The photo shows excellent work, and I say that after having filed and shaped most parts of a SXS.
Greener writing in 1910 supports the use of machine tools when possible. So the idea that traditional makers resorted exclusively to hand filing is inaccurate. Using modern machines to arrive at the same result as hand work is legitimate. After all, the part that counts is the final fitting and heat treatment, not the stock removal that gets you there.
What is NOT legitimate is not telling, allowing the naive to fool themselves about the term "hand made". Even worse is not passing the cost savings to the buyer.
Purdey production manager Bruce Owen in an article he authored, threw that one to the marketing department, leaving the question he posed re cost unanswered.
