February 26 — the Tula Arms Plant was founded. It became the first state-owned arms factory in Russia, and Tula the country’s arms-making capital. Peter I, who knew the value of gunsmiths, patronized the Tula craftsmen, allocating funds for the development of production.
From the very first days, the plant began producing a full range of firearms and edged weapons for the Russian army, always renowned for their quality. Firearms were made from forge-welded bulat (Damascus steel). Blades were made from well-cutting cast bulat. The enterprise was equipped with advanced-for-its-time machinery: water-powered machines, “spit” drilling machines for boring barrels, grindstones, hammers, and machines for “rubbing” — the external and internal finishing of barrels. For the first time in mechanism production, inspection gauges began to be used. The plant’s craftsmen themselves also sought to improve production.
In the 18th century, Yakov Batishchev installed at the plant a barrel-rubbing machine that made it possible to whiten 16 barrels per day, whereas manual rubbing produced only two barrels a day. The well-known master Ivan Polin designed flintlock pistols with a 6-round magazine box fitted into the pistol grip.
In this pistol, for the first time in the history of Russian arms, the problem of creating a magazine-fed multi-shot handheld firearm was solved. The pistol’s breech blocks included the entire reloading mechanism, and the powder and bullet magazines were located in wooden grips. The use of the most advanced technologies of the 18th century significantly improved the quality of the weapons produced, and as a result, in one of the tsar’s decrees Tula weapons were recognized as the standard.
In 1720, 22,000 reliable, light infantry and dragoon muskets and flintlock pistols were produced to arm the Russian army, and from 1749 mass production of edged weapons began — blades, sabers, broadswords, and rapiers.