Hi All,

I make knives, bows, scabbards and other weapon related items, but I also seem to get quite a few more unusual orders and one of these I have recently finished was for 3 mid 18thC powder horns. These were based on a French piece in the Museum de l'armee in Paris and are dated about 1750.

The masters were made in a combination of steel, brass and copper and developed up the articulation and the springs (which all took a while) and then had them cast in bronze.

I hope you like them.

If you are curious you will find a picture of the master on www.facebook.com/todsstuff


Regards

Tod

---

 Attachment: 192.18 KB



 Attachment: 194.6 KB

Tod...

Those are very nicely done horns. I especially like the valves. It appears and correct me if I am wrong, that there is a cutoff at the bottom and top of the spout so that powder may flow into what amounts to a measure which is closed at the top then, when the thumb piece (for lack of a better term) was depressed, the main powder supply, in the horn, was closed off and the powder that was in the spout could be poured into the barrel of the gun. Am I right. Very nice indeed but somewhat dangerous in use.

Lin Robinson wrote

Quote:

Those are very nicely done horns. I especially like the valves. It appears and correct me if I am wrong, that there is a cutoff at the bottom and top of the spout so that powder may flow into what amounts to a measure which is closed at the top then, when the thumb piece (for lack of a better term) was released, the main powder supply, in the horn, was closed off and the powder that was in the spout could be poured into the barrel of the gun. Am I right. Very nice indeed but somewhat dangerous in use.

Hi Lin,

Thank you. The method of operation you outline is correct in that they have two gate valves connected by a bar so that when one is open the other is closed and the volume between the two gates creates the measured charge.

As to dangerous in use - I can't really comment as I am not a familiar enough with firearms to meanifully add anything, except that this is how these horns operated in antiquity so they must have been safe enough. Even though not as safe as a bandolier of individual pre-measured charges.

Regards

Tod

Great work (as usual), Tod.

Lin, as you rightly point out, loading from a flask can be risky. We are expressly forbidden from loading from a flask on the range, and must use measured loads or paper cartridges. And Napoleonic/American Civil War reenactors also usually load from paper cartridges, but that is period correct. English Civil War reenactors tend to load from their wooden 'apostles' on a bandolier, but you do also get those who load from a flask although there is a 'standard' here in the UK for these - they have a passive sprung cut-off mechanism which separates the charge in the spout from the rest of the powder in the flask (not the same as the mechanism Tod has used, which is more historically correct). Flasks going off are thankfully extremely rare.

Edit: Found the flask I was looking for (see below - made by Plantagenet Reproductions). They have a sprung cut-off mechanism which isolates the body of the flask from the spout (you fill the spout with your finger over the end, then pour the charge in the spout down the barrel). It also has a blow-out plug on the underside. There are other variations on the principle, but you get the idea!

Julian

---

 Attachment: 49.23 KB
[ Download ]

Tod,

This is real neat stuff. Amazing work. Do you thing it is possible to make these flasks with the main lever and the tow cut-off made of iron? This is what I see on French originals.

David

Beautiful work, Leo! I really like these; can you perhaps PM me what a horn of this type might cost?

David Ledoyen wrote

Quote:

This is real neat stuff. Amazing work. Do you thing it is possible to make these flasks with the main lever and the tow cut-off made of iron? This is what I see on French originals. David

Yes this is possible, but everyone now using powder, uses non-ferrous materials and so I have followed this route.

Michael - PM sent

Thanks for the compliments.

Regards

Tod