The Fordney looks awkward to me. The excessive drop in the butt tends to indicate a major break in the lock area, and new wood to stabilize it. An improper amount of drop is perhaps due to the restorer being fooled by the butt hanging down too low from the bad break. The entire front side facing looks like new wood (as does the rear side facing), and the lock is probably an "appropriate" replacement to improve appearance and saleability. This appears to be a case where the restorer's mechanics of restoration appear OK, but the artistic aspect, i.e. stock architecture, was off target. Shelby Gallien
