Thank you Brian, very much. I have been given that advice from a couple other friends on another board. The "evidence" is piling up. If a professional gun stocker cannot tell beforehand if an existing btfe could be successfully converted to splinter, I certainly doubt my abilities to.
My desire to have a splinter on the gun in question is strictly aesthetical. It is a pretty restock, well done, and is not a huge beavertail. But, the gun is a 32" barreled A grade that just screams out for a long, ebony tipped forend, IMO. It's just something I "want". It seems that a new forend may be the way to go. I just have my doubts at being able to match wood grain and color with a new piece of wood.
What degree of contact do you try to achieve, along those upper edges, when doing a restock on a splinter f/e?
Here's the gun in question:
Thanks again for the help, and apologies Bruce, if I'm causing the thread to stray too much.