Tanegashima Pistol with BOX for holding serpentine pins

[watsonmil]

On February 25th. Under the TRANSLATION FORUM I posted photos and description of a Tanegashima Pistol that I had just finished restoring. It was requested at that time that I post some photos of an interesting feature rarely seen on any Tanegashima, ... that being a built in box to hold bamboo pins ( used to secure the match in the serpentine ). Attached are the requested photos. For those wishing to see the entire previous posting ... please refer to my February 25th. posting under the Translation Assistance section : " Tanegashima Pistol Barrel ". ...... Ron Watson

[watsonmil]

A Couple more pictures to complete the set. ..... Ron Watson

[Lorenzo]

That's beautiful and clever, thank you so much for taking the time to go so deep on taking pictures for us Mr Watson.

I can't get what that steel colour bar soldered on the box sliding door is doing; is it a sort of guide to permit a smooth opening or does it has some function such as a "remote" trigger for opening the box :? ?

 

Thank you in advance

[IanB]

Ron, Could I join Amati in thanking you for the trouble you have taken in producing the images. What a delightful little gun and what a curious and intriguing feature it has. Like Amati I am curious as to why the small lid needs such an elaborate fitting just to slide to and fro. Can I ask which pieces you have had to make? I am guessing from the colour of the brass the sear spring, and all of the sliding box lid mechanism. If that is the case, I cannot help but feel there was more going on with this feature. Might I suggest the steel bar acted as a safety catch and that it had an upward extension on the end that moved behind the rear of the sear and prevented it moving when the gun was cocked.

Ian Bottomley

[Justin]

Hi Ron,

 

Thanks for posting the pictures. Any idea why the trigger guard is so large? It seems out of proportion with the rest of the teppo.

[watsonmil]

Dear Lorenzo, Ian, and Justin,

I will answer your queries in one rather long post. I hope not too boring as I often get carried away when discussing Tanegashima.

The steel bar is a guide to permit the smooth opening and closing of the brass door on the " pin box ". It took me quite awhile to figure this out , as the sliding door and bar were missing when I aquired the pistol. Firstly I too thought the brass guides on the lock plate had nothing to do with the " pin box ". I assumed they were somehow related to the sear or perhaps trigger adjustment. I noted that the " pin Box " brass frame showed no signs of outside wear, and no sign of a hinged door, ... so it had to be an inside sliding door, but how on earth could it slide with no support ?? I was still convinced that the brass guides were related to the lock mechanism in some way. Finally it dawned on me, the slots on the lock plate line up perfectly with the opening to the opening on the brass " pin box " cover, ... and yes by God that is not a chip of wood missing between the lock plate inletting and the " pin box " inletting, ... it is purposely cut out ! So simple and yet so complicated. I was astonished at the allowable tolerances. On reproducing the missing steel arm, .. I swear that there is less than 1/1000 of an inch for allowable error. Anyways after many hours of filing, fitting, and cursing it all functioned perfectly. Since the one end of the steel arm is split to provide tension, and since there is no where that this arm could be modified to act as a " safety ", I am 100 % certain I have it exactly correct. Interestingly this arm does serve another function in that it aids in locking the coiled serpentine spring in place on the serpentine pin. I have restored many many antique weapons over the years from 16th century crossbows to WWI Maxim Machine Guns. I love working on the Tanegashimas especially since ALL were hand built, and a great deal of study goes into getting everything " just right " or as close as possible.

 

The reason for the large trigger guard is that this was a type of trigger guard used by the School of Yonezawa or possibly the Mino/Seki School. The pistol has elements of both schools, but due to the shape of the lock plate, I lean towards the Yonezawa. The barrel is signed Kunitomo which is not surprising in that the Kunitomo gunsmiths as well as other gunsmiths moved about the country, so that we often see confusing combinations of different schools in a single firearm.

 

To answer Ian specifically, ... the two barrel bands were missing, ... the " pin box " lid and mechanism was missing, ... the main spring, sear spring, serpentine and serpentine pin were missing ( the serpentine that came with the gun was a substitute that was added by a " collector " and held in place by a modern bolt ! I therefore had to build a new serpentine. The small brass " boars eye " brass spreader found on the bottom of the stock which aids in the contracting and expansion of the ramrod guide was missing. The Serpentine Pin was missing, as well as the silver bead was missing fro the front sight, .... and oh yes if that wasn't enough the bloody trigger guard was missing. It was a challenging project, BUT also a VER RARE pistol and I took great pains and pleasure in putting it back into what I would consider museum quality. The pistol functions perfectly, and would be quite safe to fire.

 

Thank you all for your interest, .... Ron Watson

[estcrh]

I hope not too boring as I often get carried away when discussing Tanegashima.

Ron..any time you feel like getting "carried away" on this subject I will be glad to read what you have to say!!!

[IanB]

Ron, You have done a brilliant job - well done.

Ian

[loui]

Very nice, thank you for the detailed write up. I know this is the Nihonto board but a section for firearms might be handy to keep things organized.

Regards,

 

Louis

[watsonmil]

Dear Louis & all,

I too would love to see a section devoted to Samurai Arts/Weapons in general. There is so much more to the understanding of the Samurai than just the Swords. I don't think it would diminish the study of the Swords, and their accessories, ... but rather enhance the interest in Nihonto overall. Perhaps having the section : General Discussion of Nihonto related is enough. I do know among the Nihonto enthusiasts of which I am one there are many who are eager to broaden their knowledge of the Samurai in ALL fields. Lord knows the more interest we have, the more active our membership become in standing up to the various bureocracies determined to destroy any " arms collecting ", ... such as we see in the UK, Australia, etc. Anyways I will over the next few weeks, ... perhaps once a week post an article on Tanegashima, or perhaps Gunsen, or Armor, ... or an interesting blade. Hopefully the NMB members and Moderators in particular will if not approve at least tolerate. I would hope that our membership are not so narrow minded as to exclude everything but NIHONTO, ... as I feel the Tanegashima, etc. accentuate the study of the Japanese Sword, ... not hinder it. I feel like I'm committing sepuku just posting this, as I am sure there are a few who will feel threatened.

.... Ron Watson

[estcrh]

Dear Louis & all,

I too would love to see a section devoted to Samurai Arts/Weapons in general. There is so much more to the understanding of the Samurai than just the Swords. I don't think it would diminish the study of the Swords, and their accessories, ... but rather enhance the interest in Nihonto overall. Perhaps having the section : General Discussion of Nihonto related is enough. I do know among the Nihonto enthusiasts of which I am one there are many who are eager to broaden their knowledge of the Samurai in ALL fields. Lord knows the more interest we have, the more active our membership become in standing up to the various bureocracies determined to destroy any " arms collecting ", ... such as we see in the UK, Australia, etc. Anyways I will over the next few weeks, ... perhaps once a week post an article on Tanegashima, or perhaps Gunsen, or Armor, ... or an interesting blade. Hopefully the NMB members and Moderators in particular will if not approve at least tolerate. I would hope that our membership are not so narrow minded as to exclude everything but NIHONTO, ... as I feel the Tanegashima, etc. accentuate the study of the Japanese Sword, ... not hinder it. I feel like I'm committing sepuku just posting this, as I am sure there are a few who will feel threatened.

.... Ron Watson

Ron, I agree.....as I am interested in anything related to the people who actually wore and used the swords and other weapons we all admire, a greater understanding of these people benefits everyone and should not make people feel threatened if done in conjunction to the study of nihonto.......at least I hope not.

[John A Stuart]

Personally, I would love to see anything related to Japanese weapons and armour in general. This sub-forum is a great place for it and art etc. It complements the study of Nihonto. john

[Brian]

General Nihonto Related Discussion

For the discussion of all topics related to Nihonto, collecting, the Samurai, Japanese Art or Japanese history that are not covered below.

Already covered folks. I would set up sub-categories if there was enough discussion, but I don't think there is just yet, so for now this section should be fine.

 

Brian