Kutter, Don't get me wrong, I've worked with several clients who knew what they wanted and their notions actually coincides with the kind of work that I do. (That's why I mentioned Terry as an exception) But having been in the business of making custom guns for 35 years, I know that what's in my head is the stuff I haven't done yet, and just generally, that's the most creative and original work that I do.
(Hagn .280 metal nearly complete. Nearly every surface of this action has been reshaped. Barrel work by Ralf Martini)
Before view for comparison:
My work is very different from what other fellows are doing and more than once I've had a potential client at the custom guns show say, "I want something completely different, just like that," about a gun I had on display. It's certainly different to him, and different from anything else at the show, but it's not new to me. I'm sure that most of thte partisipants here have plenty of their own ideas, but they are not necissarily potential clients.
Hagn .280 top view:
Of the 5-6 guns I have on order at the moment, only one is completely client inspired, and it's a Krag sporter that hasn't been deposited but the client is a good friend and we have been talking about it on and off for a few years. (No, it's not Mark.) But they are all great jobs and should be great rifles.
I'm not complaining, nor criticizing, just trying to relate one career gunmaker's experience. Early on one fellow here said he was interested in how a craftsman thought and felt about his projects...
