Weird eBay flintlock

[Philip Chua]

Howdy all,
Well, I did one of those “make an offer” thing and ended up with this. Sold as a Miquelet which it isn’t. What it is I’m not sure. Seller said 18th century. I’m thinking 20th century but no clue where. The sear is nearly impossible to depress - maybe due to a tight spring. Seems crude and no support for the tumbler. I’m inclined to send it back but before I did wanted to be sure this is just a semi-modern thing. Or - I may keep it for my collection of weird locks.

 

[Gtrubicon]

Looks like a high school shop project, have you put a flint in to see if it sparks?

 

[JeffG]

Unless you want it for a curiosty... It appears crude and unfinished. Are the components properly hardened?

 

[Philip Chua]

Unless you want it for a curiosty... It appears crude and unfinished. Are the components properly hardened?

I haven’t decided if I want to keep it so didn’t file test it. This feels quite similar to the Indian made locks I have bought. The springs in those require annealing. Seems like the tumbler should be replaced and a bridle added. But in the end the **** geometry with the battery isn’t right. It’s just too close. Anyway posted in case this was something interesting.

 

[smokepolehall]

That belongs in a junk bucket not to be used. If you paid $5 you got took just on the shipping.

 

[deerstalkert]

that came off a pirates of the Caribbean type souvenir from a back street in Bagdad.
not meant to work, never will work.

 

[Sam squanch]

That is a Belgian copy of a Portuguese trading flintlock for sale in Africa. Look up “ Portuguese knot flintlock “ and you will see your lock is a crude copy of these. Turner Kirkland bought a bunch to sell , at a low price. These were made in the 1920’ -1930’s I think. You can tune these to work, RickySTL did just that! And you can make a very unusual musket with it!

 

[Sam squanch]

I bought one of these from Dixie gun works for the low low price of …. $39.95! I see these in antique malls occasionally- the vendors think they are 17 th - 18th century and price accordingly….saw one priced at $300! I made a pistol with mine. Look up Portuguese flintlock musket and you will see the resemblance of this crude lock to the original ones.

 

[PathfinderNC]

I saw one just like that on eBay selling for over $200. Imagine that!

 

[Sam squanch]

Sorry, Rudyard! I forgot you probably own one of these , too!

 

[Rudyard]

Sams on to it .While crude they do work & where made too work .They are for the 'Lazzarino' trade guns seemingly for Portuguese Brazil and similar markets . Ive one with a Bee on it trade mark .I recall a reenactor' Flintlock Larrabee' had just such a lock at the Fort Niagara Reenactments . yes they look crude but they work well enough Whether it beats the blow pipe ?. But the buyers must have thought so And they have a place of importance in the study of trade guns .

that came off a pirates of the Caribbean type souvenir from a back street in Bagdad.
not meant to work, never will work.

Rubbish shows the ignorance of that appraisel
Rudyard

 

[Rudyard]

That belongs in a junk bucket not to be used. If you paid $5 you got took just on the shipping.

I think your being a little bit unkind well not a little bit A big bit . You probably don't use an Indian made gun. Rudyard defender of the under dog gunmakers .

 

[Rudyard]

Sorry, Rudyard! I forgot you probably own one of these , too!

Yes Sam had it years" rough as bags " but they worked & thusly are interesting in their way . I bet these knockers never aspired to make a Nigerian ' Dane gun' alt names 'Foo Foo' gun or Country gun ' . I got a flint lock made by a village blacksmith in Ikorudu Federal Nigeria .So coming across a length of galvenised water pipe, seemed of course, I wedded it to make a' Dane gun'; After; one Jimmo Babatundi a Yoroba tribesman. I fine bored it a bit proofed down a rabbit hole Rabbits objected naturally .Light years from A Kibler 'paint by numbers' but no accounting for taste . The gunmakers of the world then & now are /where people like us who catered for the market demands of their regions . I at least think of them that way 'Rudyard

 

[1950DAVE]

I bought one of these from Dixie gun works for the low low price of …. $39.95! I see these in antique malls occasionally- the vendors think they are 17 th - 18th century and price accordingly….saw one priced at $300! I made a pistol with mine. Look up Portuguese flintlock musket and you will see the resemblance of this crude lock to the original ones.

Just saw this lock in 1979 Dixie catalog. Price then $8.95.

 

[SDSmlf]

Howdy all,
Well, I did one of those “make an offer” thing and ended up with this. Sold as a Miquelet which it isn’t. What it is I’m not sure. Seller said 18th century. I’m thinking 20th century but no clue where. The sear is nearly impossible to depress - maybe due to a tight spring. Seems crude and no support for the tumbler. I’m inclined to send it back but before I did wanted to be sure this is just a semi-modern thing. Or - I may keep it for my collection of weird locks.

Like many things that are mysterious to today’s muzzleloading enthusiasts, Mr. Kirkland sold a variety of products, and possibly originally sold your lock long before you purchased it.

 

[SDSmlf]

Just saw this lock in 1979 Dixie catalog. Price then $8.95.

Posted a photo from a Dixie Catalog before I saw your post. Didn’t pay attention to publication year, but probably 1990, and only increased in price to $12.50 from $8.95 in 1979.

Interestingly, recently found an item in that same catalog for less than $10 that Dixie now wants nearly $100 for. Mr. Kirkland is certainly missed. I wonder how long before the current generation of ownership runs things into the ground?

 

[Rudyard]

If Africa then Portuguese Guinee or Mozambique not much to hunt in Angola bit dry but cant all be diamonds. Was in Portuguese Timor but saw non I did enquire cost of old muskets was told at least one Cow Small native fishing boats in Kupang ran more cows. All hand & eye affairs not much 20th c about them but I did see one later in California so some one had bought one . I have never been sea sick & can sing off key sea shanties with the best of them .But we didn't have enough Cows us fellow travelers between us. Small boats in the lap of gods stuff.
Did meet a one legged man in Calcutta who had rowed a boat following the coast from UK he had been mugged in India and offered me a trip but he was going the wrong way hardy soul never knew if he made it to Australia but hope he did .
Meandering Rudyard

 

[Sam squanch]

Here’s a picture…

 

[cyten]

The replies people put when they have no idea what something is flabbergasts me. I’m glad we have some knowledgeable people who are versed in something beyond Hawken and Longrifle types otherwise everything else would be designated garbage/Khyber pass/tourist fake etc

Philip, congrats on the acquisition! The lock has been accurately described and documented by some good people here as the Portuguese type made in Belgium

 

[Philip Chua]

Thank you to Rudyard (who is always an excellent source of help and whose voice I some day hope to hear live!), Sam and all. I have less than $200 in it and she has offered a discount instead of sending it back to her. I am inclined to keep it. There are no great books on flintlock locks so what I’ve been doing is buying them here and there and then disassembling them to sort out how they operate. I have a couple years of college level physics which has been completely useless for this application. Some of
These locks were attached to cheap rifles I find in online auctions.

Once I feel I have a better understanding of how these things work I’m going to step up to assembly from castings (TRS or Blackley and Sons). Yes, I’ll call ahead to see what’s in stock and order that.

Thank you all again. This lock will go on the shelf for a bit as I have a “flintlock from scratch” project started. Paid my $75 for the month at the community wood shop so I can use some of the big tools to go from a big ash board to a blank.