Fine Gunmaking

With each project, every craftsman has to arrive at a place of completion. I've never liked the cliché "good enough for... " and yet the reality is that each of us has to decide when it's time to call it done. Gunmaking companies face the same dilemma, and when studying each maker's place in history, attention to detail and degree of finish work often contribute to their ranking. As one's knowledge of fine guns develops, so does the appreciation for a higher degree of quality and sophistication.

No-where is this more evident than in a gun's metal finishing, or lack of it. If initially introduced to field-grade American double shotguns, new shooters often find that the uniform flat-tone rust bluing and attractive case colors look wonderful-when viewed in nearly new condition. Upon discovering higher-grade American, European or English shotguns, though, it's easy to see that the metal finishes simply look "nicer." It's only when making comparisons with British "bests," current top-echelon Italian guns or the highest-quality American custom shotguns, however, that it becomes obvious that the degree of metal finishing is one area that clearly sets the finest guns apart. If one has the opportunity to view and compare the insides of the various guns, he immediately will be able to recognize significant differences in the metal finishing. It's good to remember that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries labor was cheap and tradition was strong. Things are different these days. In the May/June and July/August 2006 issues, I wrote about metal finishes for fine guns. And the September/October 2006 issue featured J. Marc Pipas's article "Ma-zur's Magic," about a custom Model 21 extensively reworked and refinished by gunmaker Pete Mazur of Grass Valley, California. As an adjunct to those pieces that synthesizes key elements of each, let's take a close-up look at the inside and outside of a Holland & Holland Royal Hammerless Ejector, circa 1913, with complete Mazur metal restoration and refinishing of the highest order. When this gun arrived in Mazur's shop, it was showing its 90 years. The action was rusty and lightly pitted outside, as were the insides of the lockplates and lock parts. The action bottom had been buffed to the point that to completely remove the flaws, Mazur had to remove much of the engraving in places. Both of the lockplates had been badly sprung, requiring annealing and straightening before hand polishing. The top rib was quite loose, so the barrels were stripped and the ribs re-laid and polished to 400 grit before blacking. Several mechanical repairs were completed, and virtually all of the exterior surfaces-and much of the interior-were renewed with files, stones and grit paper. Then expatriate English engraver Charles Lee re-cut the engraving, returning it to its former crispness. It's a given in life that we seldom understand the next-higher level of quality until we see it. With firearms, such quality is often hidden under the wood in the extra detail afforded the internal parts and mechanisms. It's one thing for a gun to be beautifully finished on the outside, another to see one equally well finished where it isn't so obvious. Pete Mazur invested 165 bench hours on the restoration of the Holland's metalwork. Author's Note: For more on Pete Mazur Restoration, call 530-268-2412.