Yeah, they are. All the best American makers were capable of putting out impressive guns at the high end, but compare the fit and finish of a base grade Parker to any other base grade gun and you will see the difference. To my mind, the internals of a Parker are the only ones you could run across your wife's stockings without risking a snag.
I love the Smiths, really do, but the design always seemed to me to need a little tweaking to let the gun realize its full potential. As lovely as the Lefevers are, I am often shocked at the poor finish on working surfaces; I am inherently suspicious of a gun built with so many wear adjustments. Though they finally got it right, Ithaca had a hard time designing a gun that could survive into the smokeless powder era.
