doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com french walnut

Is there anywhere in the us where you can purchase a high grade French walnut blank to replace the old French walnut stock on a 19th century British sidelock? Is English walnut grown in California the same as French walnut?

You could look on eBay http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Fre...ck&_sacat=0

Steve

http://www.familygrade.com/
http://www.calicohardwoods.com/index.php
http://www.gunstockblanks.com/

Contact them and tell them what they are looking for and about how much you are willing to spend. If you have a stocker get their input before you buy the bank. What looks good to us may look like a nightmare to them. You want to see all six sides in good quality photos. Don't be afraid to return a blank if you get it in hand and like it less than you did in a picture. Pay the shipping and move on. Good dealers will accept returns as a normal part of business.


I tried for a year to find something to use this blank on. It was from the first web site. It was the nicest Bastone blank that I have seen but a little thin at 1 7/8".

I could be wrong, but I believe that the only difference between California English, English, Turkish, or Circassian is where it is grown. It is all the same species, Juglans Regia.

That said, I bought four very nice blanks on Ebay several years ago when I made a typo and incorrectly searched for "Frech" walnut blanks. Since the seller listed them incorrectly as Frech Walnut, apparently no one else was looking. They actually did appear very much like what we consider to be French Walnut, having a lighter color and much less mineral streaking than most California grown English, and much lighter than Turkish or Circassian. They also had very small pores and great grain layout and figure and the seller sent me four extra forearm blanks. So apparently some of the genetic characteristics will express themselves even when the nuts are grown far from France in entirely different soils.

To me most French walnut does indeed have less mineral streaking then the others. Also a different background color. Almost a light brown/orange color. Perhaps you could post a picture of your existing stock you want to replace and we can provide additional thoughts.

I've also been trying to find a source true French Walnut - Juglans regia grown in France.

Juglans regia grown in other parts of the world is not the same thing. Even though it's the same tree, local conditions affect certain qualities of the wood.

If you go to Naturabuy.fr, you can find some blanks labeled "French Walnut".

I haven't see any that I would want to go through the hassle of getting, though.

I haven't been able to find a supplier, either.

OWD

Here's a large supplier of Gunstock blanks located near Strawberry Point, IA. It's not too far from Dubuque. Depending on where you are in Wisconsin, you might want to make the drive to select one.

They list Claro and Bastogne. I believe all European walnut is the same species, though. Grain and characteristics are dependent on the microclimate the specific tree grew up in. That's why Juglans Regia wood from nut producing trees in California doesn't usually have tight grain, the trees grew up too pampered.

http://johnsonwoodproducts.com/gunstock_blanks

Regards
Ken

I have used Denli in Turkey. He is very good and provides pictures. I would not call him cheap but he is cheap when compaired to the USA pricing. WATCH the layout on E Bay blanks, some great looking stuff bur grain all wrong in the wrist on many blanks.

bill

Murat at Hunter Bid purchased the inventory of a French collector, and is in New Hampshire. He still has both two piece shotgun and rifle blanks. See link below. I bid on the blank shown below but lost out. Didn't really need it, but like art, I have found that when a blank "speaks" to you, you may regret not at least trying. Well, I tried, to no avail. Was outbid by a maker of target guns with much deeper pockets. About two weeks later Murat sent me an e mail saying the high bidder was returning the blank, as he just couldn't make it work for a pistol grip. Murat offered the blank to me at my high bid, and I jumped at the opportunity. It now resides in my safe, waiting for a new home on a grade 5 Ideal that I hope to have in my possession sometime in the near future. Quarter sawn, 30 years air dried.

So yes- French blanks, in the US.

auction@hunterbid.com

There are some very poor stocks on Ebay from the layout perspective. Case is point is I bought one that looked wonderful and watched my stockmaker saw it into forearm blanks. Layout was that bad. If one does buy from Ebay, make sure you get pictures from the top and bottom of the blank as well. The problem with my blank was it was cross grained horribly in the wrist area.