The not very high reliability of early firearms, due to the long loading process, dependence on weather conditions and a number of other factors, sometimes put its owner in a difficult position. During the battle, seconds often decided the outcome of the battle, and damp gunpowder on the powder shelf, an extinguished wick or flint that jumped out of the trigger sponges could lead to the death of a warrior. For this reason, gunsmiths until the beginning of the 19th century tried to combine firearms with cold ones, creating a combined weapon.
One of the varieties of combined weapons is a pistol - an ax. The website HistoryPistols.ru has already talked about the Indian battle ax - stylet - match pistol of the mid 18th century, as well as about the Boarding ax with a flintlock pistol. This article will discuss another battle ax with a firing mechanism made on the basis of a spark wheel lock.
The weapon consists of a handle with a barrel attached to it, a wheel lock with a trigger and an ax. The barrel is cylindrical. The first third of the barrel, starting from the breech, has longitudinal grooves and a maximum diameter. In the middle part, the barrel is stepped with a smooth decrease in diameter. Barrel length 235 mm, bore 0.52 caliber. Battle Ax - Wheeled pistol has a total length of 635 mm.
A wheel lock is installed on the right side of the ax handle. The configuration and appearance of the lock board resemble a lock, the drawings of which are presented on our website. However, upon closer inspection, there is a significant difference in design. The trigger is located not on the outer surface of the key board, but on top of it. The spring under the heel of the trigger is moved to the inner surface of the lock board. The surfaces of the castle are richly engraved. On the surface of the trigger and the lock board, there are images in the form of a floral ornament, on the surface of the casing of the wheel there are military paraphernalia.
The lock is fixed in the stock with two panhead screws, without the use of a lock mask. Between the fastening screws, a bone plate is cut into the wood, depicting a warrior in a hat with a shield and a sword on his right shoulder. The trigger guard is steel, has a configuration like conventional wheel pistols. The rear strut of the brace is screwed into the stock. The front leg is attached to the stock with a screw. The trigger is steel, thin and slightly curved. The launch mask is made of bone.
The breech screw has a short shank with a rounded tip. The shank is attached to the stock with a screw screwed in from the side of the trigger face. The bed is decorated with numerous inlays of bone plates, most of which are round in shape.
The ax is set on the handle and is attached to the trunk with a butt. The locking pin is visible on the right side. The front of the butt is shortened to the muzzle. The ax has overall dimensions of 140 × 102 mm. The upper edge of the chopping part is sharpened, the rear edge is beveled at an angle of 90 degrees to the surface of the blade.
On the left and right sides of the surface of the ax, there is an engraving in the form of a floral ornament and an image of a mythical fish with the head of a crocodile. The handle in the upper part near the ax attachment point is decorated with inlay in the form of figures of warriors: on the left side of the drummer, on the right side of the musketeer.
On the lower side of the handle, the inlay is represented by round and rectangular bone inlays with surface engraving. The tip of the handle is decorated with a carved bone plate with a ball-shaped cap.
Despite the fact that the weapon was made around the middle of the 17th century, it is perfectly preserved. The metal parts show almost no traces of corrosion, the inlays and the wood are not damaged. The uniqueness and originality of the ax-pistol, together with the excellent condition of all mechanisms of the weapon, give it a high collection value. The new owner purchased this item in 2015 at one of the auctions for only $ 14,950.
