Question: British Screwhead Patterns - Pins

Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
17
Location
Waldo, Wi
Was there much regional differences in screw head (pin) engraving patterns within the British gun trade? I recently had the chance to look at and photograph a variety of screwhead patterns on Birmingham guns from the 1870 - 1940 era. The grade of the guns ran from a Greener Empire up through a very nicely engraved Thos Turner "Levisimus" built on a W.R. Action.

I would like to build up a library of such patterns/layouts to be shared but if this has already been done, could someone tell me where I might access this info. If it has not been done, I would volunteer to compile this info for everyone.

If someone else is already doing this, I will send what I have to you!
 

Roger Bleile

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Oct 4, 2007
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2,988
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Northern Kentucky
Jerry,

I don't personally know of anyone doing this or an existing reference. If you decide to move forward I can provide some pictures. Also, are you referring to hinge pin rosettes as one of the pins?

Roger
 

Marcus Hunt

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Nov 9, 2006
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The Oxfordshire Cotswolds, England
If I get time sometime I'll try and draw up the main pin patterns used in the English gun trade. The top end guns use basically the same patterns as the Birmingham and provincial makers. Often things were scaled back a bit on cheap guns and often used just a few lines.

I'm often called on to do restoration work on old guns and am asked to follow a particular pattern pin/screw. What often goes unrealised though is that the original pattern was whatever the original engraver decided to use on the day. If engraving a Purdey, they always use a '2 speck' flower on the pins and a 'Knob' flower on the rosette surround around the cross-pin on their small scroll guns. Rigby's often used the shell pattern pin but the engraver might've decided he wanted to use a 'chequer' flower one day. It still fits well with the overall theme of large English scroll,so why not? It makes a change! Or the apprentice might've been told to cut a particular pattern for practice. Generally though (apart from the one exception I've already described) pins weren't really worried about as long as they were nicely cut.

I've never had a gunmaker say to me "You used X-pattern on the last gun, why have you used Y-pattern on this one?"
 
Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
17
Location
Waldo, Wi
Roger and Marcus

Thanks for the feedback.
Roger - I have included hinge pins and the top lever along with the screwheads in my pictures. I would like to sort by the maker, type and date of gun. This way if my gunsmith calls and wants screws/pins for a such and such I will have a handy reference.

Marcus - I would very much appreciate your drawings and thank you for your insite. If I understand you correctly there was quite a bit of movement between the majority of manufacturers as far as using different styles of screwhead/pin designs.

Whatever you can send me I will add to the collection and return. I was hoping there was a record of the person who walked into work, drew a ring around his cup of coffee and designed hingepins all day.
 

Thomas Moir

New Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
1
jerry i am not too familiar with this computer but i have been doing Tom Radants engraving class here in oz for the last ten years and tom asked me to assemble a class on screw heads and hinge pins ...i have several pages of drawings prepared ,..they may never be used for the class as Tom has not been able to return to australia so if you send me an address i would be happy to mail you a copy i just dont know how to get them on to this m/c ...if you are woried about who i am matt james is a friend of both myself and Andrew Biggs
 

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