I read this Krupp steel thread with interest, and it made me recall a section in Donald Dallas' book 'Purdey Gun & Riflemakers', where he states " for a time in the late 1890's, Purdey used Krupp steel from Germany( Whitworth was temporarily unavailable). On 27 August, 1897, James Purdey wrote to his son Athol: ' The tubes of Krupp have been tested and are found much stronger and tougher so that we can use them satisfactorily and perhaps more than the Whitworth. However, by the early 1900's, Purdey had reverted to Whitworth." It doesn't state what grade of Krupp they used; three ring, etc., but this is an interesting comparison between a steel (Whitworth) that makers charged quite a premium to barrel a gun with, and Krupp, which was used on many mass- produced American and European guns, costing from $25 on up. Regards, Sandlapper
