POTD: Pair of Revolving Flintlocks by Johann Adam Knod
Sam.S 11.29.21
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! This time around we have a pair of revolving flintlock pistols! For many a century, folks have been trying to manufacture the best possible repeating firearm for their own time in firearms history. These examples have a single locking mechanism with a revolving “cylinder” for lack of a better word that is made up of three frizzen assemblies. This allows the user to manually rotate the cylinder (by pulling the trigger guard rearward) so that a loaded chamber lines up with the single barrel. If one cylinder fails to fire, backup shots are easy and fast. These types of flintlocks are rare and well made and I personally would be curious to know if they are prone to fouling up like a lot of repeating black powder designs.
“Johann Adam Knod (Knodt) was first active around 1708 to 1717 in Vienna and was granted the title of master gunmaker in 1719. He was one of the most talented Carlsbad school arms makers catering to the nobility who visited the Bohemian spa town. Only a small number of flintlock repeaters using this revolving chamber design are known, mostly by Carlsbad gunmakers in the first decades of the 18th century. They very rarely come available in the U.S. “
Photo Courtesy of Rock Island Auction Company
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/84/1397/pair-of-flintlock-revolving-pistols-by-johann-adam-knod
