I'm used to old crap - as my first sportscar in 1966 London was a red 1956 Austin Healey 100/6 BN4 that had both front wings rusted-out & flapping at speed and it burned almost as much oil as petrol, with the passenger side door held closed by twisted wire. - I could see backwards through the cracks in the rear vinyl opening - handy for spotting Metropolitan Police patrol cars. - With the rear seat pan lifted you could twist 'round and whack the fuel pump with a spanner to jerk it back to life - and the engine heat rising through the passenger footwell encouraged the ladies to lift and show a lot of leg. - The best 100 quid I ever spent on rubbish.
Mummie - Are Boot Pistols a Limp Excuse?
Not much new here then .. just more rubbish talk about rubbish.
The images come from my rubbish smartphone.
Most of the antique percussion Pocket Pistols I own are
double rubbish - because as a class of collectibles they are held in low esteem, having been made cheaply, to sell cheaply, in the mid 19th Century - and when I get them - they are damaged, old, rusty, and at best with faults.
I read that, back in the day, gun makers might throw-in a pocket pistol with a pair of gentlemens side-by-side game getters, as incentive for fast payment of the account.
- Would that make these bird scarers of no account ?
90% of my NZ "Boot/Muff/Pocket pistols" are turn-off barreled, breech loading, smooth bores, in .450 inch caliber - Which is around a 50 Bore (meaning x 50 balls, sized .44" (- allowing for the patch fabric), can be cast from one pound of Lead) in Olde English - But this wee mouse in the Pics is an even cheaper fixed barrel, muzzle loader.
Yup .45" caliber firearms are 50 Bore guns.
While these pocket pistols are not as crappy as "Saturday Night Specials" - they are nearly what Americans would recognise as THROWDOWN GUNS that a cop would carry, to place on the body of someone he shot, to justify the killing ..
In their time - cheap functional tools for everyday carry.
Their drilled bores mostly now are corroded with pitting .. but they seem to have been sold as rough drilled smooth-bores anyway.
But strange to tell - this old thing is remarkably unrotted and would be safe to use with ball and powder.
It may be only little fired because the mainspring was able to pivot to one side and disengage from the hammer notches - which is why, when I bought it - it was fucked (that's a Technical Term) as well as dirty & rusty. - But the nipple too also appears undamaged and un-corroded.
You are seeing this piece of crap after I have fixed it, cleaned it and de-rusted it, AND after I have further ruined it by draw filing the octagonal barrel flats before smoothing the finish with 2000 grade wet'n'dry carborundum grit abrasive *.
That barrel surface, as bought, did have heavy pitting and active rust having been gouged by some moron using a Bastard File or farrier's hoof rasp. - So, who actually rubbished it?
Many old 19th century percussion guns got handed-down to stupid BOYS to play with outside in the yard when cartridge guns replaced them .. so we get what we pay for now in the 21st eh.
* More Rubbish .. Who knew that carborundum grit wet/dry abrasive paper - that I've used for ever - was actually SILICON CARBIDE - that has so many wonderful uses in this world .. including as a "synthetic diamond" MOISSANITE in jewelry?
It seems that this rare mineral is a common sort of STARDUST out there in space .. WOW
S'amazing,
Marty K.
- Talking about STARS - how many do you reckon are there in our Galaxy The Milky Way ?
Answer: Between 100 - 400 BILLION STARS in The Milky Way - and at least that many planets ..
So .. How many GALAXIES do you reckon there might be in the UNIVERSE?
Try 2 TRILLION ?
M.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
