A question regarding wood-specifically relating to color
 

Now I have been hanging around here since 2013 or so and have tried to soak up a lot of knowledge. The more I learn the more I find I need to learn.

What I am currently interested in is the great variety of difference in color of wood on Parker. Some of this is related to age, use, grain, quality, grade, condition, finish etc.


But some guns have a stock that looks brand new but has a very brown finish/color to it whereas another gun of similar vintage and grade had a stock that almost glows red.

Is this just differences in Wood over time of production? Or is the really strong red color not correct or is it more a fact of the individual selling the guns having very good pictures?






I will post example of what I mean below:

The type of finish used on a stock can have a drastic effect on what the color of the wood will be like.

In my opinion, The top gun pictured has likely been restocked (butt only). it is way too red to be original finish. The "look" of the wood is just too new to be original. Also, look at the difference between the butt and forend in both finish and the wood itself. Not the same.
That stock was likely stained to get that red of a color or the species of wood is doing it, or a combo of both. A few other slight things about form also suggest a restock to me.

The bottom stock appears to be original wood and original finish.

I believe it is says it a refinish or whatever on his website, I just didn't know if that was an authentic color or if it was too much. He has,several that have a very red color to them.

I believe it depends largely on when the gun was manufactured, the finish used, and the condition of the gun in question. I have seen Remington era Parkers that are entirely original, high condition guns with the red finish. I thing they are exceptionally nice looking. This is not to say that different colored wood and possibly lower condition guns aren't just as nice in their own way...

Here is one sent to me by a member a couple of years ago - Remington era DHE in high original condition.


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And there you have two opinions.





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Having experience with many Parker's including one my father purchased from Puglisi (about 3 years ago), I can tell you for a fact it is a gunsmith that Puglisi uses that must use a red stain. Although the gun my father bought is beautiful it is not restocked, but clearly refinished and it is that exact red. I have since noticed that in all of Puglisi's pictures where the guns are refinished they are that exact color. It certainly does not look bad, but it is not Parker and as my knowledge has grown over the past few years every Parker I have seen that color is from Puglisi. You will also notice when the barrels have been redone by this same gunsmith that they are way too black and it has been done by a hot bluing process that melts solder. You will be able to see the missing solder at the front of the barrels. Once you have studied and owned one of these guns, it is brutally obvious and if you are a purist you will be disappointed. I hope this helps someone in the future.

Not that some walnut cannot be reddish in color or be made that way through finish alone, but there are a good amount of people using that "winchester red" stain on parkers when refinishing for some reason.

Austin Hogan wrote an article for Parker Pages on Parker stock finishes. He addresses the red color in some original Parker stock finishes. I'll look for the article and post it here.

One of the red finishes he discusses is shellac. Some folks may not know the fact that the old recipes for making shellac called for the use of powdered beetle "shell" or wing cases for the red color.






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I worked in an art conservation lab for several years and can vouch for the beetle shells as a component of shellac. All older mixtures of shellac and/or varnish will change color with age. They also go from more transparent to less so as they age. They are organic substances, like the wood, and age to the look we find them in today (assuming they are original). Kind of like most of us, eh?

Amber shellac will add color to a stock, and so will alkanet root (added in the finish).

But neither will typically make a stock quite as red as some of the above examples. There are redder shades of shellac than the traditional amber of course.

See below photos of stocks showing what Amber shellac will do by way of color.

Raw
Attachment 54870

Finished
Attachment 54871

With just sealer coat
Attachment 54872

Finished
Attachment 54873