Buying Damascus Barreled guns

[B. Dudley]

When looking at guns with Damascus barrels with just the eyes, the things to look for are self explanatory and are kind of true with fluid steel barrels as well. How much pitting is there, are the ribs tight, debts and how bad are they, and check for cracks/splits.

Be Leary of any 100+ year old gun with perfect bores if the outside condition of the gun is poor.

Putting in the bores always looks deeper than it actually is.

Beyond that you can only tell so much without the proper equipment to measure wall thickness and bore diameters.

And once you get to measuring enough barrels you get used to seeing what is typical on barrel sets. There are many who are very conservative and say that barrels with less than .030-.035" of thickness should not be shot. But if that were the case, you would be discounting a lot of barrels that are as they were when built new. And then you have the other side of the coin which is British proof standards which may look awfully thin. But they are known for building very light barreled guns.

[6pt-Sika]

I sell a lot on Gunbroker and I buy from time to time there as well .

I put stock in the persons feedback and whether they have a no questions returned policy .

IF I fellow has 1500 feedbacks and maybe 10 are negative I would consider him honest . Because remember not only are there fraudulent sellers , but also buyers that think they should get gold for scrap metal prices . And by no means was that comment pointed at you or anyone else here , just commenting on some of the folks I've dealt with in well over 3,000 transactions in both directions .

[Jay Oliver]

I just went through this again and I like several of the suggestions posted here(that I wished I had done). In the last 18 months I have bought 3 Damascus Parkers online. All 3 had issues:

Gun 1 - Either damaged after pictures or in shipping – The barrels had a dent on the breach end where it looked like they were dropped. Seller did not package well or insure even though I requested. He did not take the gun back but paid for repairs that made it better but not right.

Gun 2 - Bought on gunbroker and the gun was not as described. It had several issues and I think the ad said “nice bores” and there was a decent sized dent on the left barrel. Seller thought I was crazy and I was stuck with it.

Gun 3 - Received it yesterday and sent it back this morning. There were a total of 3 hairline cracks in the barrels and I felt it was not safe to shoot. You can see some pictures in the thread I posted in the Hammer Gun forum. I am glad I could return it, but the cracks in the barrels should have been listed they were hard to miss. I am still getting over this one…

So I am 0 for 3 in buying a Parker online, I should know better by now. I really like the idea of saying “I will only bid/buy if I have an inspection period and I will be looking for these types of condition issues/criteria…” The all sales are final, will make me run from now on as well.

I am not saying I won’t buy another one online, I am just burned out on disappointment. In that time frame I also bought a Damascus 12 gauge lifter from a PGCA member and everything was great. Follow the good advice you received in this thread and you’ll be fine. Jay

[Drew Hause]

Some thoughts here
https://docs.google.com/a/damascuskn...vwLYc-kGA/edit

[OH Osthaus]

That's a bad streak of bad luck

Have to say. I have been lucky so far. A couple Parker's and a Winchester off GB and no surprises. May well be getting another gun there soon, but I already have my questions answered and the inspection period defined in an email

One thing I always ask and seems to be hard to get is the drops, comb and heel. And I have yet to get one where the seller can tell me the minimum wall thickness. That is why I like an email detailing the inspection. The one I am looking at, the seller said to take it out and shoot a round (but don't take it apart ). I like when the seller is that confident

All that said. I would always prefer to deal face to face or at least with some one I knew

[Patrick Butler]

Damascus Parkers are a great investment as many still shun these guns, believing the false tales due to fools measuring smokeless as black powder and the tales gun-makers who, after WW I, had steel that would replace the strength of the long work of many British craftsman who were lost in places such as Flanders Field as well as avoiding import taxes.

I keep looking for that 20 gauge high-grade original damascus Parker...which I doubt I will ever find. But, the chase is half the fun.

Patrick

[Hammer Gun]

Make sure you have a inspection period that allows you to thoroughly check barrel wall thickness, etc, most sellers will tell you the barrel wall thickness and answer any questions before shipping, no one likes to ship guns back and forth, they can be damaged in shipping it has happened many times. A reputable dealer or person will always take the gun back if the item is not as described. Now sometimes you run into people who after receiving the gun will try to pick it to death, For me I just tell them if not satisfied send it back, my two cents, Gary

[WmRike]

A couple decades ago I was into Damascus pretty hard and was x-raying and magnafluxing barrels. My takeaway from all of that was that a good visual examination was probably the best tool available. Unless it is a high-end gun that has obviously been very well cared for, I just would not buy barrels without being able to hold them and do some measuring.

[Drew Hause]

William: do you by chance still have any hard x-ray images? Who interpreted the results? Are you aware of any industrial NDT standards for radiography?

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Drew Hause

Are you aware of any industrial NDT standards for radiography?

ASNT-TC1A was the controlling document which ASTM, ASME, and Mil Std 271 & 278 rely for grading defects. Mils Stds have changed dramatically in the last few years, due in large part to the costs associated with meeting those specs.
(read : make it cheaper)

ASNT also defines the requirements for personnel to be qualified to perform and interpret examination results, and graded in 'levels'. Level 2 is generally the qualifications for persons performing the tests. Radiography is divided into two personnel, persons doing the radiography, and persons reading the film.
The common disciplines are MT (Magnetic Particle Inspeciton) PT (Penetrant Inspection) RT (Radiographic Inspection) and Yes, VT (Visual Inspection) This is the one that surprises a lot of people, but it's amazing how seeing the same thing can be so differently interpreted.


Geez I love retirement.