DID PARKER BLACKEN SOME DAMASCUS/COMPOSITE BARRELS?

[paul stafford jr]

in a talk I had with dale Edmonds last spring , he was refinishing a set of lefever barrels for me and I asked him how they looked, he didn't like the way the tubes were matched but they look better than some of the other barrels he has seen. he is one of the best at his trade. so I wasn't expecting much when I got them back , when I opened the box my jaw hit the ground, they were wonderful, theres pictures in my gallery. I guess he judges
barrels a lot tougher than I do

[Drew Hause]

Jerry graciously shared full size images, which are quite interesting. The breech shows poorly matched 'Oxford' Parker D3, both in the appearance of the scrolls, and the manner in which the iron/steel responded to the coloring



EXCELLENT demonstration of the juncture of the tube segments toward the muzzle. From left to right:
1/2 scroll with (mostly) straight ribband edge butt weld
2 full scrolls with (down the middle) 'zipper' (wavy) welds
scroll with the straight weld between the two tube sections
2 full different scrolls with (down the middle) 'zipper' welds
1/2 scroll with (mostly) straight ribband edge butt weld



Thanks Jerry!

[Dean Romig]

Drew, your "'zipper' weld" loses me...
Is your term "zipper" used simply to describe the appearance? Certainly the segments weren't made to 'interlock' as the term might imply - they were simply the outer edges of the D3 or 3-iron ribands welded together.... right?

[Drew Hause]

Steve Culver 'splains it much better than I could here Dean
https://docs.google.com/a/damascuskn...Ns5L2XVfc/edit

[Blind Dog]

About ten years ago, I requested of Ron Kirby a Letter on a Parker I had recently purchased. Ron called me and told me the customer had requested "a blued, not browned" finish on the barrels and could I tell him what the barrels looked like now. I said they looked like any old D2 barrels I had seen. Pics below.

[Dean Romig]

So, Drew... the "star" is the center of the bundle of alternating iron and steel "leaves"?

[Drew Hause]

The size and shape of the 'star' between scrolls is a function of how tightly the rod is twisted, the angle and depth to which the tube in ground, and likely a bunch of other forging stuff that I don't understand



An AHE with 4 Iron Turkish "Star" pattern. Note the alternating black (steel) and white (iron) stars

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Drew. I'll study the drawings and wrap my head around it.... Pun intended.