In defense of re-color/case hardening I think that a gun that has been restocked, or has had extensive wood repairs done so that the entire wood set needed new finish, and has been re-blued, looks like crap with the old shiny receiver that has all the case color gone.
I like the colors to be like the originals, or as near to what the original looked like as we can determine. I am (re)building an A grade Fox. I bought the receiver from one source, an early Philly with the original dented and oil soaked wood. I was offered, and bought, a set of unfitted original 32" A.H.Fox barrels, Utica time frame. I found a bad set of barrels at another source with the ejector forend, and got them. Kearcher fitted the "new" barrels, perfectly, I degreased the wood and recut the checkering. Now, I'm shooting it some, in the white so to speak, before having the bluing and case colors done. They will be cyanide colors, because that is what I think would be appropriate on the gun. How do I think I'd like the redone gun with everything done except for leaving the old receiver in the white? Not at all. It would look like an unfinished gun, which it would be.
It has to be considered as a whole gun, the package, so to speak. A gun with beat up wood, scratched up bluing and battered checkering shouldn't be re-cased, either. All it takes is a little common sense to see what is right and what is not, IMO. I get the distinct impression from some people in the trade, that seem to hate re-done guns so bad, that deep down inside they are afraid someone will do one so well that they may be fooled into thinking it is a closet queen original. Don't think for a minute that you can't be fooled. There are a very, very few people out there that are that good.
SRH
