Fluid Sleel Damascus

[Bruce Day]

Faux is French for fake. Its the popular term now instead of harshly calling something fake. Its widely considered, and I share the opinon, that barrels with painted on damascus patterns are cheap, inferior, and dangerous today. A person can be fooled unless he looks closely, and I surmise that was the intent of the maker.

Let the buyer beware- words of wisdom-- Harry, you are a true gentleman NOT to have raised the question to your dealer friend about those barrels in front of other customers in his shop. If he is an upright gentleman, he'll re-label the tag on that shotgun- So much mystery extant now that the shotgunning cognoscenti has discover that SOME Damascus barreled double gun are very shootable- (with proper loads and ONLY after a competent gunsmith has given them the A-OK--

A segue- but about 25 years ago, a small mom and pop gun store in Grant, MI (Schroeder's if memory serves) had a mis-labeled 12 M21 in the used gun rack- it was marked as a M24 (believe it was an early M21 with DT, possibly a non-ejector like the M24-- a good friend was looking at it with serious intent to buy- at $200 and change- this was way before the BATF 4473 and NICS checky-checky- just as he was getting out his checkbook to close the transaction a PITA "know-it-all" told the clerk- hey, that's one of them custom Model 21 shotguns- sells for over a thousand bucks new- so the clerk, not wanting to lose his job, put the gun away until the store owner could sort it out-It was later re-tagged as a 12 M21 and not a M24 and repriced- the Ying and Yang of life I guess!

[Harry Collins]

Francis,

Yes he did change the way it was listed. I telephoned him and explained that the "Book" listed the gun as Damascus and that Parker did not put fluid steel barrels on D grades until 1897. He said that that answers that question and thanked me. It is still one of the nicest DH's I have ever seen.

Harry

I haven't seen any DH or DHE Parkers, either Titanic or Damascus barrels, that I didn't like- a friend has a DHE possibly 1926-27 Meriden gun with the original 30" Titanic barrels, No. 2 frame- both Full choked and it patterns coppered pigeon loads like my 32" Full & Full 2E Smith- and shoots right to point of aim- but is also has a set of re-fitted (Del Grego?) not sure 28" Acme Steel barrels choked Mod. and Imp. Mod- very few pheasants keep on a truckin' when that DHE is "on the job" just one of those great Parkers that fulfills its destiny- to kill birds dead in the air-

[Weston Croft]

How does one fake a damascus pattern?