doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Wild engraving - LOTS of photos

I'm not a big fan of some sorts of engraving - especially those with animals. But these "animals" are pretty interesting. I'm not sure I would really want to pay for this. Wait! I am sure I would not pay for this, but I sure like it anyway.

Stolen from another site

A little over the top for me, but I must say how remarkable the work and the detail are on this double rifle. I guess money will fulfill any fantasy, even in engraving.

I like the top lever. Might be interesting on a double - other shooters would notice something was a tad different.

Duke

Check out the second pic. See the metal-to-metal fit where the trigger plate meets the action? Pretty nice gap, huh?

The engraving is stunning, though. Too bad about that mistake. For me, it wrecks the gun.

OWD

I certainly am not into that sort of gargoyles and such, but I sure have to admire the work!

What a masterpiece. That's a worthwhile theme, also. As far as the gap is concerned it's definitely caulkable, and I would not refuse it for such a flaw.

Philipe Grifnee apprenticed under Rene Delcour at the University of Leige. Rene apprenticed under Felix Funken at FN. Rene was Felix successor as Master Engraver at FN. Rene is the only person to ever hold a Doctorate of Engraving from the country of Belgium, a unique honorary degree that was bestowed on him for taking the gauntlet in hand to further the art thru his efforts at the university. I first met Philipe in 1976, when he was 24, if memory serves. He was traveling with Rene, still his student at the time, for a summer respite at a remote hideout and was already wonderfully skilled. He has only gotten better and his abilities are amazing over multiple types of execution. Rene had his students drawing scrolls for a couple of years for starters. It was his opinion that scrolls were the very hardest form of engraving to execute with perfection and if one could not draw one perfectly then how could anyone be expected to execute one in steel perfectly? I have judged much engraving on just that basis since. The Brits certainly have and have had it well in hand. Full coverage small scroll engraving is not only tedious, it requires the master's touch to be done correctly. Large scrolls fall within the realm of very few, as does properly executed border inlay, like a 'funeral model' might display because any error jumps out and is instantly magnified ten fold. I think that some of us who are not artists do not fully appreciate the effort and the hours that are dedicated to this particular form of art.

Here, we are most fortunate to have some of today's fine artisans willing to share their insights, passions and perspectives with us and even their methods of work. It makes this a very special place indeed. And IMHO, it also helps us to better appreciate and value their talent.

Thanks for the post, Brent. Now a question, is it 'normal' to have the first bbl trigger chequered and the second smooth? I'm not double rifle literate, and some of the time not very shotgun literate either.

On my screen it looks like a shadow along the edge of the wood where it was eased slightly to avoid a crisp edge that would be subject to minor chipping.

Nice Griffnee engraving Holland.... His stuff is fantastic but it might not be to everyone's taste.

Definately to my taste. Much more interesting than the ubiquitous dogs and birds.

The March/April 1996 SSM has a few more uniquely engraved H&H's.

I believe the dark line along the trigger plate is a dark part of the grain in the wood. I like the engraving- just not the topic. This does remind me of the Kreighof double rifles I have seen except that they have elephants or lions or some other type of animal engraved. Good luck.