Jim Taylor
Handloading .. by hand
Wednesday, June 24, 2020, 07:43

Most of the early gun manufacturers included a ball and/or conical bullet mold with their firearms. Colt did this with the early percussion revolvers. When reloadable centerfire cartridges became reality the gun makers started including loading tools with their guns. Smith & Wesson made loading tools and bullet molds as did Winchester and Marlin. Marlin's was designed by John Browning. Winchester's was designed by a tool and die maker named John Barlow.

In 1884 John Barlow founded the Ideal Company and patented and produced the "tong reloading tool." He made bullet molds also, from single cavity to 7 cavity.

Barlow also published the Ideal Handbook in the 1880's. This was the first handbook for reloaders published in the U.S. Barlow had many firsts including gas-checked bullet molds to cast them.

In 1910 Mr. Barlow retired and sold the Ideal Company to Marlin Firearms. During WW1 Marlin sold the Ideal Company to a man named Phineas Talcott. Talcott struggled keeping the company going and in 1925 sold it to the Lyman Gunsight Corporations. Lyman renamed the Ideal Handbook to The Lyman Handbook. They produced Barlow's design of bullet molds and tong reloading tools and used the Ideal name until the 1950's. During that time Lyman redesigned the bullet molds, introducing interchangeable mold blocks with separate handles.

They also redesigned Barlow's tong tool. His design was an integrated handle with all the dies as a fixed part. The #3 Tool was for rimless (If I remember correctly .. I may have it backwards) and the #10 Tool was for rimmed cartridges. Lyman introduced the 310 Tool with removable dies. Later they improved it and added removeable shell holders so one handle could be used for many calibers.

The first 310 Tools were made of steel just as John Barlow had made them. Later on Lyman changed to aluminum handles and continues that today.

So the old Lyman 310 Tool .. the nutcracker tool ... has a long history going back into the 1870's!

I have a Winchester Loading Tool in .44WCF that I still use for priming if I want to prime a couple cartridges quickly. It looks a lot like the Lyman Tools. And I still use a 310 Tool quite often if I am putting together some 38's for plinking ... just enjoying doing it the old way.