Most of the damascus barreled Paragons I've seen are the 3-Iron "Oxford" and occasionally I'll see what looks like a 4-Iron. Now the Chain damascus. I'm guessing there may be a others I haven't seen.
Hmmmm... That brings a question to mind...
The Paragon was built to order, so did Baker outfit a customer's Paragon with their preferred type of damascus barrel? I believe that the 3-Iron was the standard used on this grade of gun. Are these Paragons with "non-standard" damascus types a case of the customer specifying a higher grade of barrels for their gun?
Or did Baker simply fit barrels to the Paragon based on what was in stock?
The 4-Iron Crolle is a higher grade of laminated steel than the 3-Iron and so was more desirable then as well as now. I would guess that the Chain damascus is more desirable now than some others because of its pattern (and possibly strength?). How did it rank during the time these guns were built?
