Show us your Guns!

[DeaconKC]

I really like that 1917! Just got a .455 myself, Lee dies have arrived, waiting for Starline brass to get here. Also found out that the HKS speedloaders for .45 Colt or .44 Special/Magnum will work with the .455.

 

[Yahoody]

 

[DeaconKC]

Aw Yahoody, that is just plain gorgeous!

 

[Yahoody]

Aw Yahoody, that is just plain gorgeous!

Thank you Sir!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

 

[DeaconKC]

Holy cats! BBQ gun porn at it's finest!

 

[Yahoody]

 

[Yahoody]

 

[HoosierDaddy]

 

[Yahoody]

 

[Edward]

Some of the engravingson those pieces is beautiful; reminds me of a Zemaitis guitar - though, of course, Zematis was himself inspired by engravings on old guns.

View attachment 240129

Is that a sawn-off shotgun?

 

[GHT]

Engraving armaments seems almost perverse, given the intention of the said gun. But the intricate work knows no bounds as this matched pair of engraved and gilded French percussion lock duelling pistols, displayed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, clearly show.

That 'shotgun' Edward, could possibly be the Winchester repeat rifle.

 

[Yahoody]

Is that a sawn-off shotgun?

No, it is a 1860 Henry rifle, .44 cal. It is on the bottom of the rack of rifles. The first successful lever gun from Winchester. Followed by the Model '66, '73 and '76 which are also on the rack going from bottom to top.

 

[Edward]

Ah! Yes, I see it now - I think the cropping in the first photo and the black barrel made it look sawn-off on my phone. Nice pieces.

I've always assumed the embellishment and ornamentation on these guns was part of the selling; as distinct from military issuewhere you takewhat you're given (and they'll keep cosmetic utilitarian to keep the price down), it makes sense that there would be a market for folks who want their gun to look just a bit fancier. Duelling pistols were, of course, the property lagely of the gentry. I should imagine when you'd challenged someone else, you wanted to be able to pull out an impressive looking set of pistols as a demonstration of your place in society. (The class system gets everywhere!)

 

[MisterCairo]

Works of art all!

 

[Yahoody]

Shortly after man first picked up a piece of wood to use as a weapon he started to embellish his weapons. The embellishments continued through the Bronze Age and into steel. A tour through most any European museum will show examples of the intricate art of metal work in arms. The same can be seen in any culture, world wide.

Men are and have always been superstitious. Any object that is capable of taking or saving a life if likely to be given credit for powers beyond human comprehension. Not unlikely that embellishment soon follows.

Tut's dagger made from a meteorite approx 1320 B.C

This is supposedly an accurate recreation of a 6th Century Saxon sword.

16th Century French armor

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I've seen Tut's dagger in the Cairo museum. At the time (1987) it was displayed in a glass case and I could lean over it and get a look at the dagger from inches away. It still retains much of its polish and it was a memorable experience to see my own face reflected in the oldest dateable iron weapon.

 

[Levallois]

Beautiful engraved guns and bladed weapons!

Fooling around in the office again when I am supposed to be cleaning and consolidating. WWI (more or less) with Webley 1909 auto and various accoutrements.

 

[MisterCairo]

I

I've seen Tut's dagger in the Cairo museum. At the time (1987) it was displayed in a glass case and I could lean over it and get a look at the dagger from inches away. It still retains much of its polish and it was a memorable experience to see my own face reflected in the oldest dateable iron weapon.

Recently watched a documentary on the Tut trove, from recent restoration and preservation work, to reconstructing a chariot embellished with gold leaf.

One thing mentioned was the meteorite dagger. The experts wondered if they knew the celestial origins of the metal, and posited that perhaps the strike was witnessed, and the metal retrieved as a gift from the gods.

Fascinating stuff.

 

[Yesteryear]

I added another classic to the collection recently, the Walther PPK! This one is chambered in 9mm Kurz (380 ACP) and holds 7 rounds total. The PPK has a nice double-to-single action trigger, which is very smooth and crisp. I think it looks great in stainless steel, contrasted by the black grips. This is a new production model, made earlier this year. The slide and slide components were made in Ulm, Germany. The frame, which is the actual serialized part, was made in Fort Smith, AR, USA. This way the gun is officially "made" in the United States, and Walther can get around the asinine US import laws for the US market.