Advice wanted on a Lanes Patent Ball Trigger Gem

[BC312]

Please not cold blue but traditional rust blue, how such guns were originally finished.

[ptdunk]

I’d just remove the rust as best I could, replace the pins, and then the usual treatment re. spring & seals and get it shooting at its best. I wouldn’t reblue it but would leave it in the white….where its life thus far has left it.

No idea on value. Interesting guns, would like to see how they shoot.

Cheers,
Matt

[DCL_dave]

Actually, if you are thinking of moving it on then leave it as it is and let the new owner have the dilemma

I am wondering who made it for Lanes? Langenhan or Eisenwerke maybe?

have owned Gem patterns that although not marked as such did have the bracing across the cocking lever to stop the area around the trigger guard collapsing over time, I believe Lanes advertised this as a modification to strengthen some of the Gem patterns that they sold…the ball trigger Gem seems to be similar solution to this problem…

[ccdjg]

Thanks for all the suggestions, very useful.
Matt has carried out a bit of detective work and found that I bought this gun on the forum 14 years ago. I had completely forgotten. I must have had other more pressing projects on at the time and put this in a cupboard and forgot all about it. I am going to get it into a fully functioning condition and then decide what to do with it.

I also did a bit of research into its origins using John Atkins' articles in Airgunner as source, and John says that the ball trigger design (which uses a ball bearing as the sear) was patented by John Lane , Ernest Lane and Charles Lane in October 1895. The guns that Lanes produced incorporating this design were based on imported German and Belgian Gem-types.