"In Transition":

 I got an evening 'phone call from a mate telling me about this 'Transitional Revolver' on trademe - asking had I seen it .. suggesting that I needed to buy it.

.40 caliber 6 shot image from trademe:

- Well I hadn't seen it (how remiss of me), and I did .. Thanks a zillion Ted.

'My' Revolver is addressed on the barrel as: J W LAIRD PATENT LONDON .. Well he wasn't a London gunmaker in this period 1850+- He was a Birmingham Gun Quarter man .. AND he didn't make this gun - he assembled & finished it and sold it - maybe got it sub-contracted-out for engraving. This is a "standard" transitional revolver - developed from the PEPPERPOT pistols of that time to compete with the new Colt revolvers - by fixing a barrel to them. My guess is the "patent" referred to, was held by Phillip WEBLEY just around the corner. - HERE below is a different gun marketed by J BURROW, PRESTON ..

A DIFFERENT GUN - Identified as a WEBLEY  SELF-COCKING "TRANSITION" Revolver ..

same diff but sold by J BURROW of PRESTON.

I'm not complaining about this state of affairs - Just Saying. 

- In THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - Jame GUMB, Buffalo Bill was "in transition" ("becoming")

distasteful ..

Generally I dislike these transition revolvers because they are awkward looking, useless, unreliable pieces of crap .. But I finally bought this one because it looked half-decent and OK ish.

Described as "in working order but with the occasional timing hiccup" - it's timing is, as expected, fecked.

I, We?, tend to dismiss stuff that we don't know, as not being part of our culture and "strange, different" - and that's how I feel about this genre of English pistols .. but maybe I should give it a chance "to grow on me" eh.

Under barrel Birmingham Proofs .. plus is that 'J W' for the WEBLEY brothers?

PERCEPTIONS and BELIEFS ..

We live a a world where facts come second to 'Perceptions' and "Beliefs" And these are influenced by ADVERTISING, Public Relations, Propaganda, and Conditioning (brainwashing). When exposed to repeated statements - our sub-conscious accepts these statements as reality even if, at a conscious level, we might disagree. Repetition is how it works.

Back in the day when citizens were free to own and carry defensive firearms - they perceived 'LONDON' Guns were desirable high quality assets fit for ROYALTY .. The Best.

That is why this Birmingham gun (and others) has " PATENT & LONDON" engraved on it.

The Cleaning Laddy:

As delivered .. "my" Webley Patent 'Transition' was lightly rusted - and I won't be leaving it like that. - Active ongoing rust gives me 'the shuddering willies' - so out come the rags, 0000 steel wool, bottle of Meths, bottle of Wintergreen Oil .. with screwdrivers and lube-oil within reach.

These blackened surface pimples look like congealed greasy CARBON - but when scraped away they turn into RED-BROWN RUST.

Patina or RUST?

I'm was strongly considering first giving the metal components an extended boiling .. but AI tells me I HAVE TO use distilled water or I'd be wasting my time ..

Did I say before, that I disagree with many Antiques 'Experts'? .. because that dull mottled brown surface is, in reality, progressive rust corrosion that has to be stopped. If left as it is - sometime in the future - nothing will remain but corroded and misshapen remnants of hydrated iron oxide  Fe2 O3 nH2O and FeO(OH)

And, to heap insult upon injury - I may well attack any obvious small blemishes with tools including a fine abrasive and blend-re-darken using 'Cold Blue' - I'll spend hours on it ..

Look at that ..

Work In Progress .. I didn't even see this engraved Back Strap until Day Two ..

this is after cleaning/de-rusting somewhat.

On the third day - after my early morning coffee - I took a look in the Trigger Guard.

'Pimply Scrapings' would be a great name for a pop group don't you think? - look at the actual trigger .. this build up is not just dirt - it is raised scabs of RUST from FOULING, coated in greasy secretions, cellular debris & carbon. That's gotta go - don't you know.  - The destructive nature of rust is caused by the crystals that form expanding by up to SIX TIMES the volume of the iron - simulaneously eating down into the material forming craters, and expanding to RUST JACK surrounding metal upwards.

Forget the Cost .. Look At The Quality ..

I'm growing fonder of this heavyweight indulgence (.907kg (2 lb. dry weight unloaded) as more of it's metal emerges from the crud & rust.

Now that it is cleaned & rustfree .. next move is to try fix the timing ..

The earliest known revolvers, MATCHLOCKS, date back to 1580 - but don't tell Sam Colt. - While I don't reach back that far - I have been using revolvers for around 45 years I guess ..

Here is a decent article about proper handling of revolvers  .. that tries to correct the awful HOLLYWOOD screen abuse: https://revolverguy.com/revolver-101-dos-and-donts/

Life is Bloody Brilliant ..

FIREARMS LICENCES ESSENTIAL FOR NZ POLICE.

Why should anyone be exempt?

IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY - WE MUST INSIST THAT ALL NZ POLICE EMPLOYEES QUALIFY FOR, OBTAIN, AND MAINTAIN THE SAME STANDARD NZ FIREARMS LICENCE & ENDORSEMENTS in exactly the same way that we citizens are required to.

Marty K.

Interesting Rubbish:

A thought to consider and appreciate ..

"Mountain Fighters" such as The Legendary GHURKAS and Yemens Ansar Allah are truly superior performing under physical stress.

We are not talking about a small advantage here over a squishy oldy like me .. What we have here is a 20%-30% plus increase in Lung Capacity, - Blood Oxygen Transport, - Stamina, Strength and Agility - that results from them growing up at High Altitude ..

The Gurkha recruitment test — the Doko race — requires sprinting 5.5 kilometres uphill while carrying 25 kg of sand/rocks strapped to the head.

Similar status applies to Afghan's Mujahideens, Kurdish Peshmerga, - Chechins and Dagestanis, Tibet's Chushi Gangdruk guerillas and Nepals Sherpas.

- Lean, mean, turbocharged fighting machines ..

___________________

Excuse me for lowering the tone, Yeah - more crap, but not for me .. Spirited bidding rose above my limit and went well into real dollars for this crude old, Blank-Firing "starting pistol" .. Revolver de Poche (Pocket Revolver).

I backed-away and withdrew from this race when online bidding rose above FOUR TIMES my estimated value ..

Google AI pretends to help identify .. "I will stop trying to generate fake matches or guess the manufacturer out of thin air. You have an unbranded, early 20th-century European .22 rimfire folding-trigger blank gun, and a digitized commercial catalog image of it simply isn't in my system. I apologize for wasting your time with automated rubbish"

That is after around half an hour of repeated requests for manufacture data - If you don't ask you don't get ..

I 'sus this piece as having been built in Belgium from the same standard 'crucible steel' parts as a 'Real One' but missing any care or fitting, finishing or polishing ..

 

I know it's RUBBISH .. But it's interesting antique rubbish

- with the number '37' on the FOLDING TRIGGER.

As listed on NZ trademe - Have I spotted a PAT number on the lower frame?

DIFFERENT Gun .. THIS image is of a real, Proofed Belgian bullet firing one

 - but is also an anonymous made, 'Bulldog'-Velo-Dog? Revolver:

Under current NZ firearms laws - the real velo-dog gun is basically BANNED because 'The Authority' does not allow any such short barrelled pistols to be owned or shot by licenced and endorsed 'fit-and-proper persons' - it's barrel is too short at around two inches. - I "want to be very CLEAR about this" - you may own and shoot somebody with your revolver only as long as it's barrel is above FOUR INCHES"

Tramp: “Excuse me; have you seen a policeman?”

Cyclist: “No.”

Tramp: “Then I’ll have to call on you to give up your watch and money.”

Around the early 1900s - Frenchman Renee Galand made his 'Velo-Dog' anti-nuisance-dogs revolvers called Revolver de Poche for cyclists to repel boarders.

These pieces shown here naturally are cheap and nasty copies & replicas.

Interestingly - a further two days later I spotted another BLANK FIRING revolver on trademe from the same vendor ..

Read all about armed cyclists here: https://cyclehistory.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/guns-wheels-and-steel-cyclists-and-small-arms-in-the-late-19th-century/

IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY - WE MUST INSIST THAT ALL NZ POLICE EMPLOYEES QUALIFY FOR, & OBTAIN, AND MAINTAIN THE SAME STANDARD NZ FIREARMS LICENCE in exactly the same way that we citizens are required to.

Why should anyone be exempt?

Are YOU having fun?

Marty K.

EGG on My Face .. Durr!

I think know that I am "addicted" to antique pistols ..

It's the other side that explains ..

- Can't Read it .. we need the Close-Up

D  EGG   LONDON (1748-1832).. (before clean-up)

Broken-absent 'NIPPLE GUARD'.

- This shot above is during my cleaning but before waxing..

As delivered .. the Walnut stocks were covered in a grunge of grease clogging the checkering and darkening the colour - while areas of the metal were peppered with warts of black coke over pustules of live RUST .. experts know this as patina. Rubbing down with '0000' steel wool wetted with alcohol and a soft stylus lifted the surface dirt of ages to reveal beauty (and pitting) underneath .. Before I go to the Death Chamber I need to confess that the 'WAX' treatment I use is a greasy rag from an old pot of local 'PROTECT NATURALLY' beeswax-lanolin leather treatment that I've had for ever.

- CLEANING - PRESERVATION - REPAIRING - REPLACING 

- RESTORATION?- ENHANCING? - RENEWING? - REFINISHING?

- They say that opinions are like assholes .. Everyone has got one .. but I insist on first de-rusting and cleaning away the snot-of-ages from old stuff while assessing it's condition.

Most of the antiques I can afford are battered from long use & misuse .. meaning that over centuries they did their jobs .. If you find a 170 or 270 year old tool that is undinged and unused - such as this 'MARIETTE' pistol ..

I'd guess that it is a tool unsuited for use ..

- The rarest multi-million dollar classic Ferrari car is rare for a reason - Back in the day Enzo only made a couple - because it was overpriced crap.

The EGG name and fine decorative engraving lifts the value of this new piece .. and it's in fair condition too. - During 'The Regency Period' 1811-1820 - Swiss born Durs Egg was famous in London Society for fine craftsmanship that resulted in his guns being "by Royal Appointment".

This "turnover" percussion pocket Pistol - to me clearly was sourced from the Birmingham Gun Quarter by this leading London Gun Dealer for finishing & engraving in central London - and the quality 'feel' with lovely 3D engraving is satisfying.

Monoblock 48-bore (.430 inch, 11 mm), Boxlock - Side Hammer two barrel turnover, with dropdown trigger .. Main faults are the broken-missing NIPPLE GUARD - and while functional, the spring loaded 'detant' meant to position the revolving barrels is notchy and uncertain - needing servicing.

Above another very similar 'Turnover' from RIGBY, Dublin (image from Auction Site)

Just like the other one .. This variant from D Mortimer (from an Auction Site)

I'm seriously theorising that - like many 'Swiss Watches' with base components made in China, - all three examples were likely supplied to specialist gunmakers from Birmingham's Gun Quarter in the white. - How could we firm-up this idea? - And where there's three - there'd have to be MORE.

WARNING: I waste hours repeatedly correcting Google AI on multiple false statements during this researching ..Do NOT rely on AI for any factual data without crosschecking .. After extended questioning Google AI admitted .." When a query requires deep, specialized archival research, my system relies on its internal training data—and when that data is missing, the predictive text engine fills the gaps with hallucinations that sound authoritative but are structurally hollow."

Google AI is a Story Teller and specifically programmed to bullshit, flatter, and lie in a sycophantic but authorative manner when it lacks factual data .. It makes it up when it doesn' know.

If Government POLICIES are based on research gleaned from 'AI' .. I am unsurprised that MP's repeatedly impose ineffective, dangerously stupid regulation.

_____________

Here's an Interesing historical LINK: https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/gun-trade-factories.37087/page-3

There is a fine video about BSA - BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS @ bottom of Page 5 ..

Or Linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmDe1EmE_NM&t=331s

Life is GOOD .. as long as there are new toys to arrive,

FIREARMS LICENCES ESSENTIAL FOR NZ POLICE.

Why should anyone be exempt?

Marty K.

 

Err What?

 Would you like to discuss whether DARK MATTER consists of Black Holes, Axions, Dark Photons, - or WIMPS (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles)? - I'm KIDDING, I'm KIDDING.

So .. I've been at it again .. It's Mine, my Precious. - Inlaid pistols are pretty things .. Eye candy I guess, - but some are made-up as 'Wallhanger' decorations, just pushed together from random components with bits of faux bone, ivory or nacre glued on the surfaces. We need to be wary.

The vendor said he thought it might be Arabic, and I didn't have a clue .. But I did think it does not seem to be a flashy tourist shop special .. as it has a captive swivelling ramrod, a wedge holding the stock, a hinged Butt Cap Trap, plus a lot of ornate bone inlays, - and is that English style engraving on a Back-Action Lock behind a twist-Damascus barrel? - As received, the hammer nearly held on fullcock, but I thought I saw GOLD wire bands ..

GOLD WIRE BANDS and solid gold? FRONT SIGHT fixed on a Fine Twist Damascus Barrel .. Engraved Screwheads? - I likee. (I even poked the Endoscope up it's hole & it's fine)

TRIGGER GUARD: This thing was not just "knocked together" ..

I removed the lock and scrubbed it in kerosene and found that the rear Bridle screw was loose .. After tightening and reassembly it all works well.

English Back-Action Lock Mechanism.

I pushed Google AI for identification and it's first guess was ''Ottoman" - then Afghan Pashtun (Khyber Pass) - Afridi Jezail style, but after I posted more detail images it cancelled all that - and was unshakeably certain that this is a "classic" SINDI Holster Pistol from The Sindh Region of southern Pakistan - dating from 1860.

AI maintains "Beyond doubt" - this pistol is built to a high standard in SINDH, using an English Back Action Percussion Lock with a .550 inch 28 Bore Damascus Twist Barrel with cavalry style Swivel Ram-Rod, dated to 1860-65 ... Small inlaid Camel Bone Dice or 'Circle-Dot' square plaques. - I counted 87 individual handcut camel bone inlays. ( I have interrogated AI about this assessment from multiple angles.)

The 1860-65 date follows the 1857 UPRISING, and the East India Company replacement by The British RAJ, The Indian Arms Act of 1860 - when prohibited from making military style weapons by this administration .. craftsmen refocused onto decorative personal defense arms.

Moi? - I am not 100% but there you go .. English Birmingham LOCKWORK & Gold embellished Barrel, - the heavy Damascus Twist barrel may well have been bought-in from LIEGE Belgium cannoneurs for boring in Birmingham .. then shipped to the Indian Continent where a STOCK was skillfully carved and decorated by a local, but I like it anyway.

What will I buy next?

Life is Good

FIREARMS LICENCES ESSENTIAL FOR NZ POLICE.

Why should anyone be exempt?

Marty K.

Bristol - COPPER - Slaves & Jaffa Cakes:

- It's a harmless hobby ..

Only 21mm Diameter ..

More junk - yeah I'm nuts .. Nuts about old Copperware sheet metalwork - I just love the stuff .. But I'm not sure why I wasted my dollars on this wee TOKEN that's 374 years old?

Finding a 1652 dated Bristoll Farthing in New Zealand for NZ$24 was a great buy, as these historic 17th-century trade tokens generally can go up to NZ$150+ (£20 to £75+), depending heavily on condition .. this one is VERY FINE (VF) condition.

Yes I know it is spelled BRISTOL - now it's gone to 'ell - but stuff changes over time eh. Try CAER ODOR, Brycgstow, BRYGSTOW, BRISTOW, then BRISTOLL .. and currently BRISTOL.

1652 follows the execution of King Charles I in 1649, - and England was governed as a Republic for 11 years under Oliver Cromwell and Parliament. The central government focused strictly on minting high-value gold and silver coins, halting the production of official base-metal small change like farthings and halfpennies. Without any lower-value coins, shopkeepers couldn't give change for ordinary purchases like bread, ale, or soap.. 

So, Bristol issued these official city tokens backed by the local corporation to standardise small change across the region. These Bristol corporate tokens were highly trusted because of the city's vast commercial wealth as a major maritime port. Tokens remained a vital backbone of local West Country commerce until 1672, when King Charles II finally outlawed private tokens and re-established an official royal copper coinage.

The local copper and brass industry that Bristol built to solve its small change crisis in 1652 became a driver of the Transatlantic Slave Trade - just a few decades later, Bristol industries quickly progressed from striking local coins to mass-producing heavy copper household goods explicitly designed to buy human slaves.

Cornish COPPER was foundered into Guinea Kettles, Cooking Pots, Copper Bracelets called Manillas, all used for trade, - and CAULDRONS used for boiling and refining Sugar Cane.

Manilas or Okpoho - made from copper, brass, & bronze were cash in Africa ..

A Highly Profitable CORPORATE Trade Lasting Over 300 Years:

- A 'Triangular Trade Route' of exchange goods to Africa used to buy slaves .. Slaves and copper goods to the Americas and Caribbean .. Sugar, Tobacco and Cotton from America back to Bristol. THE MONEY MADE THEN KEEPS PROPERTIED FAMILIES WEALTHY TO THIS DAY.

GUN LAWS .. Firearms Regulations, in British based nations like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and UK itself - are wholy based on the wealthy ruling elites FEAR of the POOR. 

IF you pause to THINK about Corporate 'BIG BUSINESS' and what these organizations are about .. It's fairly obvious they DON'T exist to benefit the workers. These 'Corporates' live to make their owners WEALTHY and more wealthy and ever more wealthy .. etc into the future, for-ever extracting money from us the resource. 

Corporate business's live to take your money and to put it into their accounts. Full Stop.

- They don't care how they do it or what damage they cause on the way .. Pollution? - So What .. Poisoned kids .. Oh Dear never mind eh. Destroyed marshlands and locals pushed out by "security forces" - Thats "progress". These leaders have more wealth and Power than countries now. Democracy?

FIREARMS LICENCES ESSENTIAL FOR NZ POLICE.

Why should anyone be exempt?

Jaffa Cakes and Empty Space:

This is a brand-new - just opened packet of Jaffa Cakes from Woolworths Supermarket ..

There are just 10 in here @ 49cents each - still sealed in clear plastic .. THERE IS ROOM IN THERE FOR AT LEAST THREE MORE as suggested by the packaging size. This is cheating the consumers and should be addressed by Government Authorities, who are paid by our taxes to work in the best interests of THE PEOPLE .. not of the bloody rip-off merchants.

What is the difference between a biscuit maker and a thief? 

- NOTHING, They both steal your money at every chance ..

Life is Good,

Marty K.

EMERGENCY EMERGENCY ...

IF the world was to turn to custard and all the eggs got grilled crispy .. it would be a bit late then to pop-down to the shops looking for a bargain priced BLUETTI solar power station, a battery Radio and a few weeks worth of toilet rolls eh ..

- The NZ South Island Alpine Fault ruptures & lets go BIGLEY - Regular-as-Clockwork every 300 Years. The last one was 1717 I'm told .. ..

Now I am a peculiar case - in that I am practicing the Japanese hara hachi bu (eating until only 80% full) because, despite getting my weight down from 126 kg a few years back to 90 kg currently - AND seriously trying to eat a Whole Foods - Vegetable Based diet - I still need to lose more weight.

- Avoiding meat and dairy fats NOT for any matter of principle or religeon, as I actually consider it smart to eat as wide a range of tasty real foods as is available to a primate .. but because as an ex smoker, ice cream addict I suffered a HEART ATTACK in 1989 followed by a TRIPLE BYPASS in Dunedin, plus two stents later inserted, plus an emergency V-Fib event of over 4 minutes during angiography (I restarted second zap attempt).

I LIKE BEING HERE.

Vegetables are wonderfully affordable on Superannuation, whereas MEAT and DAIRY is bloody expensive - so I can sometimes save enough cash to buy interesting old useful stuff for fun and investment.

STICK IT TO ME BABY ..

Four recent ANTIQUE bargain finds .. from the TOP:

200 y.o. Sikh GUPTI SWORD STICK in GOLD & SILVER Gilt Vine Leaf Panels, and 'German Silver' Filigree Bands.

Malacca Cane with SILVER Pommel Top .. 120 y.o.

London made bent Partridgewood Stick with 9 Karat solid GOLD barleycorn engine turned Band, assayed 1912

MEMENTO Stick with impressed COPPER Band 100th anniversary of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson’s victory and death at the Battle 

   of Trafalgar (1805–1905), The British & Foreign Sailors’ Society: Issued 1905.

Nice ..

Food now has much less nutritional content than it used to.

- Ask yourself how it is that JAPAN (S.Korea heaps also) has more than 100,000 CENTENARIANS .. (around 800 in NZ). Diet? - What are they eating?

I'm NOT talking about the substitute factory-made imitation Industrial crap .. you know - Mystery Meat & gristle 'BEEF flavoured Sausages' - 'Maple flavoured Syrup', - synthetic "butter" Margarine made of hydrogenated hard seed oils such as OLIVANI - some that are claimed to have around 20% olive oil. (That means it contains 80% Industrial Lubricant content)

Our Chicken, Bacon, Ham meat is all weight increased with around 20 to 30% added/injected WATER while the sky is the limit for processed mince and sausage slush, at upto 49% WATER  Fat and Fillers.

- What I'm on about here is your premium fresh proper 'garden' VEGETABLES & FRUITS that we eat to be fed healthy .. these are LESS good now than they used to be because of SOIL DEPLETION - and because they have been bred to be BIGGER, LONGER SHELF-LIFE, & PRETTIER, but without the minerals and vitamins being enhanced in any way.

In some instances - as much as 50% less vitamins, minerals. Check it out yourself  'cos a list of numbers on screen is boring. - What the fvck do I know? - I am not a health professional .. just a retired old fart.

They have been busy fvcking about with EVERYTHING for years .. to enhance their profits.

For "SAFETY" reasons they are doing everything they can to restrict, limit, and ban ownership of guns .. while feeding our kids any sloppy crap that will make the owners millionaires.

I can remember when eg TOMATOES were thin-skinned, tender, tasty, and without that WOODY core.

I remember when STRAWBERRIES were melt-in-your-mouth soft and sweet - Not hard and white in the middle - and their delicious aroma would fill the room ..

They keep harvesting these modified crops out of the fields year after year - we eat it and we pass it through - and they pump all that nutrient rich excreta down pipes into the sea. It should go back onto the land.

When we visited Abu Dhabi around 20 years ago .. I was impressed by the multi-lane highways having their CENTRAL RESERVATIONS planted with Date Palms that were irrigated with treated sewerage .. but that's not an easy thing - because of the heavy metals and poisonous chemicals we let into the sewers.

These problems can all be fixed .. but there is NO PROFIT in it for the corporate businesses that lobby our elected politicians and Government Ministers. 

OUR CHOICE.

I'd rather be scribbling about some new exciting Handguns or a fantastic new hunting caliber or a brilliant optical sighting system that multiplies starlight and costs less than iron sights or even shotguns that make less noise than air rifles .. BUT THERE IS NOTHING NEW OR FRESH.

Instead of  Government limiting CRIMINALS, - Citizens are taught to fear Firearms, ammunition and knives.

The sad truth is that sport shooting in New Zealand now is on it's last wheezing breath, as the misguided LEGISLATION determines to strip our population of our AUTONOMOUS RIGHTS

The right to SELF DEFENCE

The right to HARVEST WILD MEATS

The right to HARVEST WILD FOODS BY FORAGING

The right to FISH AND GATHER SHELLFISH

The right to SAVE CROP SEED TO PLANT NEXT SEASON

The right to keep HENS FOR EGGS or RABBITS FOR MEAT

The right to DIG A WELL or BORE CONSENT

Why are there no nut or fruit trees in our parks and reserves?

LICENCES AND FEES, - PERMITS, - REGISTERS, - LIMITS, - RESTRICTED LOCATIONS - NOISE LIMITS, - DANGEROUS GOODS TRANSPORT LIMITS, - STORAGE RESTRICTIONS, - SECURITY STIPULATIONS, - POSTAL RESTRICTIONS, - AIR CARRIAGE RESTRICTIONS, - PLANNING LIMITATIONS .. it goes on and on.

YOUR CHOICE - It's up to YOU.

Leave it in the TOO HARD BASKET - or do something about it. - Have you joined COLFO? Are you a DEERSTALKERS member?

FIREARMS LICENCES ESSENTIAL FOR NZ POLICE.

Why should anyone be exempt?

Life IS Good,

Marty K.