ID req. 100year old stuff.

[MG 3]

I found these lying in my fathers storage shed. I think he got them when we were posted close to the tribal areas in the late nineties. One of these lookes like an old British rifle so can any one ID it.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25921&stc=1&d=1177407162

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25922&stc=1&d=1177407218

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25923&stc=1&d=1177407218

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25924&stc=1&d=1177407270

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25932&stc=1&d=1177407581

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25925&stc=1&d=1177407334

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25926&stc=1&d=1177407144

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25928&stc=1&d=1177407198

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25929&stc=1&d=1177407334

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25930&stc=1&d=1177407314

[DeltaWhisky58]

The lever action (Falling Block) rifle is a Martini Henry of British manufacture - this appears to have been cut down at some time. These were originally made in .450 Boxer calibre, but many were later re-barrelled to .303.

The other percussion/flintlock weapons appear to conform to the Afghan Jezail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jezail) style of tribal weapon.

[Sabre]

Those are quite impressive weapons. Typical of the tribal weapons of the 19th century. The type of thing the British Army went up against in our previous exploits in Southwest Asia.

I'd love one of those to hang on my wall! :)

[MG 3]

The lever action (Falling Block) rifle is a Martini Henry of British manufacture - this appears to have been cut down at some time. These were originally made in .450 Boxer calibre, but many were later re-barrelled to .303.

The other percussion/flintlock weapons appear to conform to the Afghan Jezail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jezail) style of tribal weapon.

Thanks for the info DW. What do you make of the markings with the crown.

[big_les]

Those look like proof-marks for certain arsenals, each with a number representing (I think) the bore diameter. Not sure what arsenals those might refer to though, or even if they're actually British. Have a look at;

https://www.bluebookinc.com/Info/PDF/Firearm/Proofmarks.pdf

and this - http://www.martinihenry.co.uk/

This doesn't look like any military Martini-Henry I've seen. In fact it looks rough. Could it be a locally-produced copy?

The Japanese-looking sword is definitely a fake I'm afraid.

[DeltaWhisky58]

Those look like proof-marks for certain arsenals, each with a number representing (I think) the bore diameter. Not sure what arsenals those might refer to though, or even if they're actually British. Have a look at;

https://www.bluebookinc.com/Info/PDF/Firearm/Proofmarks.pdf

and this - http://www.martinihenry.co.uk/

This doesn't look like any military Martini-Henry I've seen. In fact it looks rough. Could it be a locally-produced copy?

The Japanese-looking sword is definitely a fake I'm afraid.

The Martini could easily be produced in either one of the British ordnance factories or in an Indian arsenal, however there is also the distinct possibility that it is a tribal copy from Darra bazaar or similar. There are usually very accurate copies even down to the exact proof/arsenal markings.

[MG 3]

Those look like proof-marks for certain arsenals, each with a number representing (I think) the bore diameter. Not sure what arsenals those might refer to though, or even if they're actually British. Have a look at;

https://www.bluebookinc.com/Info/PDF/Firearm/Proofmarks.pdf

and this - http://www.martinihenry.co.uk/

This doesn't look like any military Martini-Henry I've seen. In fact it looks rough. Could it be a locally-produced copy?

The Japanese-looking sword is definitely a fake I'm afraid.

yep the katana is fake.

[DeltaWhisky58]

The Martini clearly has a much shortened barrel/fore-grip - it may have been converted from an issue weapon (or copy thereof), or made as such.

[ABNINF]

The Martini actually looks like it could be one of the Kyber pass copies, or one that's been converted to shoot .303, but it's hard to tell. Those all look like locally made Afghan weaponry, like DW said. The Afghans will actually use acid along with other techniques in order to make something look older than it actually is, so they may not be as old as you think. Good souveniers though. I'm actually a little upset I didn't bring back one of those "tribal" type rifles. Hope you enjoy them

[big_les]

The general rough finish and grease/dust "gunk" around the external working parts are similar to examples on this page;

http://www.armscollectors.com/darra/afghanold.htm

The Martini-Henry doesn't seem from the pics to have the quality finish of a British factory original, put it that way. Of course it could be a "legit" period local copy as opposed to an outright fake as DW says. You'd have to have it appraised properly to find out for sure I think.