Gun Engraving

[Pinfire]

Quote

George Gibbs 12 gauge box lock 1950’s vintage by the barrel address.

George Gibbs 12 gauge box lock 1950’s vintage by the barrel addres

I saw that one, and thought "somebody's going to get a very nice gun." My buying days are over, otherwise I would have jumped on that one!

 

[sillymike]

Melvin,

Really nice scroll works, and by the way, your pictures are much better than what the seller... Nice find!
What's the barrel length/choke on it?

 

[Melvin]

Melvin,

Really nice scroll works, and by the way, your pictures are much better than what the seller... Nice find!
What's the barrel length/choke on it?

28 inch barrels. Right choked .14 and left choked .34. Light modified and full and patterned the same when I tested it. The gun is out of proof as the chambers have been extended from 2 1/2 to 2 3/4. Whoever did the work did an exceptional job and also lengthened and tapered the forcing cones. That should help with excess pressure. I can and do reload lower pressure shells up to 1 1/4 ounce.

 

[sillymike]

This week's contender for different engraving pattern...

 

[the spank]

I never noticed this until today when I took this gun from the safe to give it a wipe down and just admire it a bit. I am curious why it would have what appears to be a small tree or bush engraved under the rear screw of the right side plate but not on the left side plate?

 

[the spank]

This week's contender for different engraving pattern...

I don't much care for that. It looks like carp scales.

 

[Licensed to kill]

I never noticed this until today when I took this gun from the safe to give it a wipe down and just admire it a bit. I am curious why it would have what appears to be a small tree or bush engraved under the rear screw of the right side plate but not on the left side plate? View attachment 855659View attachment 855660

Tough to tell in a small pic but it looks more to me like pitting from corrosion rather than something cut by a graver.

 

[sillymike]

That's H grade?
- Maybe someone started engraving with the wrong pattern (or needed to cover up a mark) ?

Speaking of Lefever, the blending of the action/stock is pretty nice on them

 

[the spank]

Tough to tell in a small pic but it looks more to me like pitting from corrosion rather than something cut by a graver.

It's engraving

 

[the spank]

That's H grade?
- Maybe someone started engraving with the wrong pattern (or needed to cover up a mark) ?

Speaking of Lefever, the blending of the action/stock is pretty nice on them

Yes its an H grade. Pretty nice gun. Feels very solidly built.

 

[straightshooter]

Hard to tell from just one pic, but to my eye it looks like an area where a foreign object nicked the plate repeatedly.

 

[the spank]

Hard to tell from just one pic, but to my eye it looks like an area where a foreign object nicked the plate repeatedly.

This is the photo cropped which gets a bit blurry if I crop it too much but with the naked eye you can see this is chiseled in with what appears to be leaf patterns on branches. I'm wondering if this is some trademark the engraver used to show who he/she was?

 

[sillymike]

How does it go? The devil is in the detail.

Why have this

When you can have this

Sling swivel on a Darne V19, belongs to Ted Schefelbein from doublegunshop

 

[Licensed to kill]

How does it go? The devil is in the detail.

Why have this

When you can have this

Sling swivel on a Darne V19, belongs to Ted Schefelbein from doublegunshop

I like the first one better. While I am all for “details” (or maybe BECAUSE I am into details), IMO, no engraving is better than poor engraving

 

[Pinfire]

How does it go? The devil is in the detail.

Always enjoy your posts, Sillymike, it is good to enjoy the details. I haven't posted here in a while, so let's look at completely unnecessary details, a subject of interest to me.

Gunmaking is a for-profit business, so it always fascinates me when a maker (either the name on the gun or the craftsman doing the shaping/carving/engraving) goes that extra mile to make something beautiful or extra efficient, with that extra time and effort cutting into the profit margin. Why shape things that don't need to be shaped? Why engrave screw heads that will be hidden? Why shape lock bridles into beautiful designs when the client will likely never see them? That extra detail is what elevates fine gunmaking, whether on a provincial gun or a "London Best." Here are a few details that stand out to me.

The ubiquitous underlever, erroneously called a Jones underlever, is part of a beautifully simple mechanical design to hold barrels down against the action bar and snug against the action face. It is inert, meaning you have to do the work of swinging it out, and returning it to its place over the trigger guard bow. How it sits still provides room for embellishment, as with this Birlett & Allen gun:

Some have gone to the trouble of adding a small hole or indent on the trigger guard bow, matching a stud on the underlever, so you feel the lever falling into its rightful place, as with this Joseph Braddell & Son gun:

Or more dramatically, with this Edward Paton:

Creating interesting and extra filing work, instead of a depression, some left a raised stud on the trigger guard bow, to fit into a hollow on the lever itself, as with this William Moore & Co. gun:

But when extra was done, it was usually in the form of a raised edge on the bow, which gives a tactile response to returning the lever, as with this Robert Ringer:

Or this James Woodward:

Or this John Blanch & Son:

Not to be outdone, some put in two clips, as this W C Scott & Son:

And this Theophilus Murcott:

And since I mentioned it at the beginning, here is an attractive bridle, unnecessarily shaped into a teardrop, on this Samuel and Charles Smith gun, with the locks made by Noah Butler:

So let's enjoy the unnecessary detail!

 

[Mike Webb]

German style of engraving seems more in your face than others. Not that they aren't very talented. Personally prefer more understated work. Less is more sometimes.

 

[canvasback]

One of my favorite sort of unnecessary details on a gun is the attachment point for the retractable sling on Manufrance Ideals and some other French guns, including Darne. I checked and don't have a good photo right now but will try to get one later today and post it. A good friend and MF Ideal fanatic used to call it the Admiral's Hat.

 

[Cow Town Bill]

Thanks for the great photos and descriptions, Pinfire. Must have taken a fair pit of time to find those photos in your archives.

 

[sillymike]

Pinfire, beautiful guns! Thanks for sharing.
- I always find it kind of amazing how some firearms makes it through time with nothing more than honest wear...

 

[tiriaq]

Here is an example of earlier English engraving on a first class shotgun. Less ornate than the later patterns. September 1822.