Working The Iver Johnson Defender 89

A good friend inherited his dad’s gun collection and asked me to check this little Iver Johnson revolver out and clean it up. This revolver is a five shot chambered for the .32 Rimfire cartridge. These revolvers are small and were not meant for daily use but exactly what the name implies. The Defender was intended to be a pocket pistol for casual use to defend oneself if needed. This Defender 89 series of revolvers were made between 1889 and 1899.

Although not very valuable on the collector market, they remain collectable and are getting scarcer in this fully functioning condition. Parts are ex- Bottom, left to right, Cylinder Pin Release Lever, Spring and Pin, Hammer, Spring and Hammer Screw, Cylinder Hand and Spring, Trigger, Spring and Pin, Cylinder Stop, Spring and Pin. Top, Frame with Barrel, Grips and Grip Screw tremely scarce but most good competent gunsmiths can make most of the parts in this little revolver.

Upon initial examination, it had a fair amount of rust but surprisingly, still seemed to function correctly. I could see though that the cylinder pin was not only broken off just inside the frame, but also welded to the cylinder with rust. While you won’t find disassembly instructions on the Defender 89 series in any of the normal firearm take down manuals, but this little revolver is simplicity itself and fairly easy to figure out with a little study beforehand.

Normally in disassembly, I would press the release lever in front of the frame directly below the cylinder pin, then remove the cylinder pin from the cylinder and the cylinder itself from the right side of the frame. With it being broken off and rusted in, it necessitated that the hammer be removed in order to access the breach end of the pin. If you don’t have this problem, after the cylinder pin and cylinder are out, remove the 5×40 thread grip screw and grips.

Remove the cylinder release lever pin at the front of the frame from either direction and then the lever and lever spring. This is a very small V-type spring of medium strength and it is very easy to lose if you’re not careful. Push the fairly flexible curved hammer spring to one side and remove it out of the groove in the bottom of the grip frame. Note the position of the hammer end of the spring and where it sets against a divot in the back of the hammer. The hand spring is removed next.

This spring has a small 90 degree bend in the bottom of it that sits in a cutout on the left side of the grip frame. It is a very narrow flat spring, approximately 1 ¼ inches long with a 45 degree bend in it just slightly up from the cutout. Remove the hammer screw from the left side of the frame. This is a 6×48 screw. The next part is a little tricky. Rotate the hammer down into the grip frame area until you can fully expose the cylinder hand and remove it from the left side of its hole in the hammer.

The hammer can now be taken out of its slot in the top of the frame. Remove the cylinder stop pin at the bottom of the frame just forward of the trigger front from either direc-

tion. Note that some of these pins in these revolvers may have been staked on one end or the other by previous gunsmithing and remove them directionally, accordingly! A slot in the top front part of the trigger will now be exposed and a very tiny coil spring will reside there. This stout little spring (it is 0.100 inches in diameter and a 1/4 inch in length) powers the cylinder stop and may be very easily lost if you’re not expecting it.

Next, remove the trigger pin that resides to the rear of the trigger near the top from either direction. Take out the trigger and its little V-type spring which sits in the back cutout of the trigger. The small side of the "V" goes toward the front of the trigger for reference in reassembly. The front sight is soldered in and does not need removal unless a replacement is needed. The bottom of the grip frame at the rear has a grip locator pin that does not require removal.

This little jewel of a revolver is now completely disassembled. Reassembly is in the reverse direction. Once the trigger and its components are installed, the next part is a little tricky. The cylinder stop has a little V-section at the back of it. The top part of that "V" goes into a tiny little coil spring once it’s put back into its slot at the top front of the trigger. A little wiggling puts the cylinder stop in alignment with the frame hole to put the pin back in.

One thing I did to help keep the trigger depressed and keep that spring slot available was to put a stiff heavy rubber band around the trigger and back of the grip frame. I also find it a lot easier to use slave pins a little smaller in diameter than the frame hole to get everything lined up to put the revolver pins back in. Use whatever method works best for you. As stated earlier, the cylinder pin on my particular Iver Johnson was not only broken but also rusted in the cylinder.

If you’re ever faced with this situation, utilize patience and wisdom! Instead of a heavy hand, I use either Liquid Wrench or plain old red kerosene. They both have worked well for me over

the years and the Liquid Wrench is readily available. I poured penetrating fluid in at both ends of the pin and let soak in for about an hour. Good time to take a coffee and donut break. Then, soak the rusted pin with penetrating fluid again and tap slightly from the breach end, which is now open with the hammer out of the revolver. Tap with an appropriate size pin punch and small hammer. Remember, this is a very small cast frame we are working on and is very old. It wouldn’t take much to put it in pieces.

On this revolver, the rusted in pin started to move about 1/8 of an inch with the first blow. It was time to put some more fluid in the hole at both ends. After about 15 minutes, the old rusted cylinder pin was out. It was a rough replacement itself at some point long ago and not a very good one. After thoroughly cleaning up the frame and all the parts with Complete your American Gunsmith collection. Or read up on a special subject! A limited number of the following