DID PARKER BLACKEN SOME DAMASCUS/COMPOSITE BARRELS?

[Parker Bachelder (Brad's Profile)]

The only examples of blackening composite barrels that I have witnessed is in Ithica Lefevers.
If you observe original barrels you will notice an overall Patina beyond the simple contrast. This Patina is not just from age, it is an intentional final finish that blends the composite pattern uniformly. The uniform darkening serves to de-emphasise the stark contrast of multiple patterns and non-matching tubes.
In our finishing process we refer to this last step as the "conversion step".
Barrels that are finished to the contrast only state are certianly very interesting but not truely representative of the methods used in original finishing .
Mismatched Ribands and anomilies are very common. Perfectly matched tubes are hand selected and usually reserved for higher graded guns.

Brad