None of us would disagree that honest restoration--here defined as doing the best to put a piece back to its original condition--is a noble endeavor. If one of our creations gets cracked 100 years from now, I would hope someone would mend it.
But then there are the other jobs that we've previously discussed. Below I relate the recap of a recent discussion I had with one of the most noted old timers who not only built superb guns but also shot competition at Blue Mountain since the 1950's. Some of the Pennsylvania Cartel meet at R.G's annually for a show and tell, turkey and ham, and lies of all kinds. Sometimes unreported stories of note get shared. Consider the following from the voice of experience.
From the turn of the century (last one) to mid-century, one who was there at the black powder shoots, reminded us that at that time, the state-of-the art piece on the firing line was a 1/2 stock. That is what people had at the end of the Kentucky line, and by and large, that's what builders were putting out for shooters at the time. The barrel supports the wood, not the other way around, and there was a trend to see forend wood as not necessary and requiring a more costly (longer) blank.
But what happened to many of them? There should be many more around than the others; survival rates should be better and there were more people later on. Regarding number of shooters, while a smaller %age of the population participated in the later period, there was a much larger population to draw from.
Where did all the "dime-a-dozen" 1/2 stocks all go? I even remember when they were hard to give away. Well, many who inherited them did not carry on the shooting tradition but came to understand that a full stock commanded a greater price, on average, than did the more recently made 1/2 stocks. Lots were subjected to black magic where they entered the shop as 1/2 stocks and came out as full stocks.
This could possibly account for two I recently saw at an auction (not upcoming), one a late back action lock (maker establishes circa), thin architecture, with new wood from rear pipe out, and another with new wood from middle of lock on out. Remarkable job on latter, almost missed it. Duh, if you include the seam in an incised design, you can really hide it. Imagine that!
Normally much can be discerned from examining the inside of the barrel channel and the underside of the barrel. Otherwise, your eyes had better be real, real good. Anyway, there you have it folks. We get disturbed when we read historical revisionists; well, this revisionism of history is no better. That late era was part of the Kentucky Rifle history, and, for want of a few bucks, much of it is gone forever.
Other things I learned yesterday. Some guys really get spikes in blood pressure when people pull black lights out at their table. I also had a great laugh. One dealer told me he never takes a gun apart prior to selling it. Later in the afternoon, that came up in conversation, and one of the better makers and evaluators exclaimed, "Well, he didn't lie. I do it for him." I just loved it.
