The oldest known tinder snap-lock mechanism for a harquebus, ca. 1510-20

[Matchlock]

This is an addition originally meant to be attached to my thread

The Battle of Pavia 1525 revisited.

and is referred to in full there.


I also repost the woodcut by Hans Schäufelein, ca. 1515, with the group of three 'Maximilian' harquebusiers, their harquebuses clearly equipped with exactly the same type of tinder snap-lock released by push button as is the case in my piece. The only difference is that Schäufelein's tinder holder acts backward while on my lock, it acts forward. Both were in use simultaneously.

The second tinder snap-lock features a much more refined mechanism, with all the springs mounted inside the lock plate, and meant to be released by a trigger that - unusual enough - worked on the sear from above, instead of vice versa, as one would expect. The image showing the inside of the lock has the tinder serpentine in the cocked position.
Note the highly unusual presence of a tumbler, with the upper arm of the two-armed spring resting in its notch - a system commonly associated with the upcoming of the snap-lock using pyrites and flint in the mid-16th century.
I date this lock mechanism to the 1530's.

Note that the scale is in centimeters (sorry, I do not have an inch scale over here in Bavaria - we have the world's best beer instead, and it is traditionally measured in liters which we call "Mass").

Cheers,
Matchlock