Post by bluedot on Mar 10, 2018 20:31:14 GMT -5
Well, I had a lot of windshield time today. 4.5 hours each way and that's if I didn't stop for gas for the truck or for me. LOL Went to a gun show in Ohio to talk to a well known gun restorer to have them take a look at the old German SxS that I picked up at an auction about a month ago. I knew the gun wasn't what the auction house said it was. The "percussion 20 ga" turned out to be a cartridge 16 ga. Most likely 2 1/2" in cartridge length. Made 1880-1890. Metal work is good, no dents/pits and the barrels are factory length.
There was a German Gun Collecting Club there that had a table set up and I learned more from them than from the restorer. But, the guy manning the restoring booth was just a salesman, not a "worker". The part of the scroll work behind the trigger guard that is broken is actually made from horn, not brass like I thought (it lightens up over age color wise). The barrels are a very tight Damascus pattern and will show good highlights when refinished. Both barrels rang true, with one having a slightly dead spot which may mean the rib is slightly loose on that side.
The gun show wasn't open to the "public", it was club members only, but I was escorted back to where I had to go. There were 900 tables set up and I while I didn't walk the show, I didn't see any of the usual crap there. To be a member you have to be sponsored by 2 members, etc., etc.
I have to do some price shopping for getting the stock and splinter forend replaced, I thought the wood price was high, but I might be out of tune with prices too. I know the metalwork is high, but the quality is there, so I'm not complaining about that. Now to start putting more pennies away. LOL
The guy at the club said the gun was a very expensive gun when it was purchased new, and could have been finished in a couple different ways. The gold inlays are still good that are in the barrels, and the steel screws, etc haven't been played with or boogered up. 2 screws inside the forearm are not original, those will be easy to replace, but will take some work since EVERY screw head on it is engraved, even the ones on the inside of the forend. Skeleton butt plate, all engraved along with the screw heads on that too.
When I asked the German Club what the original finish on the gun was, they said it was a number of different finishes. The side plates could have been case colored or platinum plated, or a few other finishes and when I asked what would be period correct, their answer was surprising, but it makes sense. They said if I get it restored, I could do anything I wanted to as long as it was a finish that was available 120 - 140 years ago. "Nobody is alive that knows what the actual finish was, and since it most likely was made to order, color it the way YOU like and it will be correct." He had a point!!!
The biggest reason for picking it up and wanting to get it restored is that there is the possibility that it was made by a long ago relative.
There was a German Gun Collecting Club there that had a table set up and I learned more from them than from the restorer. But, the guy manning the restoring booth was just a salesman, not a "worker". The part of the scroll work behind the trigger guard that is broken is actually made from horn, not brass like I thought (it lightens up over age color wise). The barrels are a very tight Damascus pattern and will show good highlights when refinished. Both barrels rang true, with one having a slightly dead spot which may mean the rib is slightly loose on that side.
The gun show wasn't open to the "public", it was club members only, but I was escorted back to where I had to go. There were 900 tables set up and I while I didn't walk the show, I didn't see any of the usual crap there. To be a member you have to be sponsored by 2 members, etc., etc.
I have to do some price shopping for getting the stock and splinter forend replaced, I thought the wood price was high, but I might be out of tune with prices too. I know the metalwork is high, but the quality is there, so I'm not complaining about that. Now to start putting more pennies away. LOL
The guy at the club said the gun was a very expensive gun when it was purchased new, and could have been finished in a couple different ways. The gold inlays are still good that are in the barrels, and the steel screws, etc haven't been played with or boogered up. 2 screws inside the forearm are not original, those will be easy to replace, but will take some work since EVERY screw head on it is engraved, even the ones on the inside of the forend. Skeleton butt plate, all engraved along with the screw heads on that too.
When I asked the German Club what the original finish on the gun was, they said it was a number of different finishes. The side plates could have been case colored or platinum plated, or a few other finishes and when I asked what would be period correct, their answer was surprising, but it makes sense. They said if I get it restored, I could do anything I wanted to as long as it was a finish that was available 120 - 140 years ago. "Nobody is alive that knows what the actual finish was, and since it most likely was made to order, color it the way YOU like and it will be correct." He had a point!!!
The biggest reason for picking it up and wanting to get it restored is that there is the possibility that it was made by a long ago relative.