Gentlemen,
Thanks for the information. Following up on it I did contact Karl Lippard who was able to answer a couple of things:
1. The steel is all the same - they just decided to call the steel "special".
3. The 'L' denotes extra finish barrels as fitted to SCO's & SCO/O's.
He didn't know much about Orlandi other than he was/is what would be termed a 'master engraver' by the Italians (obviously less well known than some though!).
To repeat the fifth question - I'd still like to find out more details about Mr Orlandi & his work. So owners of Italian guns - please have a look at the signiture (if there is one) next time you clean it.
Thanks & regards
Russell
