Making them look untouched

[Tom Flanigan]

Dean, I went to bed last night thinking about this thread. So I want to make sure that my perspective is fully understood. I agree with you that there are artisans out there, other than Brian, that do fantastic work. Turnbull is probably a genius technician as well as a very competent business man. He caters to folks that want their Parkers to look new and has built a very successful business around that niche market. But where Brian stands out, in my opinion, can be found in the title of his post, “Making them look untouched”. I admire and respect that perspective. Brian further states, “My goal with work like this is for me to be able to casually see the gun years later and not recognize that I worked on it. It has happened a few times, and I love it when it does.” That is a perspective that, I truly believe, is not held by a lot of restorers. Totally refinishing a gun is more lucrative for folks like Turnbull. Nothing wrong with that. But I suspect that Turnbull and others take all comers and will take a gun with a decent amount of original finish and make it look like new. It’s his livelihood and I understand and appreciate that. But Brian’s light touch work is more closely aligned with my theory of Parker life. In addition to being extremely competent, he is a virtual textbook of Parker knowledge. I am thankful that he is a frequent poster. I learn from him.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

Dean, I went to bed last night thinking about this thread. So I want to make sure that my perspective is fully understood. I agree with you that there are artisans out there, other than Brian, that do fantastic work. Turnbull is probably a genius technician as well as a very competent business man. He caters to folks that want their Parkers to look new and has built a very successful business around that niche market. But where Brian stands out, in my opinion, can be found in the title of his post, “Making them look untouched”. I admire and respect that perspective. Brian further states, “My goal with work like this is for me to be able to casually see the gun years later and not recognize that I worked on it. It has happened a few times, and I love it when it does.” That is a perspective that, I truly believe, is not held by a lot of restorers. Totally refinishing a gun is more lucrative for folks like Turnbull. Nothing wrong with that. But I suspect that Turnbull and others take all comers and will take a gun with a decent amount of original finish and make it look like new. It’s his livelihood and I understand and appreciate that. But Brian’s light touch work is more closely aligned with my theory of Parker life. In addition to being extremely competent, he is a virtual textbook of Parker knowledge. I am thankful that he is a frequent poster. I learn from him.

Tom, in this thread where you address me, you have talked at least a couple of times about Turnbull's work and business model. I never once mentioned Turnbull in any of my posts here. Just so nobody gets the idea I brought his name up... I didn't.
I agree with you that DTR does to Parkers what he needs to do for his business... he refinishes them to look very pretty and he probably restores them mechanically.




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