Hey what? You forgot huh?

K stamp and barrel steel
 

The Kf stamp has also been interpreted as "King fecit" translated to "King made it" when he was Parker's barrel contractor in addition to being superintendent. I think the meaning is really "OK - King" that is it was his final inspection mark.

With respect to barrel steel the archive shows 15 V3 and two V4 beginning at 82225. These are the first fluid steel that is not Whitworth.There are no V2 shown.

Parker made an average of two D grades a week and 10 V grades a day. A majority of the V's were 30 inch twelve ga guns. It would seem to me that Mr King would have tooled up a separate machine to make all those 30 in V's. This would be a good reason to use a free machining ie faster cutting steel for the V barrels; although not necessarily for all of them.

Best, Austin

Austin, presuming V3 to indicate D grade with Vulcan Steel barrels and V4 to indicate C grade with Vulcan Steel barrels, the TI3 guns began with serial number 86736 in 1897 and the first Vulcan Steel barrels appear to have been made in 1895 as a Grade 3 hammerless gun rather than on a Grade 1 gun.

V3 - TI3
 

When I looked this up I found 15 V3 beginning 82225 - and the first TI3 at 86736. Parker apparently bought some sample fluid steel barrels; tried them and then seriously went in the fluid steel barrel business about a year later. I don't know if the change V to TI was a change in supplier or change in trade mark.

Best Austin

Dean may want to review some of these posts for his recent research. To add to the "early Vulcan gun" research, a Grade 5 that I have inspected was an early Vulcan gun, according to the stock books and the visual inspection of the gun. I didn't buy it because it was priced in the stratosphere by a local dealer who is not known for negotiating. The serial number is in my files somewhere, but is also listed as a V5 in the Serialization Book. I just looked for it in the SB from the 82225 range to 85000. Maybe it was misread by the researhers as a V3 or V4. The gun itself was clearly a Grade 5 BH gun.