WHEELLOCK

Wheellock

A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock, is a friction-wheel mechanism to cause a spark for firing a firearm. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. The mechanism is so-called because it uses a rotating steel wheel to provide ignition. Developed around AD 1500, it was used alongside the matchlock and was later superseded by the snaphance and the flintlock .

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wheellock

Noun

  1. An early type of firearm, using a spring-driven wheel against a mineral to make sparks in the firing pan.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: wheellock
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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