Laminate Barrels

[Mike Poindexter]

Just got a pair of Dam2 10 ga barrels back from Breck, perfect experience as anticipated. Interesting thing is the front half of the left barrel is an unusual pattern I am not familiar with. Joins with the rest of the Dam2 pattern just in front of the roll stamp on the rib. Love these unusual Parkers.

[Drew Hause]

To the L is Parker D3 3 Iron "Oxford", the butt weld between segments at the arrow, then it turns into (a messy) "Horseshoe". That is pretty common as the segment is thinner



Browned "Horseshoe". You see the connection between the scrolls

[ArtS]

Originally Posted by Drew Hause

To the L is Parker D3 3 Iron "Oxford", the butt weld between segments at the arrow, then it turns into (a messy) "Horseshoe". That is pretty common as the segment is thinner



Browned "Horseshoe". You see the connection between the scrolls

The lower picture looks like some of the English laminate I have seen from the 1870's. I have several well graded English guns from the 1870-1885 era that are, along with Parker Laminates, some of my favorite composite barrels.

[Drew Hause]

There was (briefly) something called "Laminated Damascus", which by appearance started with individual strips of iron and steel rather than a “puddled” mixture

Wesson Fire Arm Co., Springfield, Mass. percussion double with 2 iron “Laminated Damascus”



Wesson with a messy 3 Iron Crolle



Letters in The Chicago Field in 1878 state that a barrel forger named John Blaze of Birmingham, England had immigrated to America to make Wesson's barrels. He was listed in the 1865 Worcester, Mass. City Directory as a ‘Gunsmith’, and 1878-1881 as a ‘Blacksmith’. Whether he left Wesson for Parker's employ after Dan Wesson shut down his shotgun production in December 1870 is uncertain. Other Wesson gunmakers did take jobs with Parker, including Charles A. King.