Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Philip · 12th June 2009, 04:48 PM

Congratulations on an interesting find. Mechanically, it's a classic example of a "knot lock", which seems to be a uniquely Portuguese innovation. Comparing it with the example in Figs. 19 and 20 on page 459 of "Espingarda Perfeyta", there is a notable difference in the shape of the lockplate. The one in the book has the profile of a typical French-style flintlock plate with two mounting-screw holes; the editor dates it within the last two decades of the 17th cent. Your example, with the three-screw system, is probably earlier. I agree that the use of three screws is an older way of attaching a lock, it likely is a carryover from the days of the wheel lock which was a more massive mechanism with an extremely powerful mainspring.

The fecho de no is interesting in that it had a longer service life OUTSIDE of Portugal. The earliest examples were carried by the Portuguese and introduced to the peoples in their worldwide colonies. It was not as stunning an innovation as their famous matchlock, but it apparently generated enough "fans" over generations that these locks continued to be produced in Europe (probably Belgium) until about the First World War for sale in equatorial Africa. When breechloading, cartridge-firing rifles came into fashion, the colonial powers tried to resist the commercial sale of these modern arms to the natives and thus continued the demand for "trade muskets" using flintlock (and later, percussion-cap) mechanisms until the early 20th century.

I recall a blackpowder shooting-supplies and reproduction gun company called Dixie Gun Works in Tennessee selling these fecho de no copies in their catalog as late as the 1970s, and we still see them on rare occasions at gun shows in the States. They were advertised as "Lazarino locks", and recommended as replacements for missing Spanish miquelet locks on antique guns (haha!) or for those who wanted to make a shooting replica of a Spanish gun.

The authors of "Espingarda Perfeyta" may have had a point about the unreliability and cheapness of these locks. The repros made for the African trade were certainly cheap (if memory serves right, Dixie sold theirs for under $20) and if these copies were any reflection of the originals, the fit and finish left something to be desired.

My examination of several examples leads me to believe that the inadequacies may lie in the lack of "bridles" or bridges supporting the frizzen pivot screw and the cock/tumbler pivot. These bridles, seen on the more sophisticated "fecho de patilha", "fecho a la romana", and the mature form of the French flintlock, serve to support these pivots at both ends, not just at the lockplate. Without a bridle, the bearing surfaces tend to wear more rapidly under spring tension, and the frizzen pivot is prone to being bent through rough handling. Over time, tolerances widen and lead to heavy trigger pull, deterioration of lock timing, and poor fit of the frizzen over the pan. Of course, these problems would become manifest with other early flintlocks with unsupported pivot screws and tumblers as well.

12th June 2009, 04:48 PM	#2
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	an early one... Congratulations on an interesting find. Mechanically, it's a classic example of a "knot lock", which seems to be a uniquely Portuguese innovation. Comparing it with the example in Figs. 19 and 20 on page 459 of "Espingarda Perfeyta", there is a notable difference in the shape of the lockplate. The one in the book has the profile of a typical French-style flintlock plate with two mounting-screw holes; the editor dates it within the last two decades of the 17th cent. Your example, with the three-screw system, is probably earlier. I agree that the use of three screws is an older way of attaching a lock, it likely is a carryover from the days of the wheel lock which was a more massive mechanism with an extremely powerful mainspring. The fecho de no is interesting in that it had a longer service life OUTSIDE of Portugal. The earliest examples were carried by the Portuguese and introduced to the peoples in their worldwide colonies. It was not as stunning an innovation as their famous matchlock, but it apparently generated enough "fans" over generations that these locks continued to be produced in Europe (probably Belgium) until about the First World War for sale in equatorial Africa. When breechloading, cartridge-firing rifles came into fashion, the colonial powers tried to resist the commercial sale of these modern arms to the natives and thus continued the demand for "trade muskets" using flintlock (and later, percussion-cap) mechanisms until the early 20th century. I recall a blackpowder shooting-supplies and reproduction gun company called Dixie Gun Works in Tennessee selling these fecho de no copies in their catalog as late as the 1970s, and we still see them on rare occasions at gun shows in the States. They were advertised as "Lazarino locks", and recommended as replacements for missing Spanish miquelet locks on antique guns (haha!) or for those who wanted to make a shooting replica of a Spanish gun. The authors of "Espingarda Perfeyta" may have had a point about the unreliability and cheapness of these locks. The repros made for the African trade were certainly cheap (if memory serves right, Dixie sold theirs for under $20) and if these copies were any reflection of the originals, the fit and finish left something to be desired. My examination of several examples leads me to believe that the inadequacies may lie in the lack of "bridles" or bridges supporting the frizzen pivot screw and the cock/tumbler pivot. These bridles, seen on the more sophisticated "fecho de patilha", "fecho a la romana", and the mature form of the French flintlock, serve to support these pivots at both ends, not just at the lockplate. Without a bridle, the bearing surfaces tend to wear more rapidly under spring tension, and the frizzen pivot is prone to being bent through rough handling. Over time, tolerances widen and lead to heavy trigger pull, deterioration of lock timing, and poor fit of the frizzen over the pan. Of course, these problems would become manifest with other early flintlocks with unsupported pivot screws and tumblers as well.