doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lasers-an alternative form of engraving?

I just saw and purchased a laser decorated Colt Python with really heavy laser work by Altamont. You must see one of these to believe it. It dowsn't look like acid etched decoration-but is really cut deep! Might this method be the future? See https://www.altamontco.com/engraving

There are many different ways to look at it.

But understand, it’s a computer file. It’s not a guy with a hammer and chisel and a marking pen.

So, on the one hand because of ease of duplication, the first hand engraved model carries all the cost and then the 10,000 copies of it that are made have almost 0 cost.
Once you see the same laser engraved pattern on production guns, five or six times, you lose interest. At least I do.

But you can laser engrave 100,000 guns for less effort than the first guy did one.
Bringing very elaborate and engraving patterns to the masses.

Not everybody is into that.

The second point is efficiency, I see no reason why an engraver couldn’t have the machine do 90% of the work, and then he could hand finish the rest and complete a very elaborate job in a fraction of the time.
Especially for deep relief carvings.

Not everybody views machine work prior to hand finishing as a benefit. There is a big following within handmade firearms for maximum hand work over maximum machine work.

Don’t ask me how to balance that.

This is a big bone of contention among stone carvers. The technology now exists to grind out the Pieta (+- 1%) and then sell precise copies of Michelangelo‘s miracle without a human doing anything except final smoothing.

Aside from the argument of machine vs hand, I see a big difference in appearance. Most of the RBL stuff left me cold, it seems flat without any depth. But I am kind of amazed at the Rizzini BR 550 work. A lot of Spanish scroll leaves me unimpressed but then a few I have seen looks very good. I bought a pair of 20's that were custom made by Arrieta and I think the game birds are as good as all but the very best. Some of the Italian costly stuff seems off due to layout or funny when they have a English Setter pointing flushing ducks.

I have a pair of Miroku‘s that have a laser engraved base, and then they are hand finished in a Thistle pattern.

I get many positive comments about how nice they look. But at the same time, I also know that the craftsman only finished the engraving, adding depth and realism. The machine at that time couldn’t yet do that.

But it continues to advance every day.

That weird looking scroll that came from Turkey, which almost had a Byzantine look to it, pretty much the past.

I would think, that the semi custom houses are now building up a bank of stock patterns with open areas that allow for the customer to put in whatever his ideas are for that spot. Kind of the way the old Lefever’s had up to seven different vignettes available on the Optimus. Surrounded by stock infill.

Those are really nice, Hal. I have been looking at the Pythons and Anacondas quite a bit lately. I used to have a fully engraved Anaconda in .44. Engraving makes a nice gun even more rewarding. I know how nice a Python would be. Smooth as silk and even better with the engraving. Good luck with your new gun, Hal.

I would call it LASER etching rather than engraving, but it should make the etched gun less expensive to make.

The depth of the laser work reminded me of the Germanic deeply cut game scenes on shotguns. Certainly not to be compared to banknote engraving, but a nice 'blue collar' option!
I am quite pleased with mine. And, I feel free to shoot it-a lot. Maybe an option for some of Tony's shotguns? He already has the expereience with lasers for checkering gunstocks.

Look again at https://www.altamontco.com/engraving

I think you are late to the party and just realizing this 15 years ago I went to Italy. It was explained to me by some of the biggest engraving operations and engravers how this is done and then they showed me they were using lasers and then touching it up by hand virtually everything atBottega Giovanelli in Brescia has always been some sort of mechanical engraving and very big into Laser and 99% of it isn’t even touched my hand all the Caesar guerini and Beretta‘s and Rizzini‘s or at least most of them are done there and they always list them as engraved by the master, the funniest thing to me nobody questions it. and virtually all of the Rizzini‘s and guerini are the same gun which is different level of engraving that they pay to the engraving house for mechanical engraving.

Meh, one of those times when less is more.....