doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lefever damascus marked "JDH"

Robert,

All I was stating is that the marks have to be verified by an actual source.

Pete

"I agre with Ken it is not the letter "H" but sure it is the letter "M" and the maker is for sure Jean Delcour.
the letter M was used for "Manufacture"

If you do like Robert said and hit control and then + many times, you will see that on the top barrel it is an "H". the bottom one looks closer to an "M" but again blowing it up you can see it is an "H"

JDW,

I'll re-photograph those marks more carefully in macro and re post later today... along with both top lever systems side by side for comparison

Robert & all;
The screw ahead of the lever on these early Lefevers is a compensating screw for bolt wear. These guns have a vertical bolt which enter the rib extensiom from the rear. It sort of floats in there, but the top bears aganist the bottom of that screw. If the gun doesn't bolt up tight simply turn that screw down a bit till it does. As Rich mentioned the lever is not latched open but the bolt is cammed back by the lower surface of the Doll's hear as the bbls are closed. The lever stopped dead center when it was new & it'll stop dead center as long as it lives. The lever has a side pivot rather than center. It was replaced by the center pivot lever fitted with a side swinging self compensating wedge bolt around 1890 (patent for this action was issued 1890, but don't know the exact introduction date of the new model. This new bolting system did latch open.
That last letter did look like an H to me. If you look real close the center bar is horizontal, not V'd up as in an M.
PS; Note lso this gun has the hammer axle extending through the side plates, a feature not seen on most self cocking Lefevers. I have a G grade sn'd 20,633 which also has this feature. My bbls have the crown oer GL mark though.

2-Piper,
Thanks for your explanation...back when I acquired it I checked for the appropriate patent but that particular lock-up patent is missing from my data base..., I could see a similar looking top lever first appear in 1890 (pat 423,521) , but that particular patent isn't for a lock-up, but for a cocking lever system and extractors...or perhaps I misinterpreted (wouldn't be the first time)...if not, could you please post the patent number so that I can plug that hole in my database? thank you

I know more research has been done on Lefever patents, but here is one list.

Here is the list that Elliot has:
130,984 1872 Top lever locking
205,193 1878 Dolls head extension
329,397 1885 Automatic cocking
385,360 1883 Charge indicator
475,873 1892 Automatic ejectors
229,429 1880 breech loading firearm
343,040 1886 breech loading improvement
372,684 1887 breech loading improvement
423,521 1890 breech loading improvement
536,636 1895 ejectors
715,490 1902 single trigger
795,991 1905 single trigger
810,871 1906 single trigger
865,310 1907 cocking mechanism


I have put together a searchable listing of US patents for small arms.

This is by Patent Number
http://damascus-barrels.com/uspatent.html

This is by Applicant Last Name
http://www.damascus-barrels.com/uspatentnom.html

I know there are a few "kinks" in the lists, but they are a start. I am not currently actively updating these lists, but may some day.

Pete

Robert;
If Lefever had a patent on this bolting system I have not found it. The 1878 patent mentioned did not patent the Doll's Head itself, this had already been patented, but patented the square shoulders for same. Early Lefevers had both an underbolt & a sliding bolt locking into the rib extension. By about 1882 the underbolt had been done away with & the top bolt had assumed a vertical position which rocked back & forward to open or lock. Configuration of this bolt went through several changes, was first operated by a thumb push lever & eventually by the side pivot top lever. The 1890 patent introduced the Two-Hook cocking system which at first retained the side-pivot top lever but by about 1892 had given way to the side swinging bolt as an extension of the top lever (Though a seperately attached part). Earlier bolts had all entered the notch, whether under bolt or top bolt from the rear, this new top bolt entered from the left side & acording to Lefever literature was cut on a 15� angle making it self compensating for wear with the top lever coming around to the left as wear occured. This bolting system would remain until the end of production.
An 1889 LAC catalog pictures & describes what is essentially the final form of the vertical bolt with side-pivot lever & having the compensating screw in upper tang. A reprint of this catalog is available from Cornell's.

Miller,
Please excuse me...my mind is still reeling from the scope of Pete's undertaking...he's got his work cut out for him...the USPTO patent threads are tragically fractured and temporarily incomplete...I've found patent numbers cited in other patents that do not occur in the patent classification thread...then when I do a full text search and view the patent, suddenly it finds its way into the classification thread at the USPTO...

Until the patent office completes filing all patents into their respective threads, Pete will be adding names/patents for years to come.

The double gun evolution alone had at least 750 patents before 1950...and I have a file of recently located patents not yet added (maybe 8 or 10)...I think I gave Schuktnecht about 600 patents before Chris turned that deal to mush causing him to publish prematurely...(there's a joke in there somewhere)

Pete,
I have some home made cross reference material that may help you to cross check your database...whew, I thought I had holes to plug...I have 16 Lefever double gun patents (DM & CF) (not air rifle patents) plus at least 3 other patents drawn on Lefever SxS's...plus the Dangerfield patent that you listed(130984)...bringing the total to 16 or 20 depending on how you look at it...as soon as I come across that firearm reference material, I will take digital photos and contact you...please excuse me while I immerse myself in Pete's database for a couple of days...

Thank you Pete and Miller