Making them look untouched
 

The owner of this DH wanted the checkering recut.

Pointing everything up to be like new would just not fit in with the surrounding finishes, which were original and showing signs of age and use.

A very careful job was done of cleaning and deepening each line so that the end result is one that does not suggest any work was done. It looks like it wore that way with use over the years. But it is much better than before.

The hinge pin screw was also very buggered up so it was replaced with a good used one. and properly timed.

My goal with work like this is for me to be able to casually see the gun years later and not recognize that I worked on it. It has happened a few times, and I love it when it does.

Before

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After

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Nice Brian, you did this for me a while back on a GHE which turned out just fine. I call it "refreshing" which still retains some of the patina left on the gun from scratches, bumps, etc. but does'nt look refinished.

Nice work Brian. Your mullered borders are as good as any I have seen, and better than most.

It is nice to see a used gun that still has the 'worn flat' diamonds in parts of the grip area - the sharp pyramids are just so out of place on an otherwise used gun.... IMHO.





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Real sweet. That's a great idea and approach and you had a perfect candidate with that that DH. Nice work !!

Simply put, well done!

The work that Brian did is an indicator of his skil and attention to detail. I hate to see recut checkering on an old gun that looks brand new and has all the diamonds pointed up, which is incorrect for a Parker. I do the checkering on old guns the way Brian does, but I do put a bit of "patina" color on using a tooth brush. It's good to kmow there artisans out there like Brian who do work that is historically correct and matches the overall condition of the gun.

Actually, I don't know of any other artisans that have Brian's insight and skills. My hat is off to him. He is a breath of fresh air.

A couple of years ago I sent Brian a Parker VH 16 Gauge on a 0 Frame with a stock that was a basket case. Cracked at the wrist with a very poorly fitted replacement over sized butt plate. The finish on the stock was all but gone. When he sent the gun back to me I could not believe my eyes. He had fixed the stock, re-fashioned the butt and installed a perfectly fitting butt-plate, gently re-cut the checkering and put a nice, what i call a "hunter finish" on the stock leaving some marks that were there. The gun looked "right" in every respect.

Not to detract from the nice work Brian does but you really need to examine more guns worked on by the likes of Brian Board, David Trevallion, “The Stock Doctor”, and of course one of my most favorites, Chris Dawe.

These are just the ones off the top of my mind at the moment - there are others.




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There are great one's out there of course other than Brain. Turnbull restores guns to new and probably the others too. Although, I'm sure that they will do "untouched" if you ask them. Brian seems to have an affinity for untouched, which is what I like and admire. Turnbull does great work, but a 100 year old gun restored to new doesn't look right to me. Its a bit out of place in my perspective which is why I would never buy a fully restored gun by anyone. To each his own, but I like guns to look like they were cared for but not brand spanking new.