Turkish Blunderbuss/Translation Needed

[Dom]

Originally Posted by Dom

Hi Rick
my comments will be for the translations only
that Blunderbuss pistol, may confuse me about his originality as a weapon
might be a "navy gun"?, or more prosaically, a weapon of decor, I dunno

Hi Rick
GOOD NEWS ... it's NOT a "weapon of decor", it's a real

origine should be from Balkans, decorated in Ottoman style, it's a;
- "KNEE" pistols
- dated 1st quarter of 19th century

here attached a pic, the pistol it's not mine, otherwise,
I would given you the correct information directly
but with help of Google for instance, you'll find
sorry to have put you in a cold sweat
all the best

à +

Dom

[rickystl]

Hi Dom !! Thank you so much for your reply and translation. I very much appreciate it. It's always good to be able to identify the maker of the gun.

I agree with you, this pistol was likely made in the Balkans - for the Turkish market. It's definately not a "tourist" made item. It has a good quality, heavy made iron barrel. The lock is made much better than most I've seen. Close to European standards. I can tell this gun has been fired in the past. Wish the trigger guard was not missing.
Here are some more photos. Other than the missing trigger guard, I am very happy with this specimen. Again, thank you for the translation!!
Rick.

[Dom]

Originally Posted by rickystl

... It's definately not a "tourist" made item. ... Wish the trigger guard was not missing.
.

Hi Rick
if there was not this trigger guard missing, it's nearly perfect
especially at evidence, your "knee" pistol is without further tweaking

why not to envisage a restoration ?
especially as you have enough remaining pieces to know what had been the decor

all the best

à +

Dom

[rickystl]

Hi Dom. I was thinking exactly that. I could purchase a new cast brass trigger guard and have it cut, engraved, and aged close to the original. And, I know just the gunsmith that can do this. I don't think it will really depreciate the value of the gun in this case, as long as the work is professionally done. Others may dis-agree? I will have to search my library and the Internet for the shape/size of the trigger guard. The photo you provided helps. Thanks again, Rick.

[rickystl]

BUMP!

I've heard it said that patience is its own reward. Trigger guard restoration now complete. And you guys won't believe my luck in finding this trigger guard. The new (old!) trigger guard is from an original Balkan/Turkish blunderbuss that had a worm-eaten and destroyed stock. The new (old) guard was fitted to the existing mortise. And since the new guard was from the same type of pistol, from the same time period, the patina of the brass is a perfect match. The nails were hand made. I did not try to have the guard engraved similar to the old one as I did not want to risk altering the original patina. Anyway, I thought this restoration turned out very well. You would never know the new guard did not originally come with the gun. Here are some photos with the new (old!) guard. Thanks for looking. Rick.

[Robert]

Rick, what great luck you have had in being able to find an original trigger guard for this. Personally seeing as you have the original pieces for a pattern I think that many would have opted to have the new one engraved to match the rest of the guns original decoration. I know that there are restorers out there that could match the patina up again after the engraving had been done. Leaving it as is though has its own merits too, the main one being saving money. If this was mine I do believe that I would have made the same decision that you have, but only for the reason to save funds for my next potential purchase.

Best,
Robert

[Sajen]

Hello Rick, great luck and very nice restauration and great looking blunderbuss.

Regards,

Detlef