1836 Colt Paterson No. 5
In an effort to learn more about the mechanical function of a revolver and understand how revolvers have evolved over the past two centuries, I reverse engineered the Colt Paterson No. 5 until I was able to produce a nearly functioning 2D cardboard model. While I was unable to successfully replicate the parts with 100% accuracy according to a Chicago firearms expert, I was still able to create a functioning mechanism nonetheless.
The biggest challenges were the limited and inaccurate resources available and not having access to a physical Paterson for dissection to learn about the revolver's anatomy.
Colt Paterson Patent.
With no reliable source materials, I had to use ingenuity and my passion for problem solving to design a concrete and functioning mechanical system.
I learned that patent drawings and exploded diagrams are not always drawn with accuracy, and there is always another way to make something work, even with tight parameters.
Through this study and the observation of later revolver models, I gained a better understanding of how an object that is so dependent on good ergonomics and a specific function can still be improved and revised in a number of ways with each new design.
1836 Colt Paterson No. 5 with loading lever.
In 1836 Samuel Colt invented, designed, and produced the first rotating cylinder revolver, the Colt Paterson. In addition to being Colt’s first handgun, the Paterson was the first American mass produced revolver, a “major advancement in the development of” firearms and in interchangeable machined parts. The No. 5 was the most popular and widely used model for its use while on horseback by the Texas Rangers.