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wheel lock

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: wheel lock
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Device for igniting the powder in a firearm such as a musket. Developed c. 1515, the wheel lock struck a spark to ignite powder in the pan of a musket by means of a holder that pressed a shard of flint or a piece of iron pyrite against an iron wheel with a milled edge; the wheel rotated and sparks flew. The principle was used in the design of the flint-and-wheel cigarette lighter. See also flintlock.

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Military History Companion: wheel lock
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Wheel lock was an expensive and sensitive firearms mechanism with limited military use, principally in cavalry pistols of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The system worked by a wheel, with a serrated rim, within the lock being wound up against a spring with a key. The cock, holding a piece of iron pyrites, was brought down to make the pyrites touch the wheel rim. When the trigger was pressed the wheel was released, it revolved and struck sparks from the pyrites into the pan of priming powder which ignited the main charge.

Bibliography

  • Blair, Claude (gen. ed.), Pollard's History of Firearms (London, 1983)

— Stephen Wood

 
 

 

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Military History Companion. The Oxford Companion to Military History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more