amazing how things all go to he** the second the power stops coming into the home.
Hang in there.
dju

From Teri's site I know it is a Nagoya June 1943 T14...

18.6 = June 1943
Right side - 3 symbols
Nagoya Arsenal logo, the Nambu company logo and the First Series marker + serial number

Only running PC once an hour...No emails...That's bad...means my ISP [in Lockport city] has no power either... :(

Edit: OK! 10:35pm power came back on! Yay! :D

Still no emails, but I imagine it takes time to spool up all those servers...If anybody is even at the office...

Saw a Bolo on the market, matching, NRA Good. I don't need it, but the asking price was attractive, about $30. So, why not buy one, as a small "investment"... so I ordered one. But it turned out the price was a mistake, a tagging error. The corrected price was not bad, but not investable anymore. Order cancelled. So, no more guns for 2013.

Bought a 14 and sword from a local vet friend recently.
Still had 20 rounds in the pouch.
Pistol and ammo have been in the holster since the war and all in mint condition.
I know that is not always the case, but I have seen it before.
Seen some bad ones as well.

Japanese sword?
Do you have pictures?
:cheers:

If you have a Nambu Type 14 (or Papa or Baby) please post pictures of them! This IS a Nambu thread... :cheers:

Edit: I leeched a couple pics from Zoompas' thread... :D

Olle's T14 -

http://forum.lugerforum.com/attachme...1&d=1383444073

Zorbas' T14 -

http://forum.lugerforum.com/attachme...1&d=1385432722

Found the answer to that -

http://collectorguns35625.yuku.com/t...1929-Standards

"Huntington had basic 357 Sig cases necked to 8mm and had their headstamp applied: HDS 8mm Nambu."

Huntington Die Specialties makes the RCBS line of reloading dies (and probably everything else as well); their quality is excellent. :cheers:

Here's one I restored a while back, belongs to a friend of me now...

I also have a "Luger" I bought on eBay a couple of years ago:

Thank you for the pics! :D

The grips are interesting; I don't recall if Teri addressed that on her site - Why do some Type 14's have completely checkered/grooved grips, and some only 75%??? :confused:

BTW: How difficult is it to field strip the T14??? Does the trigger guard sequence pull down easily or is it a bear that requires three hands??? (I've read the takedown procedure; it sounds hard)... :mad:

The really late pistols have flat slab grips with no grooves. Just a cost or time measure, I would guess. Late rifle stocks got pretty crude as well.

The pistol and sword I mentioned came from "Salvage" at Nagasaki.
The sword is a really late machine made example.
While the scabbard has a typical throat, hanger loop, and the little band in the middle, it has just a sheet of copper wrapped around the tip-looks like they ran out of the standard bits.

Those grips are not original, I suspect that they are either a field replacements or made by Bubba here in the US. I don't know why the grooves vary, and there are subvariations of them as well. You obviously have to count the grooves to be sure that they are correct for your pistol.

The field strip is a two hand operation if you push the barrel against something (table, work bench etc) instead of pushing with your hand. The rest is easy, as long as the trigger guard slides off as it should. If it's stuck, soak in Kroil, then tap it loose with a hammer and a nylon punch.

wow this is gorgeous! awesome work :cheers: