Rice's new Nock lock

[pamtnman]

Hi PAmtmman,
Don't get mislead by the notion of a "waterproof" pan. It may seem that rain would be the killer and diverting it somehow the solution but the hydroscopic nature of black powder is such that it is the humidity with rain or snow that dampens the powder. No pan design protects against that humidity. I too like the separate pan idea of the Davis lock but with respect to performance, Jim Kibler's late flintlock will be the best you will encounter among modern made locks. As I described in my link, you can turn the Davis lock into one that is very close to a fine original English lock but it takes work and know-how. I have a original English fowler made in the 1820s by Fields. It is a very good quality gun but nothing like the Mantons, Purdeys, Richards, Nocks, etc of its day. That modest and generic quality lock puts every modern-made commercial flintlock to shame except for those by Kibler and Laubach.

dave

I do appreciate your point, Dave. I think I’m going to purchase each, the Davis and the Kibler, and weigh out the relative merits of each. The gun is being built by a well known pro, so luckily I myself will not be fooling with it. The distinctly British look of the Davis or the kind-of British look of the perfectly functioning Kibler… and there is nothing wrong with having an extra lock or two available for future projects. If the builder can make the Davis function top notch, then it’s the look that wins the day. The gun is after all supposed to be a late British flintlock. The Manton look captures that look best. Incidentally like you I too collect and hunt with antique British firearms, though these are double rifles from the 1880s-1930s. The British made spectacular weapons. Nothing like them.

 

[DuncNZ]

This is the inside of my Nock lock made about 1796 , converted to caplock in the 1840's . It is very strong and very fast . The square at the nose of the lock is a hooked tab which slides under a flat head screw in the stock and holds the nose in place , This makes it appear that there no screws holding the lock in place

 

[pamtnman]

This is the inside of my Nock lock made about 1796 , converted to caplock in the 1840's . It is very strong and very fast . The square at the nose of the lock is a hooked tab which slides under a flat head screw in the stock and holds the nose in place , This makes it appear that there no screws holding the lock in place

That rosewood handled turnscrew is also tops. I hope your Nock lives in a nice case along with its playthings. Very cool picture

 

[James Kibler]

This is the inside of my Nock lock made about 1796 , converted to caplock in the 1840's . It is very strong and very fast . The square at the nose of the lock is a hooked tab which slides under a flat head screw in the stock and holds the nose in place , This makes it appear that there no screws holding the lock in place

That is a really beautiful lock. Both in design, craftsmanship and fit / finish. Is this part of a gun or just a single piece? Thanks for posting.

 

[pamtnman]

This is the inside of my Nock lock made about 1796 , converted to caplock in the 1840's . It is very strong and very fast . The square at the nose of the lock is a hooked tab which slides under a flat head screw in the stock and holds the nose in place , This makes it appear that there no screws holding the lock in place

Your original Nock lock internals look exactly like the Kibler lock internals I posted above. That tells us that Kibler followed the original design, which can’t be improved on, using updated modern steels and machining.

 

[James Kibler]

Your original Nock lock internals look exactly like the Kibler lock internals I posted above. That tells us that Kibler followed the original design, which can’t be improved on, using updated modern steels and machining.

The design details of the original Nock are better than our lock. Our fit and finish and perhaps function are as good. This kind of work sets the standard.

Jim

 

[pamtnman]

The design details of the original Nock are better than our lock. Our fit and finish and perhaps function are as good. This kind of work sets the standard.

Jim

Please make the waterproof pan style

 

[pamtnman]

RE Davis Late British flintlock arrived today. Couple observations: Even with uneven, rough casting edges on both surfaces (see below), the roller frizzen is really fast; plenty of rough/uneven edges from the casting process that will require careful filing and smoothing. Here are some photos. (Not criticizing here at all, just addressing some of the notes people have made above)

 

[th1840]

Log Cabin Shop AKA RE Davis (the two merged) sent me these photos today, of their "Late English" lock. The front is the waterproof pan look I am after. There is no lip seal around the bottom of the frizzen like there is on the Rice Nock lock. The internals look familiar to me but I am not knowledgeable enough to judge their merits. Are these the same movement / internal parts as the Siler lock?
View attachment 208916View attachment 208917View attachment 208918View attachment 208919

their mainsprings always have a bow in them, I thought that by now they would have fixed that since it bottoms out in the mortice JMO

 

[th1840]

This is the inside of my Nock lock made about 1796 , converted to caplock in the 1840's . It is very strong and very fast . The square at the nose of the lock is a hooked tab which slides under a flat head screw in the stock and holds the nose in place , This makes it appear that there no screws holding the lock in place

Beautiful lock, thanks for posting