Revolver many European gun-makers, in numerous designs and configurations. However, these weapons were difficult to use, complicated and prohibitively expensive to make, and as such they were not widely distributed. In 1836, an American, Samuel Colt patented the mechanism which led to the widespread use of the revolver, the mechanically indexing cylinder. According to Samuel Colt, he came up with the idea for the revolver while at sea, inspired by the capstan, which had a ratchet and pawl mechanism on it, a version of which was used in his guns to rotate the cylinder by cocking the hammer. This provided a
Colt New Line Colt New Line The Colt New Line was a single action pocket revolver introduced by the Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in 1873. Two years after the Colt House Revolver (1871), a year after the Colt Open Top (1872) and almost simultaneously alongside the Colt Peacemaker (1873), the Colt New Line was one of the first metallic cartridge rear-loading revolvers manufactured by Colt's. It was, alongside the Colt Open Top Pocket Model Revolver (1871), one of the first pocket metallic cartridge revolvers made by the company. When the Rollin White patent for metallic cartridges firearms manufacture expired (c. 1870)