Damascus color

[Jack Cronkhite]

This is off GA today. Black and white is more typically seen. Is brown and white aging, re-finshed browning, or.......?

http://www.gunsamerica.com/userimages/5449/968414540/pop_wm_1857985.jpg

[Bill Bates]

Sure looks like refinished browning to me, along with sanded refinished wood and re-case colored. Also, slightly underexposed, along with oversatured and warm colors in the photo. I wonder how it really looks in person??

[Leighton Stallones]

Definitely a rebrown by someone who doesn't know that black and white is correct.
and wrong refinish color on the stock also.

[Jack Cronkhite]

So.... did Parker ever do a browning process, maybe on request or were all factory damascus guns black and white when they were sent out?? Thanks, Jack

[Dean Romig]

I mostly agree with Bill and Leighton but I don't think we can rule out the brown or plum color we see on some plain twist, laminated, and stub twist barrels that have not been refinished and in the case of this one http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=27&pictureid=169 which is 'as new'.

[Leighton Stallones]

Dean,
With that Monkeytail lever on the one you posted, I believe that dates it mid 80's. I have five Parker Hammerguns dating from 1874 to 1887 and all are black-white. I believe from appearances the gun you posted looks like the bbls have been refinished. What do you think?

[Dean Romig]

Dean,
With that Monkeytail ( excuse me? :eek: ) lever on the one you posted, I believe that dates it mid 80's. I have five Parker Hammerguns dating from 1874 to 1887 and all are black-white. I believe from appearances the gun you posted looks like the bbls have been refinished. What do you think?

Leighton, I think that's not a correct guess....

Oh, and a bad guess on the year too... it's 1892.

[Larry Frey]

I'm sure no expert on Damascus barrels but have read that all Parker Damascus was originally black and white. That being said it makes sense that with age the iron and steel would oxidize which should result in a brownish (rust) color such as on Deans example.

[Dean Romig]

Larry, it's been a while since you saw the gun so I'll just bring it to Addieville and you'll see it is a pleasant 'plum' color, not brownish (rust) like Jessie Bishop's Damascus DHE 28 ga.

[Robin Lewis]

Dean,

I'll be in Addieville and look forward to checking it out too. I'll bring my own shellls so I don't impose on your generosity. RST's, I hear they can improve my shooting. Are the paper shells OK?

[Larry Frey]

Dean,
I didn't imply your gun was rusted but that exposure to the elements would cause a natural color change over time to a more brownish hue. The gun below also has a brownish tint to it.

[Dean Romig]

Dean,

I'll be in Addieville and look forward to checking it out too. I'll bring my own shellls so I don't impose on your generosity. RST's, I hear they can improve my shooting. Are the paper shells OK?


Stop Robin, you're killin' me... :biglaugh:

[Jack Cronkhite]

So, if a person were to pick up a barrel set that had been "browned", is it a simple matter or a complicated matter to have them returned to black and white?

[Ed Blake]

I don't know if you could take brown/white barrels and simply boil them to get a black finish, and then etch. You'd probably have to strip off the finish and do them over. Those case colors look hideous.

[Chuck Heald]

This is off GA today. Black and white is more typically seen. Is brown and white aging, re-finshed browning, or.......?

http://www.gunsamerica.com/userimages/5449/968414540/pop_wm_1857985.jpg

Refinished top to bottom, just from the look of all the surfaces, IMO. Even so, I've not heard of browned barrels on a hammerless Parker.

[Bill Murphy]

This is not a professionally or correctly refinished Parker.

[Russ Jackson]

So, if a person were to pick up a barrel set that had been "browned", is it a simple matter or a complicated matter to have them returned to black and white?

Jack; Very simple ,Just send them to Dale Edmonds !:)

[Ed Blake]

I swear I think that gun has a flat rib.

[Bob Brown]

This one is an 1894 0 grade hammer gun with laminated barrels. According to the letter it was sent back to Parker for rebrowning in 1902/03. I don't recall the year off hand but based on the condition I don't think it saw much use after that. The picture doesn't show it very well but the barrels have a brownish look to them. I was going for the pattern rather than colour in the photo.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l276/Northof58/Parker1893lamstbarrelbottom.jpg