The Shot-gun and Sporting Rifle
John Henry Walsh “Stonehenge” 1859
http://books.google.com/books?id=6ftIAAAAIAAJ
I am indebted to Mr. Thos. Webley, who visited Belgium, with a view to discover the reasons why the barrels forged there are more free from flaws than those made at Birmingham.
"A large quantity of Belgian tubes, called Pointille, similar in figure to our Iron Damascus (often called Laminated) have been used in cheap guns for the last three years, and these are especially wanting in toughness and density of metal. These tubes are cheaper than iron Damascus made at Birmingham, are more regular in figure, and have fewer greys, but the result is obtained at the entire sacrifice of density and toughness of metal; for it is a fact that, though these tubes may stand proof, the iron is so soft and rotten that they will not wear or stand any extra or repeated strain. These remarks apply, but in a smaller degree, to all Belgian tubes, whether Iron Damascus (Pointille), or Damascus (Damas turc). As one proof of this, when you see a choke-bored barrel bulge at the choke, it is almost sure to be a Belgian tube. We were, in common with our competitors, excepting for first and second quality, using a large proportion of these tubes; in fact, we think that
quite three-fourths of the tubes used in Birmingham are Belgian make, and nearly all the London trade use them, with this difference, that they use the best quality, which are no doubt harder than the cheaper kinds, but are still softer and less durable than those of English make, and cost as much."
"Pointille" very likely refers to a variant of Laminated steel rather than Twist
