Damascus barrel quality

[Bruce Day]

Besides the number of blades ( eg 4 blade damascus), the thickness of the individual blades varied. Thus, you can find a 4 blade with fine or coarse pattern.

The best guns to see a lot of damascus variations are the G grades. Some have fine damascus like A's, some are coarse. If a person likes to see patterns , the better selection is in the lower grades. Some A grades with 6 blade and and each blade fine thickness, are so fine that the pattern appears uniform until you get close such that you see almost an overall gray.

As for D or DD marking on the barrel flats, I've not been able to see any difference in the damascus.

I like all the damascus variations. Some of the most fascinating are the American Bunting variations in the hammer Parkers, and of course chain damascus, which has not been found in Parkers.

[Drew Hause]

Dave's barrels are a masterpiece of barrel maker's art, as are every other Parker D6 that I've seen

From the July 24, 1886 Scientific American regarding Parker guns:
The "Parker" double-barreled shotgun has, indeed, become so well known, that not to be acquainted with its excellences is to argue that one ha but little familiarity with firearms especially designed for sporting purposes.