.45 ACP Broomhandle/Shanxi Type 17

[TheRomanhistorian]

Rich, how did I know you'd be the first to reply? I am taking her out on Sunday but must keep She Who Must Be Obeyed happy by ringing her tonight and then going to a party with her tomorrow. :P

She is sure pretty, though! Nice mismatched grips (with some wear).

[sheepherder]

Just think...Some 70 year old bespectacled Mandarin, squatting in his dirt floor hovel, by candlelight, with his mallet and chisels, carved that out of a chunk of railroad rail...Patiently peeling away the layers hiding the .45 Mauser-style automatic pistol hidden inside...Working by memory of a fleetingly-glimpsed rough diagram of how a C96 worked...That would have been some 100 years ago...

Now his spirit lives in this, his final effort at immortality...And waits for the moment when his work will be proved...or disproved...

[alvin]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

carved that out of a chunk of railroad rail

It's a little bit misunderstanding. Communist arsenal did not have steel importing channel, so they took railroad rails as raw material to make grenade and some gun parts. There was another big benefit for them doing that -- railroads were controlled by their enemies, damaging railroads could delay enemy's movement. That's a common tactic in guerrilla warfare at that time.

But warlords and nationalist arsenals did not use rails to make guns. They imported raw steel from Europe. The production volume was limited by how much steel they had.

This is not one of those 8000 made in 1920s and 1930s. If it works, it could be a little bit fun.

[TheRomanhistorian]

Originally Posted by alvin

It's a little bit misunderstanding. Communist arsenal did not have steel importing channel, so they took railroad rails as raw material to make grenade and some gun parts. There was another big benefit for them doing that -- railroads were controlled by their enemies, damaging railroads could delay enemy's movement. That's a common tactic in guerrilla warfare at that time.

But warlords and nationalist arsenals did not use rails to make guns. They imported raw steel from Europe. The production volume was limited by how much steel they had.

This is not one of those 8000 made in 1920s and 1930s. If it works, it could be a little bit fun.

Thanks, Alvin. You are the expert and I am glad you were able to chime in, there were too many features which struck me as oddball about this piece and I didn't want to make a judgment until you weighed in. I almost want a second one now! I think she'll shoot quite well but I don't anticipate putting more than 10 rounds through her a year.

As you once said, I believe, these are now collectibles in their own right. I took this in to my local gun shop and several of us derived a lot of enjoyment just holding the gun and chatting about the history for a few minutes.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by alvin

It's a little bit misunderstanding. Communist arsenal did not have steel importing channel, so they took railroad rails as raw material to make grenade and some gun parts. There was another big benefit for them doing that -- railroads were controlled by their enemies, damaging railroads could delay enemy's movement. That's a common tactic in guerrilla warfare at that time.

But warlords and nationalist arsenals did not use rails to make guns. They imported raw steel from Europe. The production volume was limited by how much steel they had.

There was a feature on Science Channel/How It's Made today on rail steel. Quite interesting and prompted me to look for the chemical composition of the RR rail steel. Here's an interesting thread from BladeForums on this subject, and likens RR steel to 1084 steel...

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...oad-rail-steel

These guys are more interested in heat treating & tempering than in impact resistance but it still seems like rail steel would be good for handgun parts...Especially if you've just ripped up a couple lengths of it to derail the train going over the river Kwai...