Explain how either style can be identified as original or recent.

Maybe Josh could tell us what they were describing.

Here's a picture of my Trojan barrel flats and the area under the fore end. I see some fine linier marks if that's what they were talking about. What does the
HT/A mean?

Attachment 140337

Attachment 140338

Look at the breech face of the barrels Craig posted in post #4 of this thread. That is what Josh was talking about.
It is generally accepted that HT over A signifies Heat Treated- Annealed.

I could have sworn that the original post stated “strike marks at END of barrels”. Bot with the word BREECH in there. Maybe I missed it, maybe it was edited after originally posted.

So, given that, my assumption would be that the auction description is in fact talking about the polished rays on the breech face as Craig posted a great photo of. As this is a normal treatment on graded parker when made new. And it is on the BREECH end or face.

The issue with the wording of the description is using the word “strike”. As that treatment on the breech face is not striking. Striking is the operation of rough shaping the tubes to profile through draw filing. Striking marks on barrel tubes would be what I desceibed and showed photos of earlier.

The treatment of the striped rays on the breech face is something that I am not entirely sure the name of. I used to think it was called broaching, but that is technically a machining term for something different. Some just call it striping when the polished lines are vertical and evenly spaced.

I have gone back and looked at the Guyette & Deeter auction and several of the gun descriptions mention the strike marks. It's not about high grade guns, but high condition guns. There are several VH Parkers where the term is used such as the following.

https://bid.guyetteanddeeter.com/lot...grade-16-gauge

When I say graded, I mean not trojans. I do not think the breech treatment was done of trojans. But I could be mistaken.

Brian, I totally respect your opinion, but I still would like to hear from Josh L. about what this term means. I think it something that is possibly present on any gun that has been used very little.

I've seen them on some English guns, not radial but vertical. They are sometimes described as milling or machining marks.

I don't know the specifics of what grades of Parkers "file marks" were present from factory. That said, these marks are typical on English guns. Jack Rowe, an English gunsmith, shows how they are applied in his videos on Youtube. The one I remember was with he and Larry Potterfield showing how to tighten up an action. he then re-applied the file marks.

The marks are applied by wrapping a metal file with fine grit sandpaper and filing across the breech face with the file on edge. It is a cosmetic procedure. Certainly is not emprical proof that a gun has not been used much as Jack Rowe performed the same application in a few minutes on a gun which needed to be tightened.

As for Josh's explanation in the auction bill, I believe this is what he is describing. Whether it means anything as to useage, is likely more opinion and other variables should be taken into account for condition/useage.