JK Hawken .54 Extra Fancy

[Daniel Coats]

Got another one yesterday .54 caliber in stunning extra fancy maple. Of possible interest is the weight 7 pounds 11.8 ounces in the white. My .58 was 7 pounds 6 ounces. Assembly was pretty easy except for the hook breech into the standing breech which required fitting same as my first kit. Overall I'm thrilled and will attempt to keep this beautiful Hawken for my personal use.

[A.Merrill]

  Mr. Kibler builds some beautiful guns.  I hope one day I get a chance to put one together.   Al

[Martin S.]

You've got two and I am still waiting on my first.

[Daniel Coats]

My first one was ordered very early and without any special features like inlays or patch box and standard wood. The second rifle was a quick ship.

[Martin S.]

OK, that makes more sense.

[HighUintas]

The hook and standing breech required fitting? I thought that part was supposed to not be needed on these. Or are you just referring to the stock inlet?

[ScottH]

My son ordered one at the end of October I think and is impatiently waiting. Especially after seeing a couple examples posted on here  !
I'm excited for him.

[Daniel Coats]

The hook and standing breech required fitting? I thought that part was supposed to not be needed on these. Or are you just referring to the stock inlet?

Too snug metal to metal. Just a couple strokes with a mill file on both mating pieces and the barrel removes easily before that. Once in the stock it would try to gall metal and stick. Both wedge keys were too loose in contrast and I had to peen the barrel lugs very lightly. Wood to metal inletting everywhere was perfect

[Jim Kibler]

Good feedback.  Thanks.  We’ll make the adjustments.  It’s hard to get things just right.

[Daniel Coats]

Here's what the color looks like after two coats of iron nitrate, one coat Thompson Water Seal, one coat secret sauce stain, one coat secret sauce undercoat. Next more undercoat and more secret sauce topcoat followed up by India ink plus a few layers of fingertip skin removal from rubbing. 

[duca]

Nice!!

[Daniel Coats]

Interesting tidbit, a lot of that red color comes from the clear coat of Thompson Water Seal. Something I noticed many years ago. Not the final color as the finishing continues and I kick the tires! 

[smylee grouch]

Nice. More sleek looking than a lot of originals and a lot fancier wood than most as well

[HighUintas]

Is th Thompson water seal mostly just what you're using for sealing the stock?

[stan57]

Got another one yesterday .54 caliber in stunning extra fancy maple...

Pretty curl in that wood. Your wood blows what I received out of the water.

[Daniel Coats]

Is th Thompson water seal mostly just what you're using for sealing the stock?

Yes it's also a wood preservative. It doesn't actually stain the wood but will add a red tone to already stained wood. 

[Daniel Coats]

Got another one yesterday .54 caliber in stunning extra fancy maple...

Pretty curl in that wood. Your wood blows what I received out of the water.

There is quite a bit of variation in maple even within the same grade. I've noticed some semi fancy with more curl than my extra fancy. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with consistency that makes it semi or extra. Must be a tough call grading what's what and why.

[Jim Kibler]

A few things to consider...  We have three grades of maple.  Naturally some might be at the top of a grade, while other stocks might be at the bottom.  Also, some might grade a particular type of curl higher or lower than another person.  Additionally, it's difficult to grade a stock until it is stained and finished.  I can't tell you how many times customers have questioned a grade and then been thrilled after staining and finishing.  Finally how it is stained and finished can have a big impact how the figure shows.

That's a nice color!

Jim

[stan57]

I hear ya, Jim. This Hawken was my 4th Kibler, and I was used to winning the
 wood lottery on each of the first 3 you sent me, I guess I got spoiled. Still turned
out ok. I'm good; no more whining.

[Jim Kibler]

If you ever order another, just let us know about this conversation.  We’ll fix you up.  Thanks

[Daniel Coats]

So disaster happened when I added too many different types of finish on the same stock. It started bubbling on me and I had to strip it all off and start over lesson learned! I decided to add a copper inlay in the cheek on the way back. Here's what it looks like now with a different color after the first coat of finish with the new inlay.

[Daryl]

That rifle has a sexy cheek piece.

[Daniel Coats]

ODTAA One darn thing after another! I was removing excess fininish from an inlet and slipped and made a scratch that needed a repair. Well that took more time to repair! Hopefully I'll be able to assemble today. This one isn't an antique finish so you'll have to wait and see what I came up with 

[dstock]

Sometimes to much sauce will do a man under.

[Daniel Coats]

Sometimes to much sauce will do a man under.

We are still talking about stock finish right?