Old flintlock conversion to percussion

[M ELEY]

Some more pics of the pistol-

[fernando]

If it is a conversion work, is very well 'disguised', Mark.
Trying to get it back to flint is an option; which i wouldn' adopt myself.
It is admitable that a gun converted to percussion would not keep its original value but ... what the hell; it has an history, all the same.
I like the shadow of your elegant hands while taking the first picture .

[M ELEY]

[QUOTE=fernando]If it is a conversion work, is very well 'disguised', Mark.
Trying to get it back to flint is an option; which i wouldn' adopt myself.
It is admitable that a gun converted to percussion would not keep its original value but ... what the hell; it has an history, all the same.
I like the shadow of your elegant hands while taking the first picture .

Well, you know I am a 'hand model', Fernando-

[Fernando K]

Hello

First of all, restoring this piece to flint implies having a cock (hammer) model and we don't know what it was like. Of course it is a careful conversion, the places where the frizzen spring was have kept their original design. I do not see the threaded holes of the screw of the frizzen and its spring, properly plugged, but it is a test of careful work. The presence of gold is not incrustation, but gilding on fire (an impossible practice today, due to its toxicity). It is not a dueling pistol, due to the profuse decoration. The English dueling weapons had little decoration and the French pairs were much later. For decoration, I lean towards France, sometime in the 18th century.

I would leave it like this, restoring the wooden box and cleaning. You can never go back to the original state.

Affectionately

[adrian]

I agree with all Fernando K's comments and I would also go further re the original configuration of this pistol to state that I think it has not been converted from flint. I see no sign of the holes that would have been filled on the face, and perhaps inspecting the rear of the lock, as well as the nipple lump attachment etc would determine this for certain. May I suggest that you look closely at the face for evidence, such as seen in the photo below that I have extracted from a book.

[M ELEY]

Thank you, Fernando K and Adrian, for your input. Adrian, you are correct that the lock on mine has no filled holes and the existing lock fits snugly. I guess the reason I thought perhaps a conversion is I've seen the 'nipple' cut into old locks and the cap holder on this one possibly looked 'added'. Likewise, the aging on the pistol, with it's wear and patina to the wood, made me suspect older. I guess in leu of this information, this must just be an early percussion pistol, perhaps 1820's?

[Philip]

Originally Posted by adrian

I agree with all Fernando K's comments and I would also go further re the original configuration of this pistol to state that I think it has not been converted from flint. I see no sign of the holes that would have been filled on the face, and perhaps inspecting the rear of the lock, as well as the nipple lump attachment etc would determine this for certain. May I suggest that you look closely at the face for evidence, such as seen in the photo below that I have extracted from a book.

I must respectfully disagree. If it was made as percussion, why would there be that unmistakable shaped "platform" on the forward end of the lockplate that is of ideal shape to support a frizzen-spring which has since been removed? Also, I see a slight shadow and a partial arc where the frizzen spring screw would have been, it hints that this is a filled screwhole.

A general observation -- the proportions of the gun, and the relative crudity of the foresight and the end of the forestock suggest that the barrel had been shortened, possibly at time of conversion but not necessarily so.

The decoration on the breech and furniture, and the decorative carving on the buttstock, indicate that this pistol was quite a fine thing in its heyday. I agree with the consensus of opinion on the thread so far -- restoring it to flint is probably not a good idea, but a judicious cleaning and overall conservation work will improve it greatly and halt any ongoing deterioration.

[fernando]

After having admitted in my #3 that it could have been a subtle modification work, i had a second thought in that i looked at it as definitey being a conversion to percussion. But i didn't risk to post my uneducated guess and rather wait for the cavalry .