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  • Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,278
    HoCo
    Gonna post some pics of BP items from my trip to the Tower of London.

    I especially liked the Wheel Lock axe gun.

    02c3630f23f5d2b791f1e939f6a3a45e.jpg

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    037d82b314dc6bc6245f3df7b48b3b30.jpg

    a232d9d59153cde0893936446a4645d3.jpg



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    nedsurf

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 8, 2013
    2,204
    Are any of these used in the American Revolution? Do they have a disclaimer "that time we got our ass kicked and subsequently turned into wussies?"

    That rack of Brown Besses (plural?) might have that provenance.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,278
    HoCo
    I got dirty looks when I asked to handle one. Even after telling them I have a Bess Replica at home ;)


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    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,154
    Amazing metal work mostly blacksmith forged and hand filed, with hand made files, the cannons were cast.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,278
    HoCo
    One of them the pic looks like the armor is rusted but is actually very fine engraving.
    31cafbb8818e4cb80dd5a775ef90a91b.jpg

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    5cary

    On the spreading edge of the butter knife.
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2007
    3,634
    Sykesville, MD
    Here's a pic of my boy standing in front of some of the same armor (5th pic above). We loved the Tower, and the tour guides (Yeoman Warders) were fantastic and funny as hell.

    My son was stunned when he learned the White Tower was a thousand years old.
     

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    ras_oscar

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 23, 2014
    1,666
    I like the pistol built into the head of an ax. Likely a solution to unreliable firing and extensive reloading time. Reliability of firearms has certainly improved in a couple hundred years
     

    willtill

    The Dude Abides
    MDS Supporter
    May 15, 2007
    24,317
    Not to hijack your thread, but I was in Malta recently touring some of the fortifications there. Many of the steps were very small in height; it was explained that it was easier for the Knights to ascend them while wearing their suits of armor.

    .
     

    ras_oscar

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 23, 2014
    1,666
    Watched a streaming program called " Secrets of the shining knight" a nova program, about British armor. The fabrication method was not recorded and they were attempting to recreate it using period correct martials and tools. Started by digging a lump of ore out of the ground. The question was whether a suit of armor could have deflected a period firearm. post 13 image 2 looks a lot like the armor they recreated. I found the investigation fascinating. Apparently there were 2 grades of armor, at 2 price points. the noblemen purchased the more expensive armor, which was highly decorated. I won't give away the ending, you'll have to check it out yourself
     

    ken792

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 2, 2011
    4,480
    Fairfax, VA
    One of those muskets has a cog safety on it. The BB all the way on the left. Art work you can use.

    That's a "dog" and it's called a doglock. The dog catch is basically a manually operated half cock, before true flintlocks (as we known them now) were made with an internal half cock position.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    That's a "dog" and it's called a doglock. The dog catch is basically a manually operated half cock, before true flintlocks (as we known them now) were made with an internal half cock position.

    I wonder if the device was originally called a "Dog Cock Lock?" especially being that the hammer as we know it today was first referred to as the cock by Europeans with the terms still in use to today.:lol2:

    That musket displays a pan and Frizzen which was easier to produce by hand prior to advances in the forming of the tumbler. A much more difficult part to produce even today when traditional methods are being used with modern gas fueled forges and known metallurgy of manufacturing materials.

    I bet that particular musket is a work shop model and was saved in the incredible shape that it survives in today. Probably good as new and 100 years older than the earliest proof records some of which may be available in the tower to see.
     

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