Defarb Enfield Musketoon Questions

Spunk Puppy

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Dec 30, 2015
Hey all! I'm considering sending my Pedersoli P1861 "musketoon" out for defarbing. I want the rear sight replaced to that of a P1858 cavalry carbine, as I read no P1861s were ever actually imported in the Civil War.

The firm I'm looking at for the work, Lodgewood mfg. polishes the barrel to "armory bright" after reworking the markings, would that be correct for an 1858 cavalry carbine? Did they polish any old enfield armory bright back then as a general rule, rubbing off the original bluing?
Just looking for some help on this guys. Thanks!
 
You've got a few things slightly confused. There's no such thing as a Pattern 1861; that's the date Petersoli stamped on the lock.
I think the 'musketoon" you refer to would be the Pattern 1853 Artillery Carbine, 40" overall with a 24" barrel. The Artillery shared the rear sight type with the Pattern 1856 Cavalry Carbine {21" barrel and swivel ram rod}, which is what you're trying to replace. Both types of these Enfields were imported by the CSA, albeit in much smaller numbers than the 3 band Pattern 1853 rifle musket.

They were made and shipped with blued barrels and bands, brass mounted, with case hardened locks. There are excellent condition examples of both which exist in collections, and all of which are still blue.

Removing the Pattern 1853 rifle musket rear sight {on the repro} and adding a Pattern 56 carbine sight might work, but the finish won't match up anymore as the carbine sight is considerable shorter than the P53. The "armory" finish an an Enfield barrel is blue.
 
There's been several discussions on this topic here. First they all came originally blued. In the field whether done on purpose or from harsh cleaning some were polished bright. I have a Lodgewood p53 that's polished bright. I love the look and after a few years of heavy use it's taken on a little darker look that really just looks like a rifle with the bluing rubbed off. But if I had to do it over I think I would have had them blue it. They will do it but it takes more time and money that most people don't want to do on an already expensive and time consuming project. They already have to remove some of the bluing to move the modern markings to the underside of the barrel so they just remove all of it. If you look at their Facebook page you'll see an Enfield they did and period correct case hardened the lock and did the correct bluing, it's a beautiful piece. Either way you go though you'll get a great piece from them, they do fantastic work.
 
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