Album: English Damascus

It is unlikely that Purdey, Manton, Boss, or H&H manufactured barrels in-house. There were several small "barrel makers" in London, the Minories, and Whitechapel, but after about 1800 most barrels were made in Birmingham. William Fullerd was the last to make barrels in London and supplied all the "best" makers of that era. Lancaster supplied Purdey (and others) in the early days (1811-1826) before he became a gunmaker himself. c. 1890 James Purdey II wrote concerning steel barrels that he preferred damascus but acknowledged that "weight for weight steel is stronger than iron and shoots harder, though not of so handsome an appearance as damascus barrels." He favored Belgian damascus because "not that when thorough sound English damascus can be obtained they are not superior, but because Belgian workmen are more careful than English, and there is thus less risk of slag and rubbish getting into the welds."

"THE GUN, OR A TREATISE ON THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF SMALL FIRE-ARMS" William Greener, 1835- Greener described 9 different gun barrels at that time, and in general was extremely critical of the quality of British gun barrels being produced: 1. DAMASCUS from only two sources: Mr Clive of Birmingham and George Adams of Wednesbury (introduced about 1820.) 2. WIRE-TWIST IRON (later called Plain Twist or Skelp.) 3. STUB-TWIST IRON Made from horse-nail stubs (iron) mixed with chopped coach spring steel, fused into a "bloom of iron", then hammer forged or rolled into rods, which were then wrapped around a mandrel and welded. STUB DAMASCUS rods were twisted; Stub Twist rods were NOT. 4. MR WISWOULDS IRON and a similar product called SILVER STEEL. These are described as 3/4 steel and 1/4 iron which were also fused into a "bloom", welded under tilt hammers, then rolled into rods. From the description may be Two Rod "Laminated Steel." 5. CHARCOAL IRON (without steel) Inferior to Stub-Twist. 6. THREEPENNY SKELP IRON. 7. WEDNESBURY SKELP. 8. SHAM DAMN SKELP which apparently was stained to look like Wire-Twist. 9. SWAFF IRON FORGING made up from small scraps of lockplates and gunscrews.