doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Thoughts on Damascus refinishing?

Forum,

I am curious on your thoughts on damascus barrel refinishing. While on European guns it is the norm and, I guess, expected however with American guns, most collectors would rather have their guns original. So for American guns, would you steer away from it as it could reduce the value?

In short, I have had a few barrels redone and they look great. In all three cases, the barrels were in very poor shape on the outside...these are my shooters so I dont worry about reduction of value.

Thanks for any reply here.

KC
Here are three I have had re-etched.

John Rigby 20


Parker GHE

KC my take on this is that these are your guns and you should do whatever pleases you. Unless these are guns of historical significance or high collectors value there is no reason not to treat them to a quality refinish to bring back the beauty of the original finish. Personally if the damascus pattern is mostly visible I leave them alone, on the other hand if the pattern is gone I won't hesitate in having them refinished to original.

Having mine re-etched was rewarding.

If a lot of original pattern is visible, I would leave as is. However, if the pattern is clearly worn or not visible, I also wouldn't hesitate to have them refinished.

Yup, I agree 100%