Early Parker case colors

[Dean Freeman]

I'm wondering what the ballpark is on an full engraving touch up and re-case hardening job. I'm not looking for a price, I simply want opinions on a range I can expect to pay for this type of work. I have a GH 16 0 frame I recently purchased for my wife. The metal was "cleaned" by someone with a bench grinder brush and no idea as to the crime they were committing. The metal is fine and all engraving is present, but the engraving is thin and needs to be reworked. I'm sending the bbls to be re-browned and am thinking of going ahead and giving this old beater the treatment. I'd like my wife to have a beautiful gun she can be proud of, and that she can call her own. I'd also like to get her hooked on collecting Parker guns so we can blissfully walk down the road to bankruptcy hand in penniless hand.

[Kensal Rise]

Originally Posted by Dean Freeman

I'm wondering what the ballpark is on an full engraving touch up and re-case hardening job... so we can blissfully walk down the road to bankruptcy hand in penniless hand.

A prescient sentiment. To clean up the engraving, it is necessary to anneal the steel bits. Then polish. Then engrave. Then re-harden. Then hard-fit. Then write a series of very big cheques!

It would be cheaper to simply buy another gun, I'm afraid. But love knows few bounds...

[Dean Freeman]

Originally Posted by Dean Freeman

I'm wondering what the ballpark is on an full engraving touch up and re-case hardening job. I'm not looking for a price, I simply want opinions on a range I can expect to pay for this type of work. I have a GH 16 0 frame I recently purchased for my wife. The metal was "cleaned" by someone with a bench grinder brush and no idea as to the crime they were committing. The metal is fine and all engraving is present, but the engraving is thin and needs to be reworked. I'm sending the bbls to be re-browned and am thinking of going ahead and giving this old beater the treatment. I'd like my wife to have a beautiful gun she can be proud of, and that she can call her own. I'd also like to get her hooked on collecting Parker guns so we can blissfully walk down the road to bankruptcy hand in penniless hand.

The question still stands...

[Dean Romig]

Suggest you contact someone like Brad Bachelder or Doug Turnbull or any of a short number of craftsmen whose business is in total restorations of fine guns as well as any lesser refinishing jobs.
Asking the folks here will get you a myriad of different opinions and answers, none of which are necessarily a reflection of what kind of actual quote you will get from one of the gentlemen referenced in the above paragraph.

[Bill Murphy]

Doug is a friend, but he charged me $200 to reengrave a VH Parker that had been previously reengraved by a talented engraver. I protested, but ended up paying the freight. Maybe you could contact someone who is less motivated by the bottom line.

[Dean Freeman]

I was hoping to avoid troubling an already too busy craftsman, but it would appear easier to get a straight answer by going that route. I'll ask that no more responses be made to my query. All apologies for hijacking this thread.

[Dean Romig]

Dean, they will generally have a menu of the services they provide, with prices, on their websites.

[Dean Freeman]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Dean, they will generally have a menu of the services they provide, with prices, on their websites.

Tried this with Doug's website; everything was "call for quote", which is what brought me back to the forum. I'll call Brian D. Brad B. or Doug T. Between the three of them I'm sure I'll get the answers I need. They are never too busy to answer a question and always seem eager to help folks out on the forum.

For the record, the only reason I didn't go this route in the first place is that I feel as though I'm being a bit annoying or troublesome when I ask someone for a quote on services for which I may have no intention of securing. I'd prefer a "round" number for these purposes, so I can simply decide if I can afford them or not. Anyway, I suppose it's best to go straight to the horses mouth in these instances.

[Dean Romig]

Yes they are quite cordial and always willing to help.
I know Brad does all this work 'in house' and I believe Brian outsources some of this work.

[B. Dudley]

Prices for case coloring is pretty much set by most shops that do the work. I know Turnbull is $275 to color w polished action. And that price just recently increased from $250.

The big variable in your gun is the amount of polishing and touching up that the engraving needs. That would be impossible to accurately quote without seeing the job.

Another thing to note is that your engraving may not need any taking up. I have had frames that I thought needed recutting, but after annealing, the year's worth of crud got burned out of the engraving and it was actually in good shape and not needing recut.