A friend of mine has a Parker with reaL Damascus barrels that have been etched. Not to represent Damascus but to enhance it. The gun belonged to his father and I presume the etching was done at the factory. It was a beautiful gun. I don't remember the grade.
Jim,
This was a very common method of finishing. It is most often seen on Germanic guns. Apparently it did not appeal to Americans then. Instead of sulfuric acid, they used hydrochloric to achieve that deep etching. Today, most refinishers use ferric chloride. Early Persian makers used a form of Nitric acid.
Here is an early example from Champlin Arms.
Pete
