Contemporary builds heavily aged

[reddogge]

I guess there are two degrees of aging a gun. One is to make a new gun look like it's actually 200 years old and the other is to make a gun look like it was built 200 years ago but only used for 20 years or so. I find the attempts by amateurs I see on the internet to age a gun artificially not so pleasing. A lot of Kibler builders attempts.

[Pukka Bundook]

Personally, I delight in old guns with character.
In my eyes new can be perfect but still have no character.
For this reason I only made guns with what to me felt like 'Character". 
There is an air of mystery to me, in half worn carving or engraving, like looking into the past somehow.  It shouldn't be too clear, like looking through the mists of time maybe!  This is what lights my lamp.

Brutishly bashed about does nothing for me, BTW!...or false repairs.

Best,
Rich.

[HighUintas]

I think I need to build one for myself and heavily age it. I don't know what it feels like to hunt with an "old" one. Different I'm sure, but I know it would not be the same as hunting with my other "as new" gun where I do actually remember what caused nearly every mark. I like the idea of it ageing just through my own use, but won't live to see the day it actually does look 150 years old.

I would just hate to age one and have it look terrible. Maybe that's why most less experienced builders stop at the slightly pitted point of browning or rust blueing.

[Scota4570]

It strikes as odd that some renactors fake age their guns. It if the costume is the be correct the gun would new recently made and in good condition. 

I do not get it.  For me, since it will never look 100% real I do not see the point.  I'd be happier with a genuine old gun.  I think, and could be wrong, but to make it look plausible, you need to start with a well made and well finished gun, then mess it up.  That seems wrong.  It is also more work than a well finished gun because it is additional steps. 

However,  It is not for me but I will not tell someone they are having fun wrong. 

[Eric Kettenburg]

I think, and could be wrong, but to make it look plausible, you need to start with a well made and well finished gun, then mess it up.

You are not wrong at all.

[HighUintas]

I think I've seen statements about Mike Brooks (or maybe someone else?) dragging a finished rifle behind a car in a gravel driveway. I don't know if that's true .... But maybe.

My thoughts had always been that the rifle is well finished, as new, then had various scary treatments applied. Dragging through gravel, buried in the dirt in summer and watered for weeks, hung over a wood stove or put in a kiln, repeat all that multiple times, take a high RPM buffing wheel to various spots. Refinished, etc.

[whetrock]

I think I've seen statements about Mike Brooks (or maybe someone else?) dragging a finished rifle behind a car in a gravel driveway. I don't know if that's true .... But maybe.

My thoughts had always been that the rifle is well finished, as new, then had various scary treatments applied. Dragging through gravel, buried in the dirt in summer and watered for weeks, hung over a wood stove or put in a kiln, repeat all that multiple times, take a high RPM buffing wheel to various spots. Refinished, etc.

Did you want the "well used for 50 years by my great, great grandpa" look, or the "Rip Van Winkle let his gun rot and rust on the forest floor for 20 years while he slept off a night of drinking with Dutch ghosts" look?

[rich pierce]

It used to pop up now and then that someone would advise aging steel by sticking it in a wet pile of cow manure for awhile. The goal was to get someone to do it do they could laugh at the joke they played on someone. Beware advice that sounds like someone could be playing a joke on you.

Most contemporary aging falls into 2 categories. One is a gun well used and cared for over the span of 20-50 years.  The far end is hard use for 80 years then left in a damp spot for another hundred. I prefer the well used and cared for look. A dried out stock does nothing for me.

I don’t want derail but here’s an original close to the far end. I like it as an original but would never want a contemporary gun made like this - even if still in flint.

[reddogge]

I carve working decoys but don't age them. They are painted in oil paints and two or three seasons of banging around in a boat and floating in salt water ages them enough. And when my impetuous young friends shoot them they really get aged fast.

[Eric Kettenburg]

It used to pop up now and then that someone would advise aging steel by sticking it in a wet pile of cow manure for awhile. The goal was to get someone to do it do they could laugh at the joke they played on someone. Beware advice that sounds like someone could be playing a joke on you.

Most contemporary aging falls into 2 categories. One is a gun well used and cared for over the span of 20-50 years.  The far end is hard use for 80 years then left in a damp spot for another hundred. I prefer the well used and cared for look. A dried out stock does nothing for me.

I don’t want derail but here’s an original close to the far end. I like it as an original but would never want a contemporary gun made like this - even if still in flint.

See, that would be right up my alley.  I see it as a challenge and it keeps me excited and interested.

One thing for certain, to pull off a really convincing 'fake' requires more time and work than actually building the piece 'as new.'  No doubt about it.

Of course the dead giveaway right off the bat is simply looking down the bore because we still want to shoot them... right?

I guess there is an aspect of "art" to doing it but I've never been comfortable with that term just relative to my own work because I can't shake the feeling that I would then need to extend my pinky while carrying around a glass of whine wine and end every sentence with a question mark.

 

[T*O*F]

It used to pop up now and then that someone would advise aging steel by sticking it in a wet pile of cow manure for awhile. The goal was to get someone to do it do they could laugh at the joke they played on someone. Beware advice that sounds like someone could be playing a joke on you.

Actually, that's not a joke.  I had a friend who restored antique clocks and he routinely used to bury pieces of wood and a bit of dog-doo in his garden.  He said it's very acidic and had the desired effect he sought on the wood.

[HighUintas]

It used to pop up now and then that someone would advise aging steel by sticking it in a wet pile of cow manure for awhile. The goal was to get someone to do it do they could laugh at the joke they played on someone. Beware advice that sounds like someone could be playing a joke on you.

Most contemporary aging falls into 2 categories. One is a gun well used and cared for over the span of 20-50 years.  The far end is hard use for 80 years then left in a damp spot for another hundred. I prefer the well used and cared for look. A dried out stock does nothing for me.

I don’t want derail but here’s an original close to the far end. I like it as an original but would never want a contemporary gun made like this - even if still in flint.

That's not a derail at all. That's the type of heavily aged that I'm talked about... Not the used for 50 years and well cared for type.

Making a believable copy of this would be impressive.

[Daryl]

Not my cup of tea. I'm with Hugh on this topic.
Each to their own.

[rich pierce]

I think achieving a look like the original I own, on a new build, is something only a few can accomplish. A friend owns a gun that was beautifully built but the barrel is deeply and uniformly pitted end to end. That’s a look I don’t find authentic or attractive.

I’d sure like to see some of my favorite originals in the condition they were when “found” or say as they looked in 1920. When I first started going to antique gun shows in Pennsylvania in the late 1970s, all the flintlock guns were shining like they’d come off the bench a few years ago and were thoroughly cleaned and waxed that week.

[AZshot]

Rich, here is one that I'm familiar with, an original Appalachian rifle.

[A.Merrill]

One I aged several years ago.   Al

[Scota4570]

One quick give away would be how the barrel was rifled.  7-grooves that are very narrow normally indicated hand rifled with old tech.  Modern machine rifled barrels normally have 8-wide grooves.  Also, the few original barrels I have handles were iron, heavier than modern.  The iron was soft and attracted dents more than modern steel.  If I had the time and inclination to truly knock off an original I would not beat it up.