Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Romig
We have seen the "Kf" stamp on the barrel flats but I don't recall ever seeing a "Bf" stamp there.
The Kf indicated that King pronounced the barrels (or gun) finishen or filalized or fin ..... done and passed inspection in other words
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The derivation of this mark has been discussed at least a dozen times on this forum. Bob Runge told me he thought the 'f' stood for "fertig", the German word for "finished". This makes eminent sense when you consider that many employees in the barrel shop in the late 1890's were Germans, and had license to choose their own symbols or characters to signify completion of different stages of work and passage of the barrels to the next stage of gunbuilding. The 'W' is universally recognized as the mark of Walter King.