DHE Restoration

[Tom Flanigan]

Reading through the posts in detail, I learned that the gun is a repro. No matter, Brian made it look like a real Parker. When the first repro’s starting coming out a few folks were touting them as better than the originals. True they use more modern steel but the gun was lacking in the checkering and stock finish areas, in my opinion.

When I bought mine, the first thing I did was to make it look more Parker. I struck the Winchester logo on the barrels and redid them. Then I went to work on the stock finish which is harder than hell to remove. It is one tough finish. I wanted a traditional oil and varnish finish. After that was completed I went to work on the checkering which is abysmal on all the DHE repros I’ve seen. Cross overs, lines deeper than others and no mullered border. I fixed that but eventually sold the gun because it wasn’t a real Parker to me.

They are undoubtedly nice guns with great wood on most. I can understand why many like them and use them. But I am a total traditionalist and so the repro wasn’t right for me personally.

[Big D]

I agree with Tom. Repros are nice guns, for what they are, but I don't think they are worth making them look old. Same thing with the A1 Special upgrades. While i am in awe of folks like Geoffrey G, to me it's like asking Michelangelo to repaint a '53 Chevy.