Good observations....
Mark - It's not really flat where you've described it, but it does look that way in the photos. It's more a function of the carving, but again, I agree, kinda looks that way. In fact, I had intended on doing incised lines through that area, even had them penciled in, then promptly forgot, and stained the rifle. Good eye, and I think the incised lines would have gone a long way in addressing that area.
Tom - Side plate I have no problem with, the lock, especially at the tail could be deeper... Agree it sits a little proud. I also mulled that over... Easy fix would be to file the edges down some, then decided not to because it didn't really bother me that much.
Bill - The color is achieved by cold bluing, then rubbing back to the desired color, very simple. I used Super Blue as a cold blue for this piece, applied with a maroon colored Scotch Brite pad. (Don't know what grit that is, get them at WoodCraft) That's the first time I ever used one of those pads for a cold blue, and it worked much better than a cloth. Anyway, after everything is blued, I used another maroon Scotch Brite pad with a little paraffin oil to rub back to the color you see.
Ed
