Good information, Gents. Many thanks.
Raimey, if you havent done so yet, you might enjoy reading the Krupp family history "Arms of Krupp" by Mansfield. It tells how the old man went spying about Sheffield, England in the 1870's trying to steal their steel formulations. It also tells much about his tenacity and genius for vertical integration.
I know that Sauer and Krupp were partners in the development of Krupp's small-arms Laufstahl. The two firms had a special relationship for as long as Sauer existed. I also read in my research that Krupp gets credit for inventing stainless steel in 1912. I saw a "Nirosta"-barreled Sauer sidelock drilling at Tulsa many years ago. It was in 30 Army rifle caliber and weighed a ton.
Somewhere in my life I read a comparsion chart of bursting strenths of the various shotgun barrel steels. I do recall Whitten Excelsior came out tied at the top with a couple of others. It may have been in DGJ or something Oscar posted here. If anyone know if it, please post.
Best,
C.
