information for ottoman-balkan pistols

ward · 8th August 2015, 09:44 PM

If you think about it making a generic pistol makes sense. You can sell it to turks,greeks, Muslim, christan, etc,. You do not have to do so much explaining as to why a certain workshop was supplying guns to any particular side. Plausible deniability at its finest.

rickystl · 8th August 2015, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ward

If you think about it making a generic pistol makes sense. You can sell it to turks,greeks, Muslim, christan, etc,. You do not have to do so much explaining as to why a certain workshop was supplying guns to any particular side. Plausible deniability at its finest.

Hi Ward.
I totally agree. So many of these guns were made under contract to the Ottoman Empire. But I'm sure many were not. As you say, even if the guns were captured, it would be impossible to trace back to any particular gun shop.
Rick.

stelio · 8th August 2015, 10:51 PM

Thank you very much Rick.
Really very interesting all this informations.
I have looked for some sign of the manufacturer or for some scripture but there is nothing of them.It is absolutely same in construction and decorative designs
It is a pair where the michanism and barel is identical both arms and there is no difference in design and decoration . I've seen enough of this type in collections and museums but never one pair like this with both very similar.
Stelios

rickystl · 9th August 2015, 04:08 PM

Hi Stelio.
Occassionally, you will find an untraceable stamp on the lock. But usually these pistols are unmarked for reasons above. Your's were obviously made as a pair.
And a very nice pair indeed.

Warriors of the Ottoman Empire preferred to load their pistols with a seperate suma rod, as shown above, suspended with a throng around the neck. So the so called "false" ramrod design on the bottom of the fore ends was simply a styling excercise.

Europeans would often carry a pair of horse pistols in a pair of holsters (called frogs) mounted on the horse saddles. Whereas, the Ottoman Region often preferred to carry their pistols in a single double frog holster suspended over the shoulder similar as shown below.
Rick.

9th August 2015, 04:08 PM	#4
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,621	Hi Stelio. Occassionally, you will find an untraceable stamp on the lock. But usually these pistols are unmarked for reasons above. Your's were obviously made as a pair. And a very nice pair indeed. Warriors of the Ottoman Empire preferred to load their pistols with a seperate suma rod, as shown above, suspended with a throng around the neck. So the so called "false" ramrod design on the bottom of the fore ends was simply a styling excercise. Europeans would often carry a pair of horse pistols in a pair of holsters (called frogs) mounted on the horse saddles. Whereas, the Ottoman Region often preferred to carry their pistols in a single double frog holster suspended over the shoulder similar as shown below. Rick. Attached Images

8th August 2015, 09:44 PM	#1
ward Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 637	If you think about it making a generic pistol makes sense. You can sell it to turks,greeks, Muslim, christan, etc,. You do not have to do so much explaining as to why a certain workshop was supplying guns to any particular side. Plausible deniability at its finest.

8th August 2015, 10:51 PM	#3
stelio Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 97	Thank you very much Rick. Really very interesting all this informations. I have looked for some sign of the manufacturer or for some scripture but there is nothing of them.It is absolutely same in construction and decorative designs It is a pair where the michanism and barel is identical both arms and there is no difference in design and decoration . I've seen enough of this type in collections and museums but never one pair like this with both very similar. Stelios