New to the Parker World ... Seeking experienced answers on a repeated thread avenue .

[Bobby Turner]

Have a hammerless double in hand ... I have looked at the charts and tables and I can't seem to match markings of the gun to the tables ... no experience there in this manufactures realm ... Any ID help would be appreciated ... Thanks in advance ...

Fore Grip Mechanism stamp ...
Barrel Markings
Rib Stamp

[Patrick Lien]

GHE 12ga

[Mills Morrison]

You have what appears to be a 12 gauge GHE in very respectable condition.

[Dean Romig]

With what appears to be the original Silvers butt pad... and unfortunately somebody was pretty ham-fisted when he ignored the fact that his screwdriver didn't fit the screw slots...

and the stock head appears to be badly cracked.





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[David Holes]

I think he asked for ID help, not an attack on condition

[Bill Murphy]

4 pounds, 5 ounces unstruck barrel weight. Walter King, WK, someone will tell you what his job was at the factory. "D" for Damascus barrel steel, also stamped on the rib. #2 frame size. Someone will finish up.

[Dean Romig]

Up until the death of his father, plant superintendent Charles A. King in 1910, Walter King was Parker Bros.' barrel inspector/finisher.

D with a 3 above is 3-iron crolle Damascus with a pre-struck weight of 4 lbs., 5 oz.
The 2 stamped on the lug is the frame size. 2 was the most common frame size for 12 gauge Parkers.

We don't know what the C signifies, don't know what the S signifies and don't know what the 3 7 is for.






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[John Knobelsdorf II]

Price & Fjestad, Parker gun serialization list (at page 406) for 142931 tells us to expect: 30” barrels.

[Bobby Turner]

I think he asked for ID help, not an attack on condition

That's O.K. - I do restorations on old guns ... I am very used to every flaw being pointed out ... lol

Wasn't me that cranked it too tight ...

2 More questions if I may ...

What was the factory finish for the Damascus barrels ?

and

Was the Receiver and Trigger Plate Color Case Hardened on these Grade 2 guns ? ... I have seen pictures both ways but have not been able to find a definitive spec to say one way or the other ...

[Dean Romig]

Tha Damascus barrels were originally finished in black & white. Frame, trigger plate (floor plate) buttplate screws, frame screws, forend iron and latch, and forend tip were all color case hardened.





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[Bruce Day]

The Parker Story is a must for any Parker enthusiast and contains answers to your questions.

Color case hardening was bone charcoal method, not cyanide.

[Bobby Turner]

The Parker Story is a must for any Parker enthusiast and contains answers to your questions.

Color case hardening was bone charcoal method, not cyanide.

Thank you sir ...

[Bruce Day]

The trigger guard was niter blued so that it comes out a hard shiny blue black.

The Damascus browning is a dirty and lengthy process and hard to get right. They can come out murky and a person ends up doing it over until he gets it right or gives up.

The bone charcoal case coloring is harder still to get right. Many have tried, most fall short. However if a person can master Parker restoration correctly , collectors will beat a path to his door. The frame can be warped and ruined . No cyanide , no torch and oil , no bluing, no shoddy chemical wipe ons.

Good luck. Sincerely. We need more good gunsmiths.

[Bobby Turner]

The trigger guard

...

no shoddy chemical wipe ons.

Good luck. Sincerely. We need more good gunsmiths.

No Gunsmith here ... lol ... Just a R E D N E C K Restorer out here on the High Plains of Texas ... Do a lot of bringing Great Grand Dads, Grand Dad's, Dad's or whoever's old guns back from the grave ... Don't do restorations back to original but back to aesthetically pleasing and functional ...

Making a decision here on whether or not I want to take this PB on ... the information I am gathering is for the owner who has really no idea what he has ... I am needing to give the owner all of the pertinent facts so he can make an informed decision as to how he wants to proceed ...

I do appreciate everyone's help in this ... this is one of the things I really like about restoring old guns ... the history lessons and the education that goes along with the research ...

[Bruce Day]

We have a couple Parker guys in Amarillo.

[Bobby Turner]

We have a couple Parker guys in Amarillo.

Good to know SIR ...

[William McClintock]

And what may I ask does a D 4 mean?

Thanks!

Up until the death of his father, plant superintendent Charles A. King in 1910, Walter King was Parker Bros.' barrel inspector/finisher.

D with a 3 above is 3-iron crolle Damascus with a pre-struck weight of 4 lbs., 5 oz.
The 2 stamped on the lug is the frame size. 2 was the most common frame size for 12 gauge Parkers.

We don't know what the C signifies, don't know what the S signifies and don't know what the 3 7 is for.






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[Dean Romig]

D 4 is stamped on the forward section of the right barrel flat and signified Damascus 4-iron crolle.

D4 in the GRA column (grade) of the serialization book indicated a Grade 4 with Damascus barrels





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[Mark Britton]

The trigger guard was niter blued so that it comes out a hard shiny blue black.

The Damascus browning is a dirty and lengthy process and hard to get right. They can come out murky and a person ends up doing it over until he gets it right or gives up.

The bone charcoal case coloring is harder still to get right. Many have tried, most fall short. However if a person can master Parker restoration correctly , collectors will beat a path to his door. The frame can be warped and ruined . No cyanide , no torch and oil , no bluing, no shoddy chemical wipe ons.

Good luck. Sincerely. We need more good gunsmiths. I hate to disagree with you Mr Day but what I think we need is LESS bad gunsmiths

[Bobby Turner]

I need to clarify and and nail this down for certain ... Could I have some informed help PLEASE ... Thanks in advance for your help ...

12 gauge GHE
https://parkerguns.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=106230&d=1650298397


Metal -

Receiver ... Finish ? and associated screws
Release Lever ... Finish ?
Safety Switch ... Finish ?



Trigger Plate ... Finish ? and associated screws
Fore Grip Insert ... Finish ? and associated screws
Trigger Guard ... Finish ?
Triggers ... Finish ?



Barrel ... Finish ?


Furniture -

Stock Checkering - 22 LPI ?

[Dean Romig]

Bobby - Are you asking how these parts should be refinished or are you asking how they were originally finished or are you asking what the consensus is of the condition of the existing finish??





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[Bobby Turner]

Need to know what was the original finish for each part ...

Guy is wanting to go back with original ... have a place to do the Charcoal CCH and the Browning ...

He is is also considering sanding off the original checkering and replacing with exact replica ( have a lady with 35 years experience in the industry that does that for me when I need such - she is wonderful) ... some of the checkering is basically gone and there is quite a bit of damage inside the checkering panels ...

Not trying to back to a classic and exact restore ... Dad's and Granddad's old gun ... he is just wanting to get it back to "an original look" ... $$$$ value being affected is not a concern here ...

Apologies to the Purist out there who see this as sacrilege ...

Appreciate your note back on clarification ...

[Bobby Turner]

In the process of prepping the metal ... taking out any dents, donks, dinks and scratches possible.

The Butt Stock has been stripped and all of the flaws repaired. Had 3 different breaks and cracks that needed attention. With that done it is ready for the final sanding and prep after the replacement of the Butt Pad ... the semi accurate replacement generic butt pads are not quite a perfect fit - gonna be some challenges there ...

This is gonna be a fun ride ...

[Bobby Turner]

Just a "Thank You" to everyone that chimed in ...

The checkering was so worn (no relief at all in a large %) and so damaged inside the panels the owner made the decision to refinish the wood and have the checkering redone ... so that process has been started - wood has been stripped - repaired - checkering removed (this is always such a fun chore • remove the checkering and stain damage it has caused • remove as little wood as possible • keep the proper line and flow of the surface • and prepare as pristine a surface as you can for the new checkering to be applied) - one app of finish applied and the furniture has been shipped off to a professional with over 35 years experience to do the work.

The barrels were pretty beat up with a multitude of scratches, dents and pitting. All of this damage that could be mitigated was repaired and the barrels prepped and polished to be refinished ... barrels will be going out to be redone by a professional shop.

The other metal had it's problems also with damage and pitting ... one of which was the damage done to the screws ... Owner was adamant about keeping the originals if they could be made to work ... nothing wrong with them functionally - just kinda butt ugly. An attempt to repair all of the damage that could be repaired to the rest of the metal parts without disturbing or obliterating the engraving was done ... These parts - short the Trigger Guard and the specific screws for it - will be going out for CCH ... charcoal process ...

So now we are in a waiting mode for everything to come back ... most likely going to be in the 5 - 7 month range ...

This restoration is a purists nightmare I am sure - but this is what the owner wants to do ... he was made aware of all his options ... so it ends up this Redneck Restorer is going see what we can do for him in the long run ...

Again thanks to all - you were a big help ...