Parker stock colors

[edgarspencer]

I have two guns purchased by my dad from Parker in Meriden. One has a glossier finish which I presume to be shellac. The other has an oiled finish. Neither have had their checked panels darkened in any artificial manner. I have always believed that checkering darkens from being handled and because of the very small cross section of the individual diamonds. In my opinion, darkened checked panels on a lighter stock look like my Aunt's Daisy, or a Nylon 66.

This gun had it's checkering seriously buggered, and is just back to me from North of the border, getting the checkering tidied up. I deliberately took a couple of the pictures of the gun on one of my American walnut boxes, which has had a dark walnut stain, and 4 coats of tongue oil. This was freshly sawn and planed new wood. The stock has no stain on any part of it, just a nice oiled finish. I am trying to show that there's walnut, and there's walnut. Some of it needs a darkening stain, and a good quality old gun stock may not need any artificial coloring