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Rare Percussion Sharps Carbine and Rifle Combination Tool

Rare Percussion Sharps Carbine and Rifle Combination Tool

  • Product Code: FPTA-C241A-SOLD
  • Availability: Out Of Stock
  • $795.00


This is an example of the rare combination tool for the percussion Sharps Rifle and Carbine as used by the US military in the years leading up to the American Civil War, as well as during the war. The tool is made from blackened steel and is 3.59" in overall length, with two screwdrivers and an offset box end cone wrench. The screwdrivers include a .25” wide and .5” thick blade at the end of the fixed arm and a .32” wide and .5” blade at the end of the pivoting arm, which is secured by a large domed rivet. The offset box end cone wrench is .37” deep with a nominally .27” square opening for the shoulders of the percussion cone (nipple). These tools are pictured and described on page 187 of Gun Tools: Their History and Identification Volume I by James B. Shaffer, Lee A. Rutledge, and R. Stephen Dorsey. The primary reason for the rarity of these tools today is that many of the ones that survived the Civil War were later cut and altered for use with the .50-70 cartridge altered carbines and rifles that remained in service during the early post-Civil War and Indian Wars period. As these guns were cartridge arms and did not have a percussion cone, the cone wrench was cut off and this portion of the tool body was formed into a third screwdriver blade. The tool remains in NEAR FINE condition and retains much of the period blackened finish, which is thinning and shows moderate amounts of loss due to wear. The domed rivet shows the most finish loss, likely due to being rubbed while being carried in the implement pouch of the cartridge box. The metal of the tool shows freckled surface oxidation and some discoloration, much of which would likely clean off with a little effort using some quality gun oil and a soft rag. The smaller screwdriver arm still pivots freely, and the cone wrench retains crisp edges on its interior without excessive wear. This would be a fine addition to any collection of Civil War era gun tools, or to display with your Sharps Model 1859, New Model 1859 or New Model 1863 carbine, or rifle. 


SOLD

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Tags: Rare, Percussion, Sharps, Carbine, and, Rifle, Combination, Tool