The gun belongs to a fella who posted the photos at the 24. Finish is said to be varnish And I dont have a reason to doubt that, but
I dont see the the knowledge of original finishes with the savage collectors that I see with shotgun or other rifle manufactures.

My hope was that someone here would recognize the look of the finish and be able to make a educated guess as to how it would have been achieved in the early 1900s.

AKA garyg, depending on how confused and which computer Im on.