Re guns sleeved by Merrington . . . I don't think there's much question that he does good work. But he also does not stamp them "sleeved". Good work + not marked sleeved can = potential deception down the line, when the current owner parts company with the gun. If a gun is sleeved, especially "invisibly" so, it ought to be marked sleeved. As required by the proof laws in the UK.
I couldn't agree with Larry's sentiment on this issue more.
If that's the case, y'all should take up a collection and send me and my guns to the London proof house, I'll take pictures. LVI, Philly, and Newark are the most convenient airfields for me.
Thanks!
Not quite sure how that pertains to the question at hand, Ben. If an American gunsmith sleeves a gun, why shouldn't he then mark it "sleeved"--since that's the standard in the country where the practice was invented, and since it will lessen the possibility of fraud, when the gun is sold at some later date?
Between this and the proof house thread you sound like a jilted lover or remorseful buyer
Different steels polish and rust differently, while the joint may be indiscernible, in good light, the different steels are. To make a sleeved gun truly fraud-able requires an additional step or two
My humble sidelock would hardly be worth the effort being it has the dreaded single trigger that only functions perfectly when I hand it to someone. The damascus flats are a dead giveaway on the old gun.
Sleeving my guns made them safer, not less so. If you are inferring that by not stamping the barrels that I am attempting to deceive someone, I take exception to your remarks and demand fisticuffs or axe handles (your choice) as means of satisfaction, as my reputation is surely less tarnished than yours.
Should I ever decide to submit the guns for re-proof I'll be glad to have the flats stamped
SLEEVED Until then, the guns are in America, and owned by an honest, law abiding American. I feel no compulsion to submit to any Crown or Company of Gunmakers. We fought a war to end that crap over 200 years ago.
Jim