What Damasus pattern do you like best?
 

Damascus patterns are so beautiful and interesting compared to steel barrels. The high grade Parkers were made with DD fine+ Damascus barrels and they are beautiful. But I like the Twist barrels on Parker PH's best. The contrast between the black and white on high condition twist barrels is spectacular. Bernard barrels are a tie for first. What say you?

Laminated barrels are third place, Bernard 2nd, and parker made laminated first

Mine are twist,Bernard,than gh. after that they get to fine and I can't see much contrast. OK ,With my old eyes:)

DH, GH, They are all nice. I agree that the contrast on the twist barrels on the PH are hard to beat.

The plain Damascus patterns on GH and DH Parkers are so common that they get overlooked

Bernard is attractive, but it's the chain damascus I see on Elsies and Lefevers that gets me going.

Photo lifted from one of Mark Ouellette's albumns. Thanks Mark! :bigbye:

For Parker patterns, Bernard is my personal favorate followed by Laminated.

They are all awesome in my book. If I have to rate them I would pick Bernard #1 followed by P-Laminated like this on a Grade-2 lifter below.

is it Stars and stripes? Etoille? or Amercian bunting on Remington '94s. Chain on Elsies, and what looks like laminated on H and Rs. All are nice and the varying patterns are spectacular.

The hard labor and incredible skill in being able to repeat the uniformity and beauty in each and every tube just blows me away.

Laminated Steel barrels made by Parker Bros. in those three years of barrel production, 1877, 78, and '79 are probably my favorite. I wonder how many were made with those barrels... we'll never know, I'm sure.
Charlie Herzog has a couple of Parkers with the extremely rare American Flag Bunting and if I am not mistaken, the "Terrell" gun as well. Absolutely amazing!!






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I like the contrast in a set of barrels with two different patterns. A good set of Damascus barrels just make fluid steel look so plain. My favorite Parkers are the Damascus barreled ones.

barrels
 

I am a fan of all composite barrels, but I like Bernard first, DD Damascus 2nd, and Laminated 3rd, and then twist, and other Dam2 barrels, these are Bernard Barrels on a grade 3 hammer gun, the only grade 3 I have seen with them, Gary

just too many to chose from - and they all look great

i do like the twist

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...pictureid=7429

but you also have to be impressed with the barrel maker's ability to keep a tight even pattern in a damascus barrel (one of these days I'll get this one refinished - i think it will pop)

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...pictureid=8062

i would love to see all the differant pattern of these barrels setting together in a rack as they left the factory what a sight that would be..i cannot choose which one i like best.....charlie
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I can honestly say that I've never seen a set of damascus that I did'nt like. The minor variations are what make them all beautiful to me. I like them all.

Charlie hit the nail on the head. Original factory finish in any composite pattern is beautiful and hard to believe as old as they are. A rack full of a dozen high condition original guns would be outstanding. Those who attend double gun shoots see some like racks, but maybe not all very high condition.

Not a rack, but....

16ga.

I consider these as a poor mans bernard

I find the 'straight' lines of non-Damascus composite barrels to be less interesting and more 'grade school' than the 'swirling' patterns of a Damascus barrel.

Leaving perhaps Bernard Steel out of the discussion, Parker considered Damascus to be superior to Laminated/Twist/Stub etc. You don't see many Twist Steel A grades floating around.

Yup David, Laminated Steel - very nice.


Actually, Laminated Steel is considered one of the strongest composites and this is supported by British burst tests.

Parker Bros. used their own, in-house made Laminated Steel on higher grades, though I have seen them on Grade 2 guns.


Here is a Grade 3 of mine with Parker Bros. Laminated Steel barrels. It is due for a restoration. Quite obvious is the wrong hammer on the right side, but there are worse problems.

Serial no. of this Grade 3 is 14056 and was made in 1879, the last year in which Parker Bros. made their own barrels.


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I really love any Damascus barrel but the pattern on my GH sure holds a special spot in my heart.

http://m1.i.pbase.com/o2/10/209910/1...arrelmark1.jpg

They are all nice, but here are my to favorite.

This is the nicest I ever owned, Laminated on a lifter. I know it doesn't look it but all three pictures are of the same gun, better photos would help but ... best I can do.

I know that gun Robin and I believe the barrels are of Parker Bros. manufacture too. Do you recall the serial number? If I recall correctly, the P stamp is absent from the right barrel flat but the year of manufacture is more of a 'dead giveaway'.






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in the strengh of the barrels excluding fluid steel in the strengh test just a while back wasnt the stub rwist one of the strongest and plain steel was way up there in strengh...all of the guns shown are just the best....charlie

I think the number is 11413

I like them all. A suggestion: A display of Damascus, twist and laminated barrels at a shoot. Just put your gun in a rack for for a few hrs at a shoot so everyone everyone to see the beauty of the various barrels ( Parker, Elsie, Fox, Remington, LeFeaver). Mike's shoot in September?

Not a Parker, but nice chain link pattern on my Ithaca grade 3 Lewis from 1905.

Yes, I think you're right Robin. An L4 and in the right serial range too.





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I'm with Wild Skies!! I have "Chain J" on an 1895 vintage BE-Grade Remington Hammerless Double that is my favorite.

I'm weighing in. I like twist the best with it's dark and light contrasts, but I like stub twist better.
The whole process in making the barrels was pure magic. What skill and hard work to make them. They are so under appreciated and misunderstood. I recently had hold of a Hollenbeck Three Barrel drilling...16 x 16 x 25-25. It's not a Parker, but that gun was spectacular. The damascus was breathtaking.

Here's a nice example of dark and light contrast. Bernard barrels refinished by Dale Edmonds.

The Stub Twist barrels I've shown before. They are on a 20 gauge lifter.



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Wish I had better pictures . . .

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psh6a69vhj.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psitknrzaj.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...psn4qdknbr.jpg

Bill, what name is that in the Damascus?

Oh, I see it now - it's the Terrell gun. Is it yours?




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Nice gun Dean! gary

It used to be Dean, many years ago. Yep, it's the Terrell gun. Traded it for some dandy Fox's. I owned the gun from June of 1981 to August of 1987.

And wish I had taken better pictures of the gun. Digital photography wasn't around then and I struggled with standard film to get what I got (?)

I'm sure the new owner will give you excellent pictures if you ask him.





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Pictures were requested as part of the deal but I didn't get any pictures. Probably too late now to make a request thru the ownership chain.

I'm hoping I/we might see the gun in print someday.

I like that idea Carl and will bring a couple of mine to the Rock. If we can get a few of our members to do the same we could have a really nice display.

This thread has thrown me into a quandary. I have several Damascus barreled guns and they are truly wonderful works of art. I have a CHE Damascus 20 that is still all original save for the replacement of the aged Silvers pad which was literally crumbling before my eyes. This is one of only 8 CHE 20's with 26 inch Damascus barrels but the barrels have taken on a lackluster silver finish as the pattern has all but faded away. I think they would really pop if refinished but she's only original once as they say. So what's the consensus refinish them and enjoy the beauty or leave them as is?