This pistol,with box,and accessories were made in the80's or 90's. I can't recall. I sold it to the president of a major chemical company with a 3 letter name.
When I posted a lion's mask brooch in the classifieds last year,the sterling silver brooch was cast from the butt of this pistol. The original mask was hand chiseled from solid brass. It took about a month of evenings for me to make the mask alone. I got the mask cast and made the new owner's wife a brooch from it as a little extra gift.
The gun stock was made from a piece of walnut firewood a friend gave me. He saw that the way the grain curved was a perfect match to make a flintlock pistol from. I dried the wood for a few years before using it.
The brass side plate is not a casting. It was sawn from 1/8" brass,and filed and chiseled by hand.
The butt was forged from a flat piece of brass by a process I developed,but feel was the way the originals were made: I developed a pattern that resembled the planet Saturn seen edge on,except the rings thickened and flowed into the circular planet as they approached it. The planet's body was forged into a hemispherical cavity in a steel die I made for the purpose. As the butt was forged,it was annealed several times. The deeper I forged the body of the planet,the more upright the "wings" became. Finally,I bent the wings into an even arc,capable of sliding up into the mating inletting I made in the grip of the pistol. Unless these wings were accurately and evenly circular,they would not slip up into the inlets. Finally,the outside surfaces of the butt cap and its wings were chiseled and riffler filed into the "gulleys" near the raised edges. Engraved lines enhanced these gullies. After I developed a way to forge these butts in 1 piece(as they should be made),the gunsmith's shop started to do them this way,instead of brazing 2 halves together.
The mask has a flat tail on it which fits into a fitted,tapered mortise in the grip of the gun. It is secured by a hand filed screw that has no head,and is a straight,tapered shape. As it is screwed in,the mask is drawn tighter against the butt,holding both in securely. The originals were done this way. The strap of the trigger guard covers this screw.
The lock is mostly hand file work. I left it bright,though the frizzen was hardened so the flint would spark against it. The name is hand engraved.
The barrel is a half round,"swamped" shape,and half octagon. Details were hand filed into the octagon. The barrel was fire blued in my oven at about 750º,a real STRAIN on the kitchen oven!
The ramrod "pipes" are of an early style since they are round rather than octagon. These details could be custom ordered by the customer. To make them,I turned the moldings into about a 2" diameter brass tube on the lathe. Then,pieces were sawn off,and bent around mandrels to fit the ram rod. The parts that go up into the stock were filed flat,like originals,and secured by small steel pins that go through the stock. These molded ramrod pipes were sometimes drawn flat through a die in the old days,then bent circular. I had no wire drawing setup.
The maker's name is hand engraved on an inlet silver plate on the top of the barrel.
The shell carving around the breech of the gun is typical of fine English guns,wrapping up into a swirl at its base. Sometimes they were symmetrical. I like this style better.
This pistol's mask represents the skinned face of the lion that Hercules took as a trophy. Often,references to classical tales were used on guns,architecture,and other things in the 18th. C.,and in the periods before,and after,though in the 19th.C.,ornament began to become decadent,and too many references were just thrown together in a meaningless way.
I see my label was completely whited out by the photographer's lights.
The mahogany case has a wool broadcloth lining. I had to hand file out the hooks,and made the lock,too. I did not make the handle atop the case,as good ones are available. The hinges are high quality cast brass,like the old ones were.
I decided to include a picture of a late 18th-early 19th.C. pistol I made so you scan see the differences in style that evolved. The later gun is more stark and business like.
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Originally Posted by george wilson
