Steel question
 

Can someone give me some history on the Vulcan steel barrel? Or the Trojan steel barrel? Vs say the twist barrel. May be a stupid question but I’m brand spankin new to the Parker world thanks!

Scroll down about 2/3 here for Dave Suponski's study which was published in the Summer 2014 Parker Pages
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...EK8OtPYVA/edit

Titanic, post-WWI Vulcan, and Trojan were essentially the same; AISI 1030 and 1035 Medium Carbon steels. Titanic had low levels of both nickel and chromium compared to the others.

From the introduction of what Parker Bros. called Vulcan and Titanic Steel barrels in the later 1890s we see two barrel steel markings near the front of the right barrel flat. On the guns marked Titanic Steel on the rib we see a letter K --

Attachment 118121

I've also recorded the K on a few barrels marked Acme Steel in the rib.

On the guns marked Vulcan Steel on the rib we see a Kf --

Attachment 118120

Circa 1906, in the 135xxx serial number range we begin seeing the V, P, PS, T or A in a circle barrel steel markings.

Are not Titanic steel barrels considered to be of higher quality, by Parker enthusiasts, than Vulcan? And if so, why would that be?

My two gauge DHE has 32" Titanic 16s and 32" Vulcan 20s. Is there any significance to that?

Whomever ordered the 20 gauge barrels opted for the least expensive option. Remember, the Titanic Steel barrels would have cost almost exactly half the price of the gun when new and the Vulcan Steel barrels would have cost half the price of the VHE when new, which was considerably less than a DHE.





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But the Vulcan or titanic barrels are not twist barrel’s correct?

Correct. Both are fluid steel.

Not quite so Harry. Through metallurgical testing, depending on who manufactured the fluid steel barrels Parker bought, different but similar formulas were used.





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Wry good information fellers thanks it’s helped a lot and I know I’ll be learning a ton more as well! Thanks!