My wife says I write as if everyone already knows what I’m talking about so I went back and reread what I wrote about wood. When I wrote “Imported” wood I meant European thin shell walnut. The early custom makers such as Wundhammer and Adolph were trained in Germany and worked with ETSW. There were no mature ‘English’ walnut in American at that time and they (the gunmakers) felt that all of the wood in America was unfit for a fine rifle stocks. Many companies such as Marlin used ETSW on their higher grade guns but they were all lever action or single shots so no one was importing ETSW in the length for a bolt action rifle. Wundhammer was able to get ETSW long enough for a rifle from Ross of Canada and Adolph got his from Germany. The early Bob Owen guns (Owen Brothers) were advertised as using Italian Walnut. After WWI I seldom see Italian walnut which is now replaced by Circassian walnut as the wood of choice and as the Circassian started to disappear French walnut was next in line. Today when I am asked about which kind of wood is on a classic rifle I say it’s European thin shell walnut, if I say it’s Circassian folks say it’s not fancy enough for Circassian although it was sold in every grade possible. Log on to any auction site and look at a Sedgley and tell me kind of wood that is.
