Gun Engraving
- Thread starter Stephen Nash
- Start date
Licensed to kill
CGN Regular
- Location
- Peace Country Alberta
Don’t know if this is the place for this but……, rummaging through some stuff the other day I came across a practice plate that I did about 20 years ago. So, I did this particular panel to make a point. So, tell me, which side looks better and why? 
Left-hand side. I'm slightly bothered that the right-hand side touches the edge. But I also like that both sides are not exactly the same, a nice human touch. That said, this would be a super engraving (maybe on a rifle magazine plate?), and would be a gun I would display with pride. Great artwork translated into engraving!
Leavenworth
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lowermainland B.C.
These pictured firearms are very intricate !
I’m wondering about something not on the firearms pictured but on a Ithica Featherweight 12 Guage that one side of the engraving is deminished due to me having it reblued ( dumb move ) . Would someone be able to fix that engraving ?
I’m wondering about something not on the firearms pictured but on a Ithica Featherweight 12 Guage that one side of the engraving is deminished due to me having it reblued ( dumb move ) . Would someone be able to fix that engraving ?
If I’m not mistaken, the pattern on a Ithaca M37 is roll-stamped on the receiver, not hand engraved. Yes, caustic blueing can diminish the pattern of any type of engraving. I suppose the pattern could be refreshed through hand engraving, but I’m not sure it would look good on a blued receiver, as it would scrape down to bare metal — what the blueing is intending to cover. You might have to live with how it is now. The M37 is a great gun, one I’m quite fond of. Very under-appreciated (especially in 16).
Leavenworth
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lowermainland B.C.
I relay screwed up having that blueing done ! I’m very attached to the shotgun as it was my first pump shotgun ,it came to me used by an older fella I worked with . He was telling me about the shotgun and what he wanted for it . Well I cant remember what the original asking price was but for a few weeks he kept dropping the price without me haggling . We settled on a price then he brought it to work and said just give me $20.00
He included some shells and cleaning kit and an old clay pigeon thrower
Great guy ! This was when I was 18 I’m 70 now
Yeah, I get it. My first M37 fell into my hands 46 years ago. There are few things in life that potentially can last a lifetime. Sadly I sold the gun, at a time when I needed the money more than a gun, something else that can happen when we're young. I eventually bought another some 10 years ago, but after a few years I sold that one as well. I have no excuse for that one, other than collecting priorities that erase reason. It also didn't have the personal history of the first one, which can't be replaced. I have other guns that are approaching the 50-year ownership mark, and I will not make the mistake of seeing those go before I do.
The rolled engraving on the M37 is simple and somewhat naive in style, but I like it. It is a style unto itself, which is very different from the simple floral engraving of the 18th and early 19th centuries, the elaborate hand engraving of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the modern laser-engraved patterns of the 21st century that dominate modern guns. Another pump I hold in high esteem, and that is possibly equal to the Ithaca M37 in design brilliance, is the Remington Model 31. It lacks any decorative engraving, which has its own charm. Of course, such large, flat surfaces offer many possibilities for custom engraving, though I've never seen a custom-engraved one firsthand.
The engraving style on most American guns over the past 200 years is simple, especially compared to European tastes and engraving skill. As social objects, North American guns served a different purpose: as meat-getters rather than expressions of wealth, social standing, and hierarchy. Nobody wears a tailored suit in a duck blind!
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Just thinking out loud, but wouldn't the most damaged to the engraving be done in the prep. prior to the blueing? One could have the engraving cleaned up while in the white, then have it blued, and the impact shouldn't be noticeable (I think)
And since this is a picture thread
- I'm usually not a fan of game scene... But I'm liking what J.M. Smet did to this Francotte
And since this is a picture thread
- I'm usually not a fan of game scene... But I'm liking what J.M. Smet did to this Francotte
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"Admittedly, the U.S. market for finely engraved firearms was never as large as the European one. However, master engravers like Louis Daniel Nimschke created exquisite pieces for Winchester and Colt. Remington also offered an impressive selection of engraving grades inspired by Nimschke’s style."
