Handmade Chilson´s "Fisher Firesure" 2mm Miniature Pinfire Pistol

Lewis Shepherd Chilson, was a jeweler that lived in Attleboro, Bristol Co., MA. in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1913 he married Gertrude Horton Fisher, daughter of John Melatiah Fisher and Hannah Slade Horton. His father-in-law was a powerful man in that town, and the owner of "J. M. Fisher Company", a firm  that produced jewellery items, novelties and watch charms, so Chilson went to work closely with him. He was the inventor of several watch chain charms, including a miniature pistol, patented on August 6, 1929 (US1794364). It went in production under the commercial name of "Fisher Firesure". Later that year, another watch charm pistol, very similar to Chilson´s design, was patented by Samuel Dosick, owner of the "Dee Jewellery Company", also from Attleboro (Patent US1805080, from October 23, 1929). It is not known whether the two inventors ever worked together or knew each other but the similarity of their pistols designs suggests so. However, the hammer of the Dosick pistol was very distinct from Chilson´s gun. The Dosick pistol action was also unique. It was necessary to push the trigger forward in order to cock the hammer and, in the cocked position, the tip of the spring actuated as a stop, preventing the trigger to move too far back. Another difference in Dosick´s design was the inclusion of a barrel latch, that was not present in Chilson´s "Fisher Firesure".  The construction of Chilson´s pistol was certainly more complex because the main body was made of three independent pieces, that needed to be carefully aligned, and its finishing was very fine with no rivets visible. Furthermore the Chilson pistol had a much stronger action, with the hammer hitting the pin of the cap considerably harder than in Dosick´s gun (hence perhaps the name "Firesure"). The two miniature guns were intended to fire only 2mm blank pinfire cartridges (caps) and were, in fact, also called "cap guns" in those days. Many of these two pistols were produced in the 1930´s, but relatively few of the Dosick guns survive today and so they are now more valuable to miniature firearms collectors than "Fisher Firesures". Although looking like a sort of revolver these miniature guns were in fact single shot, tilt down barrel, 2mm pinfire pistols. They were made of nickel plated brass, with mother-of-pearl, composite or plastic grips, but many of them lost to wear, partially or completely, their nickel plating. Most of the "Fisher Firesure" miniature pistols were marked on the left side under the barrel cylinder with "PAT. PEND. J.M.F. CO." or "PAT.1794364 JMF Co.". There were two issues of this pistol. The first issue had mother-of-pearl grips but in the second one the mother-of-pearl was substituted by less expensive, and less labor and time consuming composite or plastic grips. A front sight was also added at that time. The packaging for this little gun was a matchbox type cardboard container, printed with a black and white drawing of the pistol with the barrel in the opened position. It came with a bent rod ejector as an accessory.

My pistol is not an exact replica of the "Fisher Firesure" because it was made from the drawings of Chilson´s prototype included in his patent, that had a slightly different main body silhouette and a bigger hammer than the production pistols that followed. Furthermore, my gun (intentionally) has no ring for a watch chain, no nickel plating, and the grips are attached with a screw and a nut instead of a rivet. Also as I like serrated hammers that feature was included in my pistol.

The materials I used to make this miniature gun were the following:
-Main body pieces; barrel, hammer, trigger, backstrap, nut and rivets: Brass;
-Main spring and barrel tilt spring: Tempered steel;
-Screw: Nickel;
-Grips: White mother-of-pearl.

The 2mm pinfire cartridge shown in the video is a replica that I have made of a cap from the 1930s, and it has no powder or primer in it. It´s made only of brass tube and wire. I don´t intend to fire blank or live cartridges with my miniature guns as they are only for display purposes.

Contact e-mail: [email protected]