french fusil

[Gemoke]

Can anyone tell me what type of finish was used on french fusils.during the F&I
cut finger

 

[Henry]

- None !

Actually , up to WW I , the guns imported
from the USA by the French army were stripped
from their finish . The idea was that it could
hide the rust from vew in inspections .
( Common sense did strike in recent years )

Blueing was knonw but used only on expensive
arms , in a price range very uncommon in
New France .

There is a finish called " French Grey "
in english , wich looks like pewter .

 

[Gemoke]

Henry,what I should have asked is what finish was used on the stocks of the french fusil during the
F&I war.
cut finger

 

[Henry]

Oh ! That is a difficult one !

The " fusils règlementaire " ( ordonnance gun ?)for the land army ,
starting from 1717 model , are to be made according to a royal ordonnance ,wich is a complete description of the gun .

The " fusils pré-règlementaires " ( army pre-ordonnance guns ? ) before 1717 ,
the guns for the " compagnies franches de marine " ( marines ? ), navy guns and the " fusil de chasse et de service "
( guns for hunting and service ) are to be made
according to contracts ( contract of 1738 etc )
that described the gun the same way .

I never had a complete archive in hand , only
parts of them , from different books and magazine article ...

Anyway , I never saw a description of the
finish applied on the wood of french guns ,
I wonder if there was any ?

My un-educated guess is that the finish
from the factory was one or two coats of oil ,
possibly walnut oil . The gun owner was to take care of the wood as wel as of the metal , adding
another coat of oil once in a while .


Today it would sound ridiculous to pay over
1 000 $ for a gun without any finish either on the
wood or metal ,but with weird screw threads ,
under the vague hope to be totally PC .

Kit Ravenshear once mentioned that
fact in one of his booklets .

 

[wallgunner]

The first gun I made ws a TRS 1728 French Musket when I was 19. Kit Ravenshear was still around, he had worked on an original of mine, and had made a 1750's american rifle for me. I wrote him how to get the correct look for a French military stock, and he said to use equal parts of lemon yellow, and nutmeg brown stains (SolarLux NGR). The French stocks where a more yellowish/brown than the darker redder brown of English miltary muskets. It might not be the answer for your fusil, but it gives an idea what other French guns might have appeared like. Is it a common trade gun, or a fusil fin? Did the finish change according to grade of gun? I dunno know :hmm: