Erik Jørgensen (gunsmith)

Erik Jørgensen (17 May 1848 – 1896) was a Norwegian master gunsmith, well known for his cooperation with Ole Herman Johannes Krag in developing the successful Krag-Jørgensen rifle.

Erik Jørgensen was born in Asker, Norway, and grew up on the farm Solstad. He educated himself to be a gunsmith and started working on Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk (the most important Norwegian weapon factory) in 1870. It was here that he met Ole H J Krag and from 1871 Jørgensen worked with Krag on his rifles. As time went on, Jørgensen turned from just doing work for Krag to be an active participant in the development of the rifle which later became known as the Krag-Jørgensen.