Factory engraving??
I put this in the wrong topic earlier, and I hope someone knows about this. I bought a Hopkins and Allen Blue Jacket in 32 rimfire. The engraving is supposed to be original to the gun. I don't know much about these, as usually I prefer old S&Ws, especially blued ones. Here is a pic, what is your opinion?
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Probably original. Many of those old "Suicide Specials" (I dont like that nickname, but it seems attached to the genre) were engraved with that simple pattern.
Scrappy Doo sleeps with the fishes.0 -
Looks to me like it may have been done by one of the modern engraving devices. One way that may give more info is to examine the channnels or grooves with a jeweler's loupe and look at the cutting. Old time engraving by hand (chisel and hammer) will show a lot of tiny cuts maybe 1/32" or less, one after the other, varying in length and direction to make a line or a curve. The modern mechanical units do it the same way, like a miniature jack hammer but the cutting is usually smoother and the length of the cuts more regular. Check also the background in the design. Old time background is often done with a hollow-ended punch making tiny "o" impressions. Some modern work may be the same but modern work is often done faster by roughing up the surface with a rotary tool like a dentist's burr. If you see evidence of rotary tool usage, it it almost certainly modern work. As stated above it is very simple engraving, if modern may have been done as a practice exercise by someone learning engraving. Certainly not a worthwhile economic proposition to increase the value of a gun worth so little, plain or engraved. Hope this helps.
Been there - Done that!0
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