'Of course they would not be available in the 1840 period. We didn't have stainless steel then( alloy with chromium) and while we had early forms of laminated " steel ". called damascus, or toledo, or Japan steel, it is not anything like the laminated blades being marketed today.
I bought it because I hate the period correct idiots with a passion, and wanted a good sharp patch knife, that I didn't have to strop several times through a shooting match. MY gun is a reproduction, using modern steels, modern investment casting processes, machines to inlet the barrel and action, and all the other furniture, none of which were available to craftsmen and artists, and manufacturers in the 1840s, and before period, so the whole idea that I should worry about having a knife that is period correct to cut my patches, is rediculous. I have always suspected that many of the folks into making exact copies of old guns, down to using copy tools of original proof marks are more interested in defrauding buyers, or at least making a gun that is capable of defrauding some future buyer, than they are in simply making a find replica of an earlier gun. Consdering some of the posts here talking about guns that have been sold years later as " originals" when the member can prove he made the gun, I see this a growing problem. Many years ago, the Smithsonian Institute met with gunmakers and interested parties at the NMLRA and asked the gun makers to clearly mark their guns with their names, proof marks, logos, or some other means to quickly and easily identify the guns as being a modern replica. While the museum could go to the expense of having metals tested in labs, and the wood and fixture analyzed, the museum people preferred that there not be any question as to the source of the gun. Most gunmakers have complied by putting their names, and the date of completion on the barrel, stock, buttplate, lock, and other parts. But some only put it on the bottom flat of the barrel, and put someone else's name on the visible flats. That is where fraud occurs, as it is rare for a buyer to insist that the gun be taken apart so he can examine the bottom flats, or the inside of the buttplate or the butt of the wood stock.
Think it doesn't happen? My brother went to a gun show recently in Orlando with a friend who had bene building guns for many years until his recent forced retirement from a bad ticker. The friend spotted one of his old guns being sold with a tag claiming it was an original, and having a hefty price tag on it. He spoke to the seller, and eventually convinced the seller to take the barrel out of the stock, where he would find his name on the bottom flat, and the date the gun was made. He gave the seller his card. Several days later, he received a call from the seller, who thanked him for spotting the gun and telling him where to look. He had bought the gun from a dealer in another state, and after finding out that the gun was a replica and not an orginal, he sent the gun back to the other dealer, and got his money back. The other dealer had contacted the dealer who sold him the gun, and also got his money back. The third dealer was still in the process of contacting whoever sold him the gun.
It is a credit to the sport that most gun sellers are honest, and if they sell you something they think is one thing, and it turns out to be another, they will take it back and return your money. That is the norm at gun shows. The dealers would be kicked out of the shows if they were found to be sticking it to customers. They can't afford to lose their base of sales.
I wish the same could be said about knife makers, and sellers. There are a lot of old looking knives out there that are actually pretty new. And there seems to be no effort being made to discourage people from copying old markings on their blades. A very expensive metallurgical test would be required to prove that a knife was not made early enough to be an " original". For that reason, frauds continue in the knife collecting business for many years before they are exposed. Then its too late to find the crook who started it all, much less get anyone's money back.
To this day, I get a little nervouse reading anything here on this forum about " Antiquing " guns or knives or powder horns. Its one thing to make an item look old, provided it is clearly marked as to its source, and actual age. But, it also seems that there are too many people out there using these skills to make items they can pass off to the unknowning as originals, and make a lot of quick money.
We don't need people like that in this sport. When fraud becomes rampant enough that it becomes common knowledge, it destroys the legitimate business of collecting, and selling true originalsy, by robbing those honest dealers of a customer base.
I was given a badly broken original horn, which probably survived because it was made so crudely that no one thought to buy it and pass it off as a more expensive type of horn. I had it repaired and restored by a reputable horner. It still has its early 19th century scrimshaw, but it has a new spout, and a new baseplug. And, they are marked.
Someone cut off the base of the horn years ago, and the cut goes through one of the primitive stick figures and letters down there. My horner left them as is, so that it was clear to anyone that the baseplug in the horn is not the original.
That is honest work.
Paul
