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18TH AND 19TH
CENTURY CIVILIAN FIREARMS CLEANING TOOLS WIPERS, JAGS
AND SCRAPERS SOME RARE OFFERINGS:
I acquired these gun cleaning tools from an American
collector who did considerable collecting in the United
Kingdom, and along the eastern seaboard of the United
States some 50-60 years ago. These early tools must
have been made in some quantity during the period of
their use, however their design was eclipsed by
superceding patterns. Once they fell out of use, they
were probably discarded and hence are quite rare in
todays collecting market.
Each piece is pictured
below with a description.
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AMERICAN KENTUCKY RIFLE RAMROD WIPER WITH ORIGINAL
TOW WRAPPING: This wiper bears the
characteristics of an American Kentucky or Plains Rifle Ramrod Wiper.
Consisting of two pieces - there is the section which
permanently pinned to the ram rod and the wiper itself
which is still wrapped in the original piece of tow for
swabbing the bore. Measuring 4 5/8
in overall length and approximately .45 caliber in
diameter, this specimen is
well made. Far scarcer than the military wipers
to the point of being rare, this civilian gunsmith made Rifle Wiper
would make a nice original piece to complete a
replacement ramrod for any of those early rifles.
(0731) $75
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AMERICAN KENTUCKY RIFLE RAMROD WIPER:
This is the exact wiper shown on page 101, of Gun
Tools, Their History and Identification, Vol. I,
Shaffer, Rutledge, and Dorsey, where it is described as
an American Kentucky Rifle Ramrod Wiper. Measuring 2 ½
long and sized for a .32 caliber bore, this specimen is
expertly forged. Far scarcer than the military wipers
to the point of being rare, this Kentucky Rifle Wiper
would make a nice original piece to complete a
replacement ramrod for any of these graceful rifles.
(0673) $75
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ORIGINAL SHOTGUN WIPER: As described on
pages 119 of Gun Tools, Their History and
Identification, Vol. I, Shaffer, Rutledge,
and Dorsey, this wiper was the type used for shotguns
of the period. (0674) $25
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ORIGINAL MATCHED SET OF VERY
RARE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY
BARREL SCRAPERS: As described on
page 147 of Gun Tools, Their History and
Identification, Vol. I, by Shaffer, Rutledge,
and Dorsey, these barrel scrapers date to the
18TH and early 19TH centuries, in
use long before the development of brass and steel bore
brushes. Each consists of a pair of spring-steel
blades, with sharpened cutting edges which were used to
scrape the powder fouling from the bores.
Each scraper features a threaded male bit for threading
onto a cleaning rod and these threaded sections are full
form with clean threads. The scraper with the
edges pointing out measures
4 ½ long, with blades for a .62-69 caliber, and the
scraper with the shovel shaped blades measures 3" long,
with blades for a .44-64 caliber. Both are full
form showing very little evidence of use and no wear or
significant pitting, and from all appearances were made
as a matched set, intended to be used together. A
rare offering which I had never seen on the market prior
to this set recently surfacing. (0728) $350
for the pair
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ORIGINAL SET OF EUROPEAN BARREL CLEANING JAGS: As described on
page 142 of Gun Tools, Their History and
Identification, Vol. I, Shaffer, Rutledge,
and Dorsey, this is a matched set of European
Barrel Cleaning Jags which were in use at least through
the mid-19TH
Century. These three pieces were found together and were
obviously made by the same firm or gunsmith.
Measuring
2 2 ½ long,
the jags measure in range from .45 caliber up to .54
caliber, and are textured to hold a wrapping of tow to
swab the barrel. In excellent condition with no evidence
of heavy use. (0729) $200 for the set.
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