Flask Parts

[Feltwad]

Dixon and Hawksley made flask for pistols , rifles, but most for shotgun with different spout sizes which are measured in drams .The smaller bore size spout threw a charge 1 to 1 1/4 drms the most common for the 12 ,14, 16 threw a charge of 2 to 3 drms ,The 10 and 8 bore threw a charge 4 to 5.drms and 5 to 7 drms the big 4 bore and larger threw a charge o 9 to 12 drms of powder these large flask are very rare and command a large price when they come on the market
Feltwad

 

[Robby]

I found a reproduction flask that looked like an obvious reproduction but the nozzle looked like it was made for my original flask, so with very little modification it now sits atop my original and to my eye looks pretty good!!!
I had another nozzle of a different design that now sits atop the reproduced flask, it doesn't look half bad for what it is.
Robby

 

[Rudyard]

The Top you show is a less well made Indian flask if only the knurling seems not a nice as some but they where double shutter flash proof the Sykes Patent of 1814 if I recall correctly . Mick Marsh made the very best reproduction flasks but he would'nt call them' flash proof' in case of liabilitys but he tested his & they where. However good Indian flasks where excellent and the flash proof is the only sort I use myself . I contrive a suspension wherby the nozzle hangs down wards better to use and rain or sparks less likley to get in the charger .
Rudyard

 

[LawrenceA]

Any special reason for the color green?

The adoption of the green seems to have mystical or mysterious origins. I read somewhere that it may have possibly something to do with the patron saint of hunting but I can't find the connection on the internet anywhere. It may have been Rudyard who wrote it in a post about using lamp wick for a flask/horn strap.

 

[Rudyard]

Certain it is the green is to do with St Barbara patron saint of gunners . I cant recall lampwick but could work I suppose certainly heavyish green cord is my preferred , Ile take all the help I can get !.
Regards Rudyard

 

[Notchy Bob]

Dang it! You guys make me want to get that Powder Flask Book! I don't have any more room on my shelf!

I do not need another book... I do not need another book...

My dad picked up several original powder flasks over the course of his life of collecting, starting when he was a young man in the late twenties until his death in 1981. I don't have the flasks in my possession, but next time I visit the owner, I might pull them out and look them over again.

These discussions of flasks are getting interesting.

Notchy Bob

 

[George]

Zonie, any info on this one?

I have the dog and stump on a marked American Flask and Cap Co. flask in leather..

Spence

 

[Zonie]

This flask is # 627 on page 321 of "THE POWDER FLASK BOOK". It is in the "DEAD GAME" section. The top on your flask is not the same as the one in the book but the actual flask body is identical.
On page 317 the author says:
".... This dead game decoration by the American Flask & Cap Company is difficult to differentiate from the similar decoration, dead game hung up, used by Dixon. It will be noted that the ring holding the game on the American Flask & Cap Company's specimens seems to be held by a staple enclosing the upper part of the ring, whereas in the Dixon specimens the ring will appear to be held up by a large nail head which projects very slightly above the upper line of the ring...."

The book does have a section on leather flasks mentioning that they were usually made later in the period when flasks were popular. Of the flasks shown, yours is not one of them. These were usually priced higher than the similar metal flasks.
In the metal flask area for "DOGS", there are several flasks with very similar dogs and trees but none of them have the circle and tower of chain-like images.

The charger on the leather flask you show is for measuring out shot, not gun powder.

 

[George]

View attachment 53119
This flask is # 627 on page 321 of "THE POWDER FLASK BOOK". It is in the "DEAD GAME" section. The top on your flask is not the same as the one in the book but the actual flask body is identical.
On page 317 the author says:
".... This dead game decoration by the American Flask & Cap Company is difficult to differentiate from the similar decoration, dead game hung up, used by Dixon. It will be noted that the ring holding the game on the American Flask & Cap Company's specimens seems to be held by a staple enclosing the upper part of the ring, whereas in the Dixon specimens the ring will appear to be held up by a large nail head which projects very slightly above the upper line of the ring...."

The book does have a section on leather flasks mentioning that they were usually made later in the period when flasks were popular. Of the flasks shown, yours is not one of them. These were usually priced higher than the similar metal flasks.
In the metal flask area for "DOGS", there are several flasks with very similar dogs and trees but none of them have the circle and tower of chain-like images.

The charger on the leather flask you show is for measuring out shot, not gun powder.

Thank you very much, Zonie. Sorry for the delay in responding, life interfered for a bit.

Spence