Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Introducing myself and some thoughts on wheel/tinder locks

batjka · 31st March 2014, 04:46 PM

Gentlemen,

I would like to thank everyone on this forum for providing a wealth of information on development of Arms and Armor. I have been lurking here for a couple of months reading various threads and gaining knowledge on subjects that are extremely interesting to anyone who cares about history.

I don't have an amazing collection like some folks here. In fact, I have no gun earlier than 1888 in my modest possession. Maybe some day when the kids are grown and I am old and decrepit I will blow my savings on several 15th century wheel locks. In the mean time, I am here to learn and appreciate others' experience and knowledge.

Now, some thoughts on combination wheel lock/tinder lock weapons. It had been suggested in various sources that the reason snap locks were combined with wheel locks is for "insurance" purposes. Meaning that the wheel locks were fragile and prone to breaking and thus a second means of ignition was added (a tinder lock) in case the main lock breaks. After thinking about it, I came to a conclusion that it is not so.

A wheel lock takes a lot more time to get to readiness - it has to be spun first, "hammer" lowered etc. In a combat situation it is much faster to use a tinder lock - just cock, load, prime and pull the trigger. So in my opinion the tinder lock is the main combat lock on these combination guns. The wheel lock is there to make the first shot only. The rest of the shots are made using the second lock. A wheel lock could also be used to ignite the tinder or a match cord for subsequent use after the first shot.

Opinions?

31st March 2014, 04:46 PM	#1
batjka Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 39	Introducing myself and some thoughts on wheel/tinder locks Gentlemen, I would like to thank everyone on this forum for providing a wealth of information on development of Arms and Armor. I have been lurking here for a couple of months reading various threads and gaining knowledge on subjects that are extremely interesting to anyone who cares about history. I don't have an amazing collection like some folks here. In fact, I have no gun earlier than 1888 in my modest possession. Maybe some day when the kids are grown and I am old and decrepit I will blow my savings on several 15th century wheel locks. In the mean time, I am here to learn and appreciate others' experience and knowledge. Now, some thoughts on combination wheel lock/tinder lock weapons. It had been suggested in various sources that the reason snap locks were combined with wheel locks is for "insurance" purposes. Meaning that the wheel locks were fragile and prone to breaking and thus a second means of ignition was added (a tinder lock) in case the main lock breaks. After thinking about it, I came to a conclusion that it is not so. A wheel lock takes a lot more time to get to readiness - it has to be spun first, "hammer" lowered etc. In a combat situation it is much faster to use a tinder lock - just cock, load, prime and pull the trigger. So in my opinion the tinder lock is the main combat lock on these combination guns. The wheel lock is there to make the first shot only. The rest of the shots are made using the second lock. A wheel lock could also be used to ignite the tinder or a match cord for subsequent use after the first shot. Opinions?