Thread: thoughts
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Old 03-14-2008, 08:03 PM
charles starks charles starks is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: idaho
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Default Re: thoughts

Quote:
Originally Posted by DGrub
Charles, I have wondered that also! Now that we have advanced tools, it would seem like that type of engraving would not take quite as long to perform. Maybe it is just "the human taste" for art has changed or evolved to look more modern....I really don't know. I like those "classic" designs though. Good luck on your post. I tried to win the artisian that Steve was giving away last fall but no luck.....so I just bought a Classic this past November. It is an awesome peice of equipment. I love mine!
Dan Grubaugh
well i may not win but im going to give it a shot .

What really amazes me about these works , and I have actually handled a couple just not these particular works , is the amount of relief. The transitions and back ground are as smooth as a babies behind . It cant but help to wonder just how they did this with nothing more then push and chase .
Some of the wire work is so fine its almost hair size .
One SXS that I actually have a schematic of , has a stock that is completely covered in tortuous shell which is then inlet with silver wire and silver engraved plates .
While I would agree that tastes have change , I cant help but wonder if at the same time , we lost or forgot the knowledge needed to do this work with very simple tools OR maybe we have just lost the patience for such work when you consider the time involved to complete even a small section of one of the barrels above .
For me at least this is the type of work that fascinates me . While modern scrolls and such are also truly wonderful with the old work its really compounded with the thought of thousands of hours just for one rifle and the overall very large scale knowledge and prospective needed to complete such an item .
As I said many of these weapons were done by people who had a complete understanding of all the materials , not just a couple venues
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