I took delivery of a 12 Gauge 30" Ithaca Crass Grade III today. Serial number 29XXX indicates DOM of 1897. The checkering is unmarred as are the bores. The furniture is lovely with only a couple of minor scratches and has the original butt plate. The "Chain Damascus" barrels still have most of their original pattern with some discoloration due to long time storage neglect resulting in some surface oxidation. I'm unsure at this point if a wet "Frontier" metal cleaning pad would benefit or not, I would prefer smooth to the touch barrels but I'm unwilling to risk any deterioration of the Damascus pattern. I am currently having Breck Gorman refinish a set of 1887 Damascus Parker Bros. barrels and his work is truly amazing. This Ithaca however, may not require a total Damascus refresh. The barrels are now soaking up a heavy coat of Rem Oil for now. The lavish "Ithaca Style" engraving is striking, some deep case color remains in the protected area in front of the trigger guard. You could call it "as found" condition, the widow who walked it into the gun shop said, "I just want it out if the house". The extractors are articulated like an ejector gun but the underside of the forearm doesn't have the familiar ejector "hammers". The action functions as an extractor gun. There is a flat, hollow rod in the center channel on the underside of the barrels that push the extractors out. Why they are articulated (independent) I have no idea. Thank you for reading and any comments are welcome.
|