Black Stocks

[Hobie Dog]

Can anyone give me some background on why or if builders during the Golden Age "painted " or stained the wood black? Should it be left as is or removed back to the natural color? I am getting conflicting opinions and don't know what to do with a beautiful Jacob Kuntz rifle.
Thanks

[SingleMalt]

Is it showing wood in wear areas?  At times, the lead dryer in the varnish oxidizes and turns black. 

[JTR]

If you have J Kuntz rifle in the black, count yourself lucky!
I'm not in a position to type much, but if you email me, I'll connect you to some of the top collectors in the country and let them fill you in on what you have.

In the mean time, I suggest you do nothing to it.

John
jtrrobbins@msn.com

[Ridge]

I thought the black color came from coal/wood smoke reacting with the oil finish....

My family has a rifle from around 1820 that has been passed down through the family.  The neatest thing about it to me is the orange peel finish that has developed from being stored by the woodstove.  I'd love to be able to recreate that look.

[Nordnecker]

You might be able to create that look. I've used "crackle lacquer". Also, if you paint hide glue on a suface and paint over it, it will crack and let the wood show from under it. Windsor chair builders use these techniques. Who knows what a google search might reveal.

[Mad Monk]

I thought the black color came from coal/wood smoke reacting with the oil finish....

My family has a rifle from around 1820 that has been passed down through the family.  The neatest thing about it to me is the orange peel finish that has developed from being stored by the woodstove.  I'd love to be able to recreate that look.

The black color seen on some originals is the result of sulfur bearing gases, in the air, reacting with the "spent" lead drier metal in the boiled oil used to finish the rifle.  With oil based natural resin varnishes it would appear more like a smokey finish.

How well the old varnishes survived depends on which natural resin, or resins, were used in the varnish.   The fresh tapped resins such as the damars did not hold up well in a varnish.  They were cheap and easy to incorporate into the boiled oil used to make the varnish.  They tend to "alligator".  The finish looking more like alligator skin.  This is seen in a lot of the "golden oak" factory furniture once sold out of Sears catalogues.   The fossil resins were more difficult to incorporate into the boiled oil but were more durable over time.

[Ridge]

Thanks for setting the record straight Mr. Monk. 

I'm always impressed with your knowledge of the chemical side of this hobby.   

[Mad Monk]

Thanks for setting the record straight Mr. Monk. 

I'm always impressed with your knowledge of the chemical side of this hobby.   

The reaction between sulfur bearing gases and lead compounds had been used in the PVC plant I worked in.  PVC film and sheeting used in household applications could not have any lead compounds in them.  So we cut a strip of the film off the machines.  It went into a test tube of distilled water and then bubble hydrogen sulfide gas into the water. If there was any lead in the PVC it would change color quickly.
The evil postscript to this.  We did the test in a hood with a fan.  I found out the hood exhaust on the roof was a few feet from the department managers office air intake.  So if the wind was right I could drive him out of his office!!!

[Mad Monk]

Should also mention that "black stocks" were sometimes seen on muskets used on sailing ships.  Those stocks were coated with a tar.  Kit Ravenshear played with that idea.  Problem was that we could not find an asphalt that really worked.  In those days the asphalt was most likely out of the tar pits on the island of Trinidad.  Then would have had something added to deal with the low softening point of most asphalts.  Some have fairly high melting points but become soft at lower temperatures.  So handling them would put asphalt stains on the shooters hands.  You see this same asphalt thing on powder horns that saw shipboard use.  I saw a few old formulas for hardening the asphalt and killing the softening point problem but I could not find sources for natural resins they used in this.  The formulas were something like the old brewer's pitch used inside beer kegs.