doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Etched damascus on a 1913 Flues

I want to learn more about steel barreled Flues with etched damascus patterns. I sent my barrels to Les at Diamond Gunsmithing. Les told me that the barrels are steel with an etched damascus pattern. I've never heard of this and I want to get more history. There is nothing on the barrels or the reciever except for the seriel number 232995 and 12 1 1/2 which I know means 12ga. grade 1 1/2. The barrels are mirror bright, no pitting and someone has lengthened the chambers to 2 3/4. Any insight appreciated.

Welcome to the board. I'll save you getting flamed. It's a damascus barrel. Ithaca did not fake the pattern. I know Les, and he is a good man, told me the same thing once, but he is wrong. I'm sure Walt and others will chime in here too.

I agree with dubbletrubble, they are real damascus, not etched.

Please post ultra close up pics of the barrels, or send them by jpg attachment to revdoc2@cox.net and I'll put them up.
Interesting documents regarding Faux Damascus here http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_69dxb227c6



It's inconceivable that Ithaca would have used Faux Damascus. Examples of Ithaca damascus here, mostly courtesy of Walt Snyder http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/20991622

Its a March 1913 gun with genuine Damascus barrels! There is no evidence that Ithaca EVER etched fluid steel barrels to resemble damascus, none!

Oscar told me he only saw one fake and it was on an extream low end JABC
bill

Yeah I think that's pretty well an old wives / feedstore gun traders tale. I've seen Sears and Roebuck ad type for cheap belgian guns that had "finest printed damascus" barrels. Saw one once years ago, on a single shot oddly enough.

DLH

With all respect to your gunsmith. Absolutely every damascus barrels that shows a pattern is etched. Etching is part of the finishing process for damascus.

I would be happy to discuss this with your gunsmith on the telephone if he desires.

I believe Walt when he says Ithaca never used faux damascus.

NONE of the major American makers used faux damascus. This seems to have been the domain of hardware store guns meant to appeal to the very bottom end of the market.

A couple of points.

There were more finishing techniques used 100 years ago that we see in use today.

We often seem to think that faux damascus is a painted on application of pattern. Original sources seem to indicate that this was only one of several methods used. I personally have never seen examples of these other methods outside of Ottoman / Persian firearms.

Pete

So did any American gunmakers use faux damascus shotgun barrels? Or was that pretty much confined to the cheaper Belgian guns? Any way of knowing by looking? I'm sure a lot of us have been told by a seller that the gun is fluid steel with a damascus pattern. I recently overheard a guy who I'm sure knew better tell a potential buyer that his grade 4 Ithaca was faux damascus and safe to shoot with modern ammo. He obviously cared much more about money than either getting this guy hurt and/or destroying a nice old double.

The irony is that now it seems any high conditioned Ithaca is worth more with Damascus barrels than the same gun with fluid steel barrels. True at least for the collectors I know.