Eureka-now THIS is interesting!!
?SILVER-STEEL FOUND?
In
The Gun, or a Treatise on the Various Descriptions of Small Fire-Arms by William Greener 1835, Mr Wiswould’s Iron Barrels and a similar product called
Silver Steel are described as ¾ steel and ¼ iron which were also fused into a “bloom”, welded under tilt hammers, then rolled into rods. This might represent early Two Rod Laminated Steel as the 'billet' did not start with the 'piling' of alternating iron and steel strips, but the fused iron and steel mixture which was then flattened into strips, twisted, wound around the mandrel, and welded.
In William Wellington Greener's
The Gun and Its Development, 1907, Junior stated that Silver Steel was "used by the author."
A percussion W. Greener 12b #19707 is on the Julia auction site which is stamped "Inventor of Laminated Steel" on top rib. Unfortunately, no close up of the barrels is provided, nor the date of manufacture.
This Keith Kearcher refinished late 1880s Greener G60 was felt to have Bernard I damascus BUT it seems more likely that this is Silver Steel, and does resemble the illustration in the 1935 book
I believe someone here sent me that pic. Anyone else out there with a Greener with similar barrels??
