Don Kaas Wood Question

[Bruce Day]

Don, here are a couple of your guns from another post.

You always seem to show great wood straight grip guns and I know that straight grips are hard to find in Parkers. Are these the restocks you sometimes talk about? If so, they are nicely done. And you have these guns for a while, then sell them?

I often have a difficult time telling circassian from claro and sometimes even circassian from black walnut. Any pointers would be appreciated. I know you have discussed the different species before. I believe the top gun is circassian , the bottom black? Then how do you tell circassian from claro if they are cut the same way?

[Don Kaas]

The top gun is done in Juglans regia from Turkey. The bottom gun is done in a rather (too) fancy piece of Juglans Hindsii, "Western Black Walnut" from a wild tree cut in Oregon. I normally would not use the latter type of wood prefering Juglans regia or nigra but I bought it in a lot of blanks and decided to try it. It didn't look nearly as fancy in the blank! Unfortunately, I am about out of usable blanks of pile of French grown Teyssier supplied Juglans regia that I bought from an old gunsmith in the UK 20 years ago-great wood for D grade Parkers. I am also fond of the "franquette" strain of California grown Juglans regia.

Both of these guns were originally pistol grips and their original stocks, fore ends and trigger guards are packed away for the next keeper. Right now, I only have one stocking project in the works, a 3 barrel set 10g Mag and 12g Mag Lindner Daly using one of the last pieces of the French lot.

[Bruce Day]

Don, I am in awe of your wood talents. Thanks.

Abou the best I have is a couple blanks of J. nigra cut from a tree blown down in my back yard. ... its typical G grade figured wood and will take a couple years to dry.

So how would you suggest I go about figuring how to tell Hindsii from nigra and French from Turkish, franquette from whatever? Just look at a lot of blanks?

By the way, both stocks are gorgeous.

[Robin Lewis]

Bruce, I'm with you. Its not easy for me to tell one from another.

I found this on the web and it helped me, a little. http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/hardwoods/exotic_hardwoods/domestic_wood/claro_walnut_lumber/claro_walnut_wood.html
note the selection box on the left, select and compare.

[Eric Eis]

Guys, I am with both of you, sometimes its easy to tell and others....I have no clue..

[Don Kaas]

Like the man said when someone asked him on the street in Manhattan, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? He replied simply. "Practice"...Hindsii is really what is called Claro walnut almost always from California grove trees- bright, lots of banding, often lots of fiddleback, reddish mineral line (not black), colorful and a bit soft with rather open pores, Western black is really just claro (hindsii) specimen grown in the NW often hard to tell from nigra. Eastern Black (nigra) is dark, harder than hindsii and rarely as colorful and almost always comes from east of the Great Plains. (I am looking at hundreds of them out my window now), "English walnut" juglans regia is usually from California, Turkey and "other". Turkish is the finest walnut in the world for gun stocks. California is often a bit softer and brighter with lots of dark mineral lines. It grows all over however. I've had great blanks from even here in Pa. Franquette is just a type of grove grown regia from California that usually evidences a lot of straight parallel tightly packed mineral lines.

If you think of nice classic Winchesters you usually see good examples of feather crotch nigra at its best. For Turkish regia, think high grade Perazzis. For old European regia like the classic Teyssier supplied to the London trade, think Purdey, Holland and Boss guns from the early 20th century. Parker Ds and above (except late Remington nigra stocked guns) have a distinctive look that says I am regia grown west of the Urals. Claro is very easy to spot (think late Browning Superposed)it is the bling covered gangsta of the walnut world. Western black is easy to confuse sometimes with nigra but if someone from CA, WA or OR is selling it as "black walnut" it is almost always hindsii. Bottomline, look at a lot of wood and buy from reliable suppliers if you don't know what you are doing.

[Bruce Day]

Don, thank you for the illuminating response. What I do know is that I will print off your post and keep it in my Parker book. And I don't know what I am doing so rely on reliable suppliers should I ever need wood. Do you have a recommended source for correct Parker higher grade regia?

[Don Kaas]

Luxus and Chiron (hunterbid.com) have some nice Turkish regia. I have bought directly from Turkey as well ( Denili (sp.)) quite a few times. eBay is actually a good place to browse. I have bought a lot of wood off of eBay. When you really look at a lot of D grade + Parkers as many of us have, it is actually remarkable how "modest" most of the wood is compared to modern guns like higher grade Perazzis. You can say the same thing about Purdeys for that matter. However, within reason, when re-stocking a higher grade Parker a little more figure in the butt livens up the their look considerably.

My one pet peeve, (I take that back- I have a menagerie of pet peeves) is when someone restocks a nice D or higher Parker with the wrong wood. G grade can have nigra (most) or regia. Ds and above need regia (unless it is one of the rarer late Remington high grade guns that originally had fancy nigra even then I'd go regia)Having said that there is nothing wrong with putting a plain piece of regia on a VH or lower grade hammer gun if you have one sitting around- you just won't get the red/brown look typical of the nigra stocked factory guns just as you won't get the blonde look typical of most DHs if you use nigra onthem I've been slowing down on the stocking in the past few years...too many guns already. As the Duchess of Windsor is said to have remarked. "You can not be too rich or too thin." but when it comes to a blank of well laid out Juglans regia, it can't be too well seasoned or have too much figure and color. The only problem is good Turkish regia is expensive. I am just an amatuer enthusiastic consumer of gunstock wood. Talk to professional stockers and they will give you the real low down (but do not assume they know anything in particular about Parkers)...

Below is a rather plainish piece of regia (still probably French in origin) put on my 1893 Purdey pigeon gun when Purdey re-stocked it in 1967...

[Bruce Day]

Don, I have saved your comments and advice. Your wood peeve is mine also. I don't mind if somebody intentionally sets out to do a custom Parker.... use whatever wood they want......but if the intent is to restore, I like it to be correct, and that includes wood. We did a true restoration to a DHE Double Trap some years back that is considered a stunning gun now, and it was correct to the last detail. Now I have had a 16 ga CHE in restoration for 2 1/2 years and it will take longer. That gun has Rem factory replacement barrels 28", with narrow tapered rib, factory articulated and matted triggers, and the ugliest crappiest replacement no drop point stock, fat beavertail and garish cyanide striped colors. Donnie Gemmes and I must have poured through 75-100 Turkish walnut blanks before the right one was selected. I pulled out what I thought was correct Parker high grade wood, then Donnie said I was wrong about them all and he selected one and he was dead on. The new splinter forend is made, the stock is close to being finished . I found an original unfinished skeleton butt which will be engraved, and found a stunning forend tip. I am committed to a true restoration on this abused , light, fast 16 C, and its not easy or cheap. I am fortunate to have another 16 C with perfect stock and checkering which can be duplicated side by side.

[Don Kaas]

Donnie is a good man. Unfortunately, the biggest offender in the "wrong wood" catagory were the DelGregos. They bought that load of claro and went to town. For years, many people thought that Meriden Parkers actually were supposed to look like that...and then there was the cyanide case coloring...but they were (are) the experts...they had to make a living too...

[Bruce Day]

That's exactly where my Claro wood, no drop points, striped 16 C came from. It ended up with Galazan, who sold it for way too much on the basis it was a 16 C. The owner tried to sell it, the gun stagnated, and I acquired it in a trade for a nice 16 Model 21 that I had for many years. I'll have money in the gun, but far less than comparable market 16 C's and the gun will be correct . I'll just have spent a long time at it and a lot of effort putting it together.

[Robert Delk]

A good place to see several varieties of California grown wood is the seller "quaking aspens" on ebay. They have a couple of other links to more stock blanks on their ebay site also.Very good wood.

[Robert Delk]

Almost forgot. Check out "Roger Vardy Rifles and Stock wood" he's in Australia and cuts some fantastic wood and shows great pictures on his website. Good wood is where you find it I guess.Just 'Google" the name and it should show up.