how to restore 1856 Fine Engraved French LEFAUCHEUX Revolver ‘38 BORE’

[neerajkaty]

hi friends

my father has a Fine Engraved French LEFAUCHEUX Revolver with FRANCOTTE Marking. ‘38 BORE’ year of manufactiring 1856-65.

last it was fired some 10 years back and since than kept in safe. as per the condition in pictures do you recommend some specific cleaning procedure for this valuable revolvers? as i do not want to play with the condition of finish it has right now. so please suggest a good way to preserve the good condition of it.

following are the brief details:
Oldest European-made regular service handgun designed for central fire ammunition.
The Lefaucheux was a French military revolver, based on a design by Casimir Lefaucheux. It was the first metallic-cartridge revolver adopted by a national government. It was first fielded in 1858 by the French Navy, and though never issued by the French Army, it was used in limited numbers by the French Cavalry during their 1862 deployment to Mexico. Models were also purchased by Spain, Sweden, Italy, Russia, and Norway. Along with those countries, both the U.S. Confederate and Federal forces also used them in the American Civil War. Some of the models sold to foreign powers kept the original designation, and were produced either at the state arsenal in St. Etienne (MAS), Liege, Belgium, or local producers under license.
The top barrel flat is engraved “A. FRANCOTTE A LIEGE ", the left rear flat is marked "E. LEFAUCHEUX / IN VR BREVETE", the serial number is marked on the lower left side of the frame and there is a "crown / AF" proof on the lower right side of the frame and on the cylinder. On the finely decorated cylinder, AF with a crown, ELG in an oval. It is the marking of Eugene Lefaucheux indicating a manufacture in its workshops of Liege before 1867

[goodboy_mentor]

It does not appear you need to "restore" it. Condition appears alright. What metal or alloy is it made of? Keep away from moisture etc. Firearms during those period were made for firing black powder cartridges. If that is the case, use only black powder cartridges. Do not fire modern smokeless cartridges. Chamber may not withstand higher pressures of smokeless cartridges.

[neerajkaty]

It does not appear you need to "restore" it. Condition appears alright. What metal or alloy is it made of? Keep away from moisture etc. Firearms during those period were made for firing black powder cartridges. If that is the case, use only black powder cartridges. Do not fire modern smokeless cartridges. Chamber may not withstand higher pressures of smokeless cartridges.

i have researched a lot but could not get the alloy composition as such. further i have noticed that all these years the oxidation of metal has not increased at all. though, i am not sure whether blackish nature of the metal is oxidation or just the plain texture of the metal.

[neerajkaty]

It does not appear you need to "restore" it. Condition appears alright. What metal or alloy is it made of? Keep away from moisture etc. Firearms during those period were made for firing black powder cartridges. If that is the case, use only black powder cartridges. Do not fire modern smokeless cartridges. Chamber may not withstand higher pressures of smokeless cartridges.

i have 25 of these 0.38 cartridges.

but no clue about the black powder thing. can you suggest the characteristic by looking at the bullets? made in India by ordnance factory.

[goodboy_mentor]

i have 25 of these 0.38 cartridges. but no clue about the black powder thing. can you suggest the characteristic by looking at the bullets? made in India by ordnance factory.

Originally the gunpowder was made of mixture of potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal. This was black in color and thus called black powder. It produced lot of smoke, fouling in barrel, the residue had to be cleaned else it would attract moisture causing rust in the barrel. The black powder was also sensitive to shock, heat or spark.

Commercial use of nitrocellulose based gunpowder called smokeless powder came into use around 1880s. It was more powerful than black powder and also produced very little smoke. Using smokeless powder based cartridges in firearms proofed to fire black powder cartridges can be very dangerous. The chamber or the barrel may burst causing injuries to the person firing the gun as well as those nearby.

It is difficult to tell whether these cartridges by IOF are black powder based or not. One of the ways to tell is by pulling out the bullet from cartridge case and see if it contains black powder or not.

[neerajkaty]

i have 25 of these 0.38 cartridges. but no clue about the black powder thing. can you suggest the characteristic by looking at the bullets? made in India by ordnance factory.

Originally the gunpowder was made of mixture of potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal. This was black in color and thus called black powder. It produced lot of smoke, fouling in barrel, the residue had to be cleaned else it would attract moisture causing rust in the barrel. The black powder was also sensitive to shock, heat or spark.

Commercial use of nitrocellulose based gunpowder called smokeless powder came into use around 1880s. It was more powerful than black powder and also produced very little smoke. Using smokeless powder based cartridges in firearms proofed to fire black powder cartridges can be very dangerous. The chamber or the barrel may burst causing injuries to the person firing the gun as well as those nearby.

It is difficult to tell whether these cartridges by IOF are black powder based or not. One of the ways to tell is by pulling out the bullet from cartridge case and see if it contains black powder or not.

So most probably these bullets consist of black powder only.

As my father has used the weapon a lot during 1980's with the above shown cartridges. never faced any problem.
Moreover, i have shown it to the gun house and they confirmed that mechanically its perfect in functioning, including the barrel condition etc.
So all these years these bullets posed no damage to the barrel etc.

[goodboy_mentor]

It is difficult to comment or confirm what you are saying. Firing smokeless cartridges in gun made to fire black powder cartridges does not mean it has to burst immediately. If it is strongly built, it may fire but microscopic structural damage may happen in long run. In short it is a very risky and unwise proposition to fire smokeless cartridges in gun manufactured to fire black powder cartridges. It is doubtful if Indian Ordnance Factory still manufactures black powder cartridges. This can only be confirmed by Indian Ordnance Factory or if some arms dealer is aware of such supplies still coming from IOF.