Steinschlossbüchse 1723 in Maple?

[hawkeye1755]

I'm a little surprised to find this ca.1723 'Steinschlossbüchse' made by Hans Löffler with a maple stock.Is this rare for german rifles?

:hatsoff:

 

[rich pierce]

Looks like maple but is it? I've been fooled before.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I think it's Walnut, I even put on my glasses to take a good look..... :wink:

 

I agree with Mike it's Walnut. UT almost any wood can be had with natural stripeing, it's a matter of the soil, minerals, water, and weather conditions, as well a Mother Nature that creates this anomoly in the trees. Not all will get it. It's just random.

Bill

I love being married. It's great having that one special person to annoy the rest of your life!

 

[Stophel]

The computer I'm on now has a bad screen, and I can't see the picture all that well.

Even so, German guns with maple stocks should be considered "unusual", but most certainly do exist. :wink:

 

[Jim W]

Have to agree with other guys, grain looks more like walnut than maple (think of the grain structure of Claro). Whatever......that was a big tree/large stock blank those guys used back then, to find that even fiddleback pattern.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Has this gun always been in Europe, or could this be an early restocking done here in America by early German Gunsmith/gunbuilders??? Just a thought. I think its Maple, rather than Walnut, too. I have seen walnut with fiddleback, but not with the lighter wood that this piece shows. Pictures are difficult to use for this kind of thing, and I am always the first to admit I could be totally wrong.

 

[benvenuto]

I can't be sure if it is Maple either but but I have just been re-reading "Espingarda Perfeyta" (1718) and a few other 18th century works on gunmaking and Maple is mentioned in the context of Spanish and Portuguese guns so I wouldn't be surprised.
Someone previously mentioned a refference to maple grown in Sardinia as well i think?

 

[hawkeye1755]

Has this gun always been in Europe, or could this be an early restocking done here in America by early German Gunsmith/gunbuilders??? Just a thought.

They sell it by HERMANN HISTORICA München.I think this gun was always in Europe and was not restocked.

:hatsoff:

 

[Stophel]

The Spanish seemed to have been quite fond of using maple. I have photos of several Spanish guns that are stocked in maple. I think it's because Spanish walnut is rather coarse.(?)

 

[dave_person]

Hi Andreas,
What a beautiful rifle! I cannot tell if it is walnut or maple. If walnut, it is clearly a dense piece. Folks should be careful about assuming a gun stocked in maple had to be made in North America and not Europe. Maple burl was commonly used during the 17th and 18th century by English, French, and German gunsmiths, particularly for high-end pistols. Espingarda Perfeyta describes using maple but strongly recommends walnut. Good wood became increasingly rare in western Europe in the 18th century as most of the old forests were cut down for lumber,fuel, and farming. Europeans imported a lot of wood from eastern Europe, North America, and Scandinavia. In fact, the present state of Maine was mostly a British Admiralty forest reserve to provide large pines for ship masts. It was a matter of national security for England because big trees were so rare in England.

dave