watsonmil

Dear Piers, I am at a loss to understand why you of all people would show a photograph of a VERY HEAVY GUN mounted on WHEELS. The gun obviously is not compatible to the carriage. There is nothing holding the gun to the carriage but for gravity. Next, ... elevation would be impossible, so the best one could hope for would be to shoot someone in the knees. Next, ... upon recoil the gun and carriage would become seperated by a considerable number of yards. I assume whomever thought up displaying this monster of a gun in this fashion is no longer working for the museum or collector but relagated to emptying trash cans, ... as it does nothing other than ridicule a very rare firearm. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, An outstanding job of cleaning/restoration, ... let the snifflers go eat cake ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Chris, and Harry, Thank you both for the suggestions and also Chris for the advice. This bow is VERY old and once broken could not be repaired. May I ask Chris how do you display your yumi. Since they are ass backwards as compared to when they are strung. ... Ron Watson

Dear All, Thank you for the advice and guidance. The main reason for my trepidation was I once tried cleaning a RED lacquered saya. I didn't ruin it, ... but if I'd have kept up I sure as hell would have. Another question ( perhaps a little stupid as I already have a feeling what your response will be ), .... this is probably an 18th century Yumi. Given it's age ( but good condition ) would anyone dare to try re-stringing it ? I think it will take at LEAST two men to bend the bow. It would be nice to see it in it's usable shape, ... but with wood this old and lacquer this old it would be a shame to break it. As you all know in their resting state they are not nearly so attractive. By the way the bow measures just nicely over 7 feet 2 inches. ... Ron Watson

Dear Members, I recently bought a very old YUMI. The lacquer is dull and filthy. I am sure some of you have had a saya in much the same state. Can anyone advise me if cleaning with mild soap and water would be safe ? What about alcohol. If Ian Bottomley should happen to read this post I would be most appreciative of any advice. Of course I will listen to anyone with experience, and value all responses. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, I still have a few pieces of SOE/OSS/Resistance material, ... mostly the type of stuff that is difficult to ship Internationally, ... eg. .45 Cal. Liberator Pistol, ... special sabotage detonators such as the British No. 10 Mk.1 Pencil delay ( exactly the type as used by Claus Von Stauffenberg in his bomb plot against Hitler ) ... Yes the German's used a British Time delay. See the movie "Valkyrie". A very rare 1939 production Minox V.E.F. Riga Spy Camera. I could go on and on but this is a Japanese collectors Forum. Oh, ... and I still have an Enigma for sale if anyone is interested ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, I once had ( most is now sold ) a very extensive collection of SOE/OSS/Resistance ( spy ) artifacts from WWII. A museum asked me for the loan of some very rare material. Since it became part of a 9 month exhibition, ... it was also published in a booklet format. The fact that the material was published gave my entire collection some notoriety which translated into much higher prices when I offered the collection for sale. Not only that, ... but a great number of people were able to see and study real history. A win win situation. I personally am pleased that the Castle Museum would ask you for the loan of your interesting pistol. You should be very proud ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Brian, Why the hell would you even think of apologizing, ... An EXCELLENT link. It should be remembered that we ALL are entitled to have an opinion on this board even if sometimes ( quite often actually ) individual thought is put down by some who believe otherwise. ... Ron Watson

Dear Eric, Obviously a Cavalry Officer ! ... Anonymous Ron

Dear John, The Laminar construction and style are more reminisant of Siberian and Alaskan Eskimo ( yes Eskimoes wore armour ). ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, I /We appreciate what information you were able to provide. I wish someone would put together an English version of the Japanese Gunsmiths. Much has been written on the Nihonto of Japan, ... yet so very little on the Tanegashima. Anyway, thank you for bringing this example to everyone's attention. What we really need is a Forum dedicated to the Tanegashima with some Japanese participants. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, The gun looks good, ... tell me did the gentleman manage to repair the serpentine back to it's original matchlock configuration, ... and did he manage to replace the steel tension spring on the inside of the lock ? It would also be interesting to hear of any interesting tidbits about the original smith ( and the one who did your repairs ). Have a Happy Christmas and Health and Prosperity for the New Year. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, Having had a little more time to examine the lock mechanism, ... I would wonder about the steel tension spring ( surprising technology for early to mid 19th century Japan ), .... I wonder if this is a later addition ? Second item I note is the heavy brass coil spring, ... this may need replacing with a weaker spring being that you are converting back to matchlock. The heavier brass spring would have been needed for the additional force required to detonate the " pill " type ignition, ... but would be far too strong for the matchlock system of ignition. I suppose you will not be firing the gun, so my comment in this regard may be mute and picky. By the way nice job on the silver barrel bands. It truly is a lovely gun. SO MUCH THANKS to Eric for the enlargement, .... we who are weak in NEW technology still come in handy for our knowledge of the OLD technology ... wouldn't you agree Eric :D . ... Ron Watson

Ford,s remark about an image search for Koyori perked my curiosity ... I can only second Ford's good taste in " deviant art ". ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, Thank you for the clarification on the " naughty bits ", .... I am not up to date on modern British Slang, .... you had me a bit concerned . It would be nice to think that this is the last gun that Yoshida Rikizo built. According to what information I have he was one of the very last of the Matchlock makers ( 1870 - 1896 ). It is really a well made example. I suppose I shall have to sooner or later invest in a digital camera, ... I try to avoid NEW TECHNOLOGY. If possible I would happily turn back the clock as I firmly believe that much of the new technology serves no purpose other than to enslave us to the state or corporate interests. I am off to work now, ... but will write more once I have time to examine your lock photos more closely. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, No,... I have not translated the kanji on the medallion. Could you enlighten me ? Also What " naughty bits " are you referring to ? I do not own a digital camera so have a fellow do my photography. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, Since the photos were taken, ... I have repaired the original silver headed serpentine pin. It now has a SILVER head instead of the brass one pictured. Caliber is : .43 inch ( 2 monme ). OA length is 53 1/2 inches. Serpentine is pinned from the top, front sight has a gold bead. Stock is very beautiful grain which does not show up well in the photograph. Signature reads: Bitchu Nimi Yoshida Rikizo. In perfect working order. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, The only photos ( overall photos ) I have of the gun are slightly too large for the forum guidelines. If I can figure out how to make them smaller I will post. Sorry, ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, The Tanegashima dated Meiji 15 ( 1882 ) must certainly be one of the last of the matchlock's made. I have an almost identical example except for the elaborate decoration by Bitchu Nimi YOSHIDA RIKIZO ( 1870 - 1896 ). The two smiths must have been contemporaries and since they both worked in the same tradition BIZEN, they probably knew one another. It is said that Yoshida built matchlocks up until his death and sponsered a shooting competion each year using matchlocks. ( The Gun Collector volume 33 Sept. 1950 ... article by Robert E. Kimbrough ). Thank you for the link, .... the Matchlock pictured is certainly one of the most elaborately decorated pieces I have seen, ... and to have all the accessories is unheard of. Best of luck with the restoration, ... photos will be expected upon completion. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, PLEASE do not let this thread die, .... when you get the gun back from whomever is doing the restoration, ... please take the additional photographs. It is a most unusual firearm, ... and I would love to examine it in hand. Are you restoring it to be as original ... ( matchlock ) ? I sincerely hope so as this is how it started out its life. If only you were closer, ... I would happily do the restoration work for free, ... just for the pleasure of working on such a treasure. ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, I would be most interested in seeing a photo of the lock mechanism ( inside ). It is a most interesting firearm for many reasons, ... one reason for sure is the Tsuba style dougane ( stock ring ). Another is the mekugi-ana to " nowhere ". Another interesting aspect of this gun is it's relatively small caliber 1 cm = aproximately .40 inch caliber. Virtually all Calvary pistols I have examined are at least .50. The hole thru the butt end is also very small to accomadate a Laynard. I would suggest that your pistol being of Daimyo quality may well have served as a Target Pistol, as I'm certain that this was an active pass time ( sport ) during the 1840's among the wealthy. There are more questions here than answers. Certainly a beautiful weapon ! ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, Oh my, .... MORE PHOTOS please. From what I can see VERY beautiful. Please post dimensions as well as the caliber ! Congratulations on your new acquisition . ... Ron Watson

Dear Piers, Could the SMITH be Hankei ?? ( Noda Denjiro Kiyotaka ) ... Ron Watson

Dear John, As my Grandfather pointed out to me " believe nothing of what you hear and a quarter of what you read, and only half of what you see ". When Conlan produces the " Rifle " in question then his writing will be taken seriously, ... until then it is to be taken with a grain of salt. In fact when someone puts into print one fallacy, ... it throws a bad light on anything the author writes. If there were such a Portugese " Rifle " in Japan, ... it was most certainly a ONE OFF, and to the very best of my knowledge or anyone else I have read the Japanese certainly NEVER during the Matcklock period " rifled " a single barrel. ... Ron Watson

Dear John, About 1498 a gunmaker of Leipsic, Germany, invented the rifle, that is, he was the first to cut spiral grooves in the barrel, the purpose of which is to give the bullet a rotary motion after it has left the barrel and so make it shoot straighter. Since the operation of cutting the grooves is called rifling it is easy to see how the rifle got its name. The advent of commonplace rifling waited another 300 years due to the technical difficulty involved. The chances of their being a " rifle " in Japan prior to 1600 are SLIM to say the least, and the chances of the Japanese copying this advanced technology are non existant. ... Ron Watson PS. By the way there is no such thing as a rifled musket, .... the word musket means SMOOTHBORE.