Spiral paint on the ramrod... anyone??

[DGeraths]

Throughout the years I have seen the odd gun here and there that has a ramrod stained with a kind of candy cane spiral to it, usually a natural wood and dark brown/black combo.

So where did this tradition come from and what does it date back to. I was thinking of doing that with my fowlers ramrod but since I portray about 1760 (give or take) I want to make sure it would be period.

Thoughts?

Dana

 

[donk]

I'm not sure of the history behind it but I have always flame striped my sticks because when my brother made me my first rifle 12 years ago that is how he did it.

 

[Mike Brooks]

That practice dates to the 1960's as far as I can tell.

 

[DGeraths]

That practice dates to the 1960's as far as I can tell.

That can't be right. :hmm: I have held in my hand at least two original rifles dating to around the early 19th century that had the spiral finish on the rams.

Therefore it must go back at least further than around 1810-1820 because the odds of these two being the first to have this feature are slim to say the least.

Has anyone seen this feature in any of the collector guides to classic muzzleloaders? If so, what years do the guns date?

Dana

 

[LRB]

I am not sure that Dixie Gun Works didn't start that. I seem to remember that their "Kentucky" rifle came with a striped rod, but that's been a few years ago, not sure.

 

[LRB]

DGerath, do you really believe those were the original rods that came with the gun? The rifle I use now I got around 1996 or 97, and I am probably on my 5th or 6th rod.

 

[DGeraths]

Yes, as far as I could tell, they were original. Bear in mind that the guns in question were in a museum collection, not in private hands. Regardless of whether or not they were the original ones that came with the guns, they had not been used or fired in probably close to a century.

I know that Dixie has been around a while... but not quite that long. :winking:

Dana

 

[44-henry]

I'm going with Mike on this one, everything I've read and seen in person suggests that candy striping was a later practice. I doubt that many of the ramrods you see with original firearms are authentic to the gun. Many old muzzleloaders were put back into service during and after the 30's due to a re-interest in their use and the fact that there weren't enough new ones to meet demand, the ramrods were commonly replaced at this time.

 

[Zonie]

A year or so ago, MuzzleBlasts had an article about a 18th century gun which was found in an attic appearently in its original condition.
As I recall, all indications (oxidized finish, rust etc) indicated it had not been used for many years.
This rifle had a striped ramrod although it is impossible to say if it was original to the gun.

If someone is wanting to reenact a mid 18th century time frame, it would be best not to have a striped ramrod. :imo:

 

[Wehrmacht]

I'm not sure how far back spiral staining goes,but if you will look at Jerry Noble's books on Southern Long Rifles you'll see enough spiral rods to indicate that it was not unusual at all.You'll see these on flintlocks from the first decade of the 1800's through the chunkgun matches around Soddy,Tennessee and other areas of the South into the 1930's. I suspect spirals go all the way back to the last quarter of the 1700's,maybe earlier,and there must be a reason to spend the time and effort to make spirals. Let me dig into some of my KRA material and see if I can find reference to this practice.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I'm not sure how far back spiral staining goes,but if you will look at Jerry Noble's books on Southern Long Rifles you'll see enough spiral rods to indicate that it was not unusual at all.You'll see these on flintlocks from the first decade of the 1800's through the chunkgun matches around Soddy,Tennessee and other areas of the South into the 1930's. I suspect spirals go all the way back to the last quarter of the 1700's,maybe earlier,and there must be a reason to spend the time and effort to make spirals. Let me dig into some of my KRA material and see if I can find reference to this practice.

I've been to Jerry's house and handled his collection several times. Those spiral rods are replacements of the originals, done when spiral rods were just the ticket. :winking:

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

I'm not sure how far back spiral staining goes,but if you will look at Jerry Noble's books on Southern Long Rifles you'll see enough spiral rods to indicate that it was not unusual at all.You'll see these on flintlocks from the first decade of the 1800's through the chunkgun matches around Soddy,Tennessee and other areas of the South into the 1930's. I suspect spirals go all the way back to the last quarter of the 1700's,maybe earlier,and there must be a reason to spend the time and effort to make spirals. Let me dig into some of my KRA material and see if I can find reference to this practice.

I've been to Jerry's house and handled his collection several times. Those spiral rods are replacements of the originals, done when spiral rods were just the ticket. :winking:

I have to agree with Mike. As far as I can tell from originals that I have handled over the last 30 years, striped rods are original all right - original to the late (and I mean late) percussion period, probably the 1880s or maybe just a little earlier, but certainly no earlier than the end of the American Civil War. They became popular then and were carried over into the "revival" period of the 1930s when some of the older gunsmiths who were still working were dressing up rifles they were building or restoring for shooters and collectors. Remember that the ramrod is an easily damaged but necessary accessory and it is rare to find a gun with any serious use that carries it's original rod, that is why some very early pieces will have stripped rods - they were simply replaced with new-fangled striped rods when they were in need at the end of their "useful" but still working lives. Now they are just a part of the lore of the American gun.

Now, if there is any doubt that the above statements are factual (they are "informed" opinion after all and we all know what they say about opinions) then do some research. You can start in museums but remember that museums are chock full of items that had a long useful life and have undergone many modifications as have the two early guns seen with striped rods. You can also try private collections, some of them are very good but the same caveats apply. Look instead at visual images. Early photography (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, etc.) and at lithographs, paintings, etc. from the period. IF you see a gun with a striped rod in a painting with a known date of 1750, 1776 or even 1800 then you can bet the item existed at that time. If no luck there, start looking for documentation in letters, diaries, and newspapers from the period in question. Again, if mentioned in a newspaper article dated in the 1760s, then it existed at that time. Otherwise we are spinning our wheels and accomplishing nothing - only having a difference of opinion. (There's that word again...) :yakyak:

 

update: I was scanning again through Peter Alexanders very nice book on building longrifles and came to his chapter on ramrods. He relates that George Shumway (noted longrifle researcher and author)told him that striped rods did not come into vogue until the mid 19th century (read 1850s). But Peter went on to say that he had seen two rifles made about 1800 that in his opinion had original rods--and they were striped. He went on to tell how he did striping. The criteria that he used to interpret the ramrods as "original" do not preclude them being mid 19th century replacements IMHO, but at least these dates push back the mid 20th century guess. Perhaps they predate the Davy Crockett TV show after all....
P.S., I asked this question on the American Longrifle site and a couple of other experts say they have seen what they say could be original striped rods on rifles as old as 1820s-1830s. Again, many if not most (or all) ramrods we see today are replacements. I personally have broken one ramrod on its first use! And it was from a well known custom maker. But, I think we can push the dating back towards the early 1800s at least....

 

[ChickasawHun1er]

I don't know when the practice got started. The fellow who got me started in muzzle loading had been building since the mid-40's (1940's). When I asked him about it he said the old timer's tried to temper their ramrods and would soak them in coal oil and stripe them in the belief that it tempered the rod and made it less likely to break and the coal oil soaked into the fiber of the hickory would act as a lubercant and allow the rod to bend more easily without breaking. That was the rational he related to me, that he had been taught. Of course he told me he didn't believe it and just stripped his rods because they looked good that way and he believed that was the tradition. That's all I think I know about that. CH

 

[davy]

Well I dunno .. but the same argument could be made for all the fancy carved, and brass coated long guns we see today .. do you REALLY think that thim boys way back thin would carry around a top dollar gun in the woods to get all scratched up? And could afford thim anyhoo? Come on guys .. give me a break if you do! :snore:

And yet I sure see alotta fancy woodwork and brass on these modern day wonder "period correct" firearms ... I think you need to keep your perspective about some things ... I own guns with and without striped rods .. and I am NOT gonna get hung up on a few incorrect doodads if I like the way it looks! JMTC worth! :m2c:

Davy