I hope this is a correct enough forum for this question: Is Keith still the "go-to" man for damascus barrel browning, and if so, does anyone have his address? (yes, I realized I snuck in 2 questions, but I figured I'd press my luck)

Keith is very good.

Keith Kearcher
Bend, OR
541-617-9299

http://members.toast.net/keithkearcher/

Pete

He's done some nice work for me over the years. On two occasions I've had him plug swivel holes in german guns and reblue and you couldn't tell (even outside and in the sun) that they ever had holes in the rib before. He is that good IMO.

Browning, yes. Black and white, maybe not so much.

Kirby Hoyt claims Buck Hamlin out of Missour'a is the best browner in the USA...I'm picky and Buck did an outstanding job on my W.& C. Scott.

I will be one to add a positive response to Keith's efforts in Re-Browning. He has done some excellent work for me and I appreciate it. , too, am not so sure if you want black and white.

Buck Hamlin.

Keith is excellent. Buck is excellent. I've used Keith and seen Buck's work too.

I agree with others that there may be better choices for a black and white refinish. I've seen pics of a few of Keith's black and white refinishes, and they still came out a decidedly English-looking brown.

Dale Edmunds and Brad Bachelder both do nice black and white finishes. Dale really has that technique DOWN.

His black and white work is horrible.

Also don't ever send him a gun to put a leather covered pad on. He did one for me a few years ago. It looked sort of like a road apple rolled up into vaguely the shape of a recoil pad then stuck on the gun with super glue. I'm really not exaggerating here, I wish I was.


Destry

His black and white is not so good.

I have had work done by Keith on one of my guns, and some of his work is stupendously good and other aspects left me wondering, both extremes on the same gun.

I had the opportunity to examine a set of barrels that Keith did in his "black and white" finish, and they were very nicely executed, but they were brown. Perfect for an old Brit double, but these were Parker barrels.

I just had a set of Greener barrels done in black and white by Brad Bachelder in Grand Rapids, MI.

They were done in 3 weeks (no, that's not a typo) and are beautiful.

I have had barrels browned by Keith and was very happy with the results but have not used him for black ans white.

The most stunning set of B&W barrels I ever saw were done by Buck Hamlin.

Keith did my brown barrels and they were exceptional as well.

I would like to think of myself as a good friend of Dale Edmonds, I've known him for several years and I've worked a bit in his shop. Dale will freely admit that:

1. The process of refinishing barrels is far from perfectly reproducible.

2. That he has struggled and continues to struggle to get a good brown and white finish.

If you find someone that gives a good brown finish go with him, if you find someone who gives a good black and white finish, go with him. But don't expect a guy who gives one kind of finish to do as good a job on the others. This is tough work.

There is nothing wrong with Keith's brown barrels.

I apologize if I stated things poorly, I meant to say that Dale has a hard time getting a good reproducible brown and white finish and prefers to do a black and white finish.

I have been very pleased with the "browning" done on my twist and damascus barrels by Buck Hamlin of Pevely, Mo. However, he usualy has a long backlog. I'm pretty sure he doesn't do black & white.

JERRY

Some of the best browning work I have has come from M.V.Highsmith-Memphis, Black & white, Dale Edmonds !

Craig Havener

Sounds like he knew of you and gave you the quality of work befitting you.

Some years ago I sent Mr. Kearcher a set of damascus barrels that had loose ribs to be repaired and then browned. His browning was very good, brought out a good deal of pattern.

A few months after I got them back I noticed rust weeping out from under the rib. I called him and was told to scrub them down with baking soda. I asked, "Why, did you use acid flux?"
Never got a straight answer.

Eventually I sent the barrels to another barrel man who took them apart and found a good deal of corrosion forming in there. Had to have them redone. The pattern was not as pronounced but they aren't rusting either.

The "why" for using an acid flux is easy. It works better than rosin. But as you found, rinsing, flushing, and oiling through a little weep hole drilled in the lower rib isn't likely to get it out or neutralize it.

I would like to find out if Oatey Lead Free Flux is acid based or not. It is the best stuff I have ever tried with 50-50 tin/lead solder, even on joints I could not clean as well as I'd like. It has very fine particles of tin suspended in the paste, and really does a nice job of tinning the surfaces by itself. I think it would be great for ribs if it is not corrosive.

I gotta go with the flow here. With Keith, it depends who shows up for work. He has done some very nice brown/white work for me and some that was terrible.
Buck Hamlin does wonderful work and, once he starts on a barrel set, it takes him about 8 weeks. "If slow is good, slower it better," is his mantra. A great guy.

When it comes to any barrel refinish job it all boils down to who can prep the barrel the best...

Well that is half the battle, but there is much more to it than that. The finishing process plays a very large part in the final product and different patterns require different techniques. We like less contrast on our brown and white as we feel it is more appropriate to English guns. These were done by my apprentice Manito Lara.

I find Kester (sp?)rosin flux works very well, as long as you do not get it too hot.

I looked at a tub of the Oatey Lead Free Flux, and lo and behold it says it contains Zinc Chloride and Ammonium Chloride. I believe it would tend to be hygroscopic in places where you could not remove all of the residue. Just for the hell of it, I put a dab on the end of a set of junk Baker barrels and heated it to tinning temp. to see what happens when it is left there in our current humid conditions.

Yes, the Baker barrels are really and truly junk. There is an area of very deep pitting across the top of both barrels and the rib. They are otherwise about as nice as you could hope for. It's been a mystery what could have done such bad localized damage and left the rest so nice. A shame.

A blood soaked glove and failing to clean and oil the barrels would be my guess. Blood is a powerful oxidizer.

So you're saying this Baker was once owned by O. J. Simpson?