I really think you have to limit the scope of years more than just say post-war if you are going to limit it to the "top 10 makers" or even the "10 most significant". We are talking about a time span of 60 years here. The craft has advanced so far that it is hard to believe it can get much better as far as quality is concerned. A person is often splitting hairs over who is really the best or as I often think, "As good as the best".
If a person is lucky enough to own the book; Contemporary American Stockmakers by Ron Toews, which came out in 1979 I believe, you are pretty much splitting those 60 plus years in half. I have leafed through this book many times and am in awe of the work these people who are represented in the book did at that time which was over 30 years ago. And yet to be fair, if you were picking 10 craftsman over a 60 plus year period of time, you might eliminate the better part of those represented in that book from the first 30 or 35 years of the period.
My brother and I had an interesting chat with mkbenenson at the Las Vegas show. He made the statement "Linden was not the best stockmaker but he wrote the book". We all agreed this was a great contribution to custom gunmaking as a whole. In thinking this over, there are probably some others in the sixty years who have made similar contributions. I'm not sure I'm ready to say Harry Lawson's stock design was a great contribution but it's obvious the monte-carlo stock was part of the history of the post-war era and perhaps someone can be traced as the one who started it. I heard Al Biesen once mention that there were a few stocks he had made that he would like to buy back to get them out of circulation. Evidently these were before he made some for O'Connor.
The reason I bring All into this discussion is because of the very fact he had O'Connor writing about his custom rifles and was probably the best known maker at that time because of it, even though O'Connor had custom rifles done by many other makers.
I didn't plan on this getting so long but I just feel that the scope is far to wide. I'd really like for someone to make some smaller parameters, maybe SDH would consider trying to do it, as I think it would prove a very interesting subject. The one thing everyone needs to realize is personal likes and dislikes often enter into such discussions. I see nothing wrong with this as long as it is realized there are just simply opinions.
Every time I see a thread such as this I am reminded of what the late Bob Emmons once said with tongue in cheek:
I am the greatest stockmaker of all time.
I am the alpha and omega of stockmaking.
I have won all the stockmaking championships.
And, if I die no doubt the art of stockmaking will perish with me.Thankfully we know that will never happen.
