Wheellocks and Flintlocks

[Tomsdad]

Originally Posted by Sindri

It's also difficult to show how impressive the inner workings of a watch are. You can do a bit, but mostly what you do is make the outside distinctive and develop a reputation for making technically impressive watches. People recognize the brand and you thus benefit from your investment in the invisible inner working of your watch.

Thing is with watches having complex and yet precise inner workings are part of the inherent draw of the object, less so with hunting guns which have other metrics to be judged by.

Originally Posted by Sindri

It's also what I've been saying the whole time.

yes I think we agree on that.

Originally Posted by Sindri

If you perceive it, it's a separate factor that improves the resulting total impressiveness. Which is to say, something which is additive.

If you can't perceive it, it's effectively non-existent.

Which is largely the difference between wheel locks and flint locks (even leaving aside the benefits Flint locks have in terms of outward use over wheel locks)

Originally Posted by Sindri

It constitutes more stuff. You have the exterior decorations .

which doesn't seem to vary much between the two types of guns

Originally Posted by Sindri

and you also have bonus cool stuff in the form of an impressive mechanism.

which we've just discounted because it largely can't be seen, or give any advantage. Complexity for complexities sakes is not particularly valued, especially when it give no increase in functionality.

Originally Posted by Sindri

You want as much coolness as you can get without being gauche and this allows you to get more than just what you can get with exterior decorations.

Have you seen C18th - C19th styles, exterior show was rather paramount to most styles of the time.

Originally Posted by Sindri

A sub-culture can also be envisioned that disdains decoration but it's irrelevant. Allow me to remind you that I'm not commenting generically here. This is not a guide concerning how to make impressive weapons. It's a defense of an idea concern a specific sub-culture in a specific setting.

OK but then you might need to cite what that sub cultures uses as a metric for assigning perceived value.

If it is complex mechanism over others, then I suggest you take the C18th & C19th craze for automatons as inspiration. Clockwork weapons that self load and prime for instance.

as an example there was clock work doll that could be programmed* to write letters, writing letters was the result bit a written letter in abstract was not the point fo fascination, it was the fact that it had been done by the doll.


*and that was the right term