Flintlock Pistols With Rare Safety Frizzens, c1740

[dana_w]

This pair of silver mounted flintlock pistols have a very unusual safety mechanism. The Frizzens can be swiveled out of the path of the hammer. Along with British view and proof marks, the barrels are marked with a star over "IB". This is the maker's mark of the highly regarded James Barbar.

http://weaponscollector.com/j_barbar_c1740.php

Unfortunately these pistols are covered with a dark brown substance which is believed to be dried linseed oil. A few years ago Cheaper Than Dirt republished an article on firearm preservation by Springfield National Historic Site and National Park Service. To quote that article “When linseed oil oxidizes, its molecules cross-link with one another, making it increasingly more difficult to remove as time passes.”

http://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/cari...toric-firearm/

I would like to clean these pistols. So far I have tried using fresh boiled linseed oil, WD-40, turpentine, and (God forbid) lighter fluid, all without any notable success.

Has anyone seen an antique weapon preserved in this way? Does anyone have an informed suggestion on how to safely remove the ancient dried linseed oil?

All photos are copyright (c) 2016 Dana K. Williams. All rights are reserved.

[corrado26]

“When linseed oil oxidizes, its molecules cross-link with one another, making it increasingly more difficult to remove as time passes.”

This means that to get the results you see on your pistols needed a very long time. So cleaning needs the same time too. So you can try to put all metal items in turpentine at least four or five weeks and see afterwards what has happened.
corrado26

[Philip]

Thanks for sharing these very interesting pistols. Did you know that swiveling frizzens were pretty much the norm on many early flintlock mechanisms from the Baltic countries, especially Sweden, from the mid- to late 17th cent.? There are several examples showing various stages of development and refinement in H. L. Blackmore, GUNS AND RIFLES OF THE WORLD (1965), figs 137, 139, 141-45. On all of these, the pan-cover and the steel were attached to each other via the swivel-screw. The design allowed the gun to be carried safely with the pan primed and closed, and the cock lowered with the steel pivoted out of the way, with no need for a half-cock detent. I would imagine that the locks on your pistols also have a half-cock safety notch on the tumbler as well.

[corrado26]

This safety system is rather often to be found on German and Austrian flintlocks as show the fotos of a gun by Christoph Frey, Munic, a pistol by Wenzlau in Koblenz, a carbine by Niklaus Koch of Vienna and an unsigned military officer's carbine of Saxony.
corrado26

[dana_w]

Originally Posted by corrado26

This safety system is rather often to be found on German and Austrian flintlocks as show the fotos of a gun by Christoph Frey, Munic, a pistol by Wenzlau in Koblenz, a carbine by Niklaus Koch of Vienna and an unsigned military officer's carbine of Saxony.
corrado26

Thanks for the great photos corrado26. It is helpful to see some other examples.

[Fernando K]

Hello

I agree with Corrado. So what you can do is work with a cotton and patiently. Any solves (vegetable turpentine Tinner xylol benzine) dissolves dry flax oil

Affectionately. Fernando K

[dana_w]

Originally Posted by Philip

Did you know that swiveling frizzens were pretty much the norm on many early flintlock mechanisms from the Baltic countries, especially Sweden, from the mid- to late 17th cent.?

I didn't know that Philip. I've been lucky enough to handle hundreds of flintlocks from the period, but most of those were English, French, or Spanish. This is the first swiveling frizzen I've seen other than one published image.

Would you disagree with the assertion that the design is rare?

Originally Posted by Philip

DidThere are several examples showing various stages of development and refinement in H. L. Blackmore, GUNS AND RIFLES OF THE WORLD (1965), figs 137, 139, 141-45.

I own several books by Blackmore, but not that one. I'll ask around and see if one of my friends has a copy. Thanks for the reference.

Originally Posted by Philip

I would imagine that the locks on your pistols also have a half-cock safety notch on the tumbler as well.

Yes they have a half-cock safety.

[Philip]

[QUOTE=dana_w]I didn't know that Philip. I've been lucky enough to handle hundreds of flintlocks from the period, but most of those were English, French, or Spanish. This is the first swiveling frizzen I've seen other than one published image.

Would you disagree with the assertion that the design is rare?


Hi, Dana
I would most emphatically agree with you in that the design is rare WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF BRITISH-MADE FIREARMS, but this is not necessarily so in general. It was quite common in much of Scandinavia a century before your guns were made, as I mentioned. And as our fellow forumite has so kindly pointed out with photos, the swiveling frizzen was not uncommon in the German-speaking countries as well.

Thanks again for sharing these. I've given some thought to your caked-oil dilemma (I am a restorer of antique arms), and have in the past found mineral spirits to be a good antidote for oils. You apparently have an extreme case, so how about detaching from the wood and a prolonged, complete immersion? After awhile when softening does occur, removal can be accelerated with use of small brass brushes. Here in the States, we can often find at arms fairs and outdoor-equipment shops a product consisting of a wad of thin stainless steel filaments (somewhat like a pot scrubber but softer and without embedded detergents) that's touted as good for de-rusting steel surfaces without scratching the bluing on things like guns or reels. I recall the trade name Gun Scrubber on the last one I bought. 'Was skeptical about the non-scratching claim at first, tried it on a rusty blued rifle barrel of negligible worth, and lo, it did the job as advertised. I think that this, combined with the soaking, should solve your problem but patience is needed. Good luck on this.

[RDGAC]

Hi Dana,

I've been musing on your problem for a while and was wondering if I might be able to lend a hand.

One of the tools conservators use (I hasten here to add that I'm a mere assistant curator, not a conservator, mind you) is the Teas fractional solubility chart. This is a handy diagram that (although it has flaws and limitations) gives a roughly accurate idea of the relationships between properties of different solvents. There's a pretty good Teas chart here.

Anyway, looking at what you've used to far, it seems likely that your solvents have all tended towards the bottom right of the chart; while I'm no chemist by any stretch of the imagination, my understanding is that these solvents all work in the same way, and in this case that's primarily by London dispersion forces acting to force the molecules of the solute apart from each other. On the diagram you can see turpentine and benzene (which I'm using as a rough approximation for lighter fluid in this post).

I'm wondering if you might get better results from a solvent which has higher polarization (Dipole) or hydrogen bonding (I believe aka Keesom) interactions. Unfortunately, the solvents with high hydrogen bonding forces are also alcohols, probably not very good for the wood of the stock as they will displace water and then evaporate, leaving it excessively dry. As a suggestion, you could try to find some of this "Cellosolve" stuff mentioned on the chart.

For the metal parts, I'd try acetone as a starter if they can be detached from the stock. Again, acetone can be bad for wood (it's used as a water displacer during wood conservation, for instance - not a quality that recommends it unless you're planning to replace that water with something, since the acetone will evaporate and be lost quite rapidly) and I would suspect that its fellow ketones are no better, so detachment is highly recommended.

Hope this is useful,

Meredydd

[dana_w]

Originally Posted by Philip

I would most emphatically agree with you in that the design is rare WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF BRITISH-MADE FIREARMS, but this is not necessarily so in general. It was quite common in much of Scandinavia a century before your guns were made, as I mentioned. And as our fellow forumite has so kindly pointed out with photos, the swiveling frizzen was not uncommon in the German-speaking countries as well.

Thanks Philip. I'll look around and see if I can find some more examples from Scandinavia and the German-speaking countries.

Originally Posted by Philip

Here in the States, we can often find at arms fairs and outdoor-equipment shops a product consisting of a wad of thin stainless steel filaments (somewhat like a pot scrubber but softer and without embedded detergents) that's touted as good for de-rusting steel surfaces without scratching the bluing on things like guns or reels. I recall the trade name Gun Scrubber on the last one I bought.

I'll see if I can find what you are talking about.

[dana_w]

Originally Posted by corrado26

... you can try to put all metal items in turpentine at least four or five weeks and see afterwards what has happened.
corrado26

I had considered that corrado26, and it may work for the lock. Unpinning the barrel and removing the other furniture for immersion could be more problematic.