The term master gets tossed around a lot on this forum. I have come to form the opinion that master means master of the art of gunsmithing not master of business. Early on I do believe that the early masters were indeed true masters of every aspect of the trade. Now I am not saying that they were all on the same level in skills. It is apparent that some were better carvers or engravers and some better at the fit and finish and some mastered the whole process. I also think as time went on and the pace of life got more hurried and the demand for products increased that we see a decline in the artistry of the longrifle. Carving got simpler and eventually disappeared.
I am a rifle builder and I have spent the better part of my life learning the skills required to try to duplicate the work that was done by the early masters. I do not feel that the guns that are well carved, the furniture that is well sculptured, inlays so precisely done and engraved are the work of someone that was not passionate about the work that they were doing. The skills required to do this level of work required much time to develop, it required dedication. We are blessed to have so many skilled craftsmen on this forum. Many whose work can stand up to the skill level of the old masters. I would be willing to bet that all of these men and women have dedicated a great deal of time and money learning these skills. Now with that said did some these men also have to become better business men and speed the process up, yes they did. That is why you can find adds looking for journeymen and apprentices. Did they do all the work on the great longifles, I would say most did. Was some of it farmed out, very possibly yes. I know from my own experience that there are very few men that I think I would let do work on one of my projects. Do I think my work is so much better than the rest, most certainly not. It's just that I have a minimal quality standard and I push my limits to the max to achieve this standard. I would not ask another craftsman to try to achieve a standard that I have such a hard time achieving myself even though their swork skill level may be above my own.
If you are not a rifle builder you may not be able to fully understand my statements above. You have to have a love for what you are doing to dedicate enough of your life to attain the skill level to do the work to create a masterpiece. There have been many projects in the past and even today where more than one master worked toward creating a master piece, but each one served their time learning the skill required to do the work. I think that as time went by and the master had to become more of the business man the artistry disappeared and became more mechanical.
If you are a business man you probably or I should say most certainly would not choose custom gunsmithing as a way to get rich. I do think that some of the great pieces that have survived where high priced items in their day and they still hold their value today. I also think there were many more common guns made that did not survive the ravages of time, some did but few. I have had the honor of working on a few antique guns, I have seen some of the shortcuts used to save time by the old masters. Not all of them were good short cuts and some of the short cuts caused problems latter in the guns life. Faster is not always better.
The more I think about it the more I begin to believe that the true master gunsmith could not also be a master businessman.
Oh well, just the rambling thoughts of a rifle builder. Cheers to all
