Waldman
Francisco Arizmendi y Goenaga · Pistol · Out Of Production · 1908
Also known as: Walman, Arizmendi Walman, RWM Waldman, Waldman 6.35, Walman Model American
Overview
The Waldman (also spelled Walman) is a small .25 ACP (6.35mm Browning) striker-fired blowback pocket pistol produced in Eibar, Spain, by Francisco Arizmendi y Goenaga in the early 20th century. It is essentially a basic copy of the FN/Browning Model 1906 vest-pocket automatic, fed by a six-round detachable box magazine with a roughly 54mm barrel. Early guns were marketed under the name 'Walman' and falsely purported to be American-made, while later 'Waldman' examples carried German-language slide markings and proof marks attributing the pistol to the fictitious 'Rheinische Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik' (RWM) of 'Cöln' — a misspelling of Köln that, together with the soft-metal construction, betrays the gun's true Spanish origin. The pistol featured a reliable manual safety that disconnected the trigger bar from the trigger, but was otherwise of the modest build quality typical of low-cost Eibar trade-name pistols.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 350 g (12.3 oz) |
| Overall Length | 114 mm (4.49") |
| Barrel Length | 54 mm (2.13") |
| Height | 80 mm (3.15") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 230 m/s (755 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 86 J (63 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 15 m (16 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .25 ACP · primary — also known as 6.35x16mm Browning, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Browning Pattern Copy, Concealed Hammer, Fixed Sights, Trigger Locking Safety
Service history
Operators
- European civilian market
Production
Production years: 1908-1936
Arizmendi's Walman/Waldman automatic-pistol production dates from roughly 1907-1909, based on patents issued to the firm, and tailed off through the 1930s amid the disruption of the Spanish Civil War. Part of the broad output of Eibar trade-name pocket pistols; no reliable total-production figure is recorded.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Designer: Francisco Arizmendi
Discontinued: 1936
Notes
Waldman/Walman is one of several near-identical trade names (alongside Continental) applied by Francisco Arizmendi to the same Browning-1906 pocket-pistol pattern, so specifications vary slightly between examples. The German slide inscription naming the 'Rheinische Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik' of 'Cöln' is a marketing fiction — the misspelling of Köln and the construction quality identify the gun as Eibar-made rather than German. Arizmendi y Goenaga used the trade code 'AG'. No reliable total-production figure is recorded.
Background
The Waldman belongs to the flood of cheap Spanish vest-pocket automatics that poured out of Eibar in the early 1900s, when a loophole in Spanish patent law let local workshops freely copy John Browning's pocket pistols. Dressed up with a romantic-sounding name and counterfeit German factory marks to flatter buyers, guns like the Waldman armed shopkeepers and travellers across Europe as discreet last-ditch self-defense pieces.