The ribs did not need to be relayed in the past. The process has changed slightly ...and gives an excellent product for a reasonable price.
SKB - Thank you for answering my questions. I completely understand the issues of having the process itself highlight weaknesses (such as poorly attached ribs) that weren't apparent until the work began. However, and this is just my opinion/feedback as a potential customer, it is disappointing to see that the cost has nearly doubled in the few years that this option has been available. I do think this is the most elegant solution available to the problem of bad bores (especially for retaining the beauty of damascus tubes). Without knowing the specifics I am ignorant of the reason for the process changing, but it is hard to understand how the change is for the better if they did not need to be re-layed in the past. The real shame is that there are a LOT more candidates for this process at 2400 than at 4100.
In any case, I mean this only as feedback and not criticism. I do not have the insider knowledge to be aware of how/why the process changed, and therefore am unqualified to criticize. But, I did have a gun I was considering for this process at the right time, but now, sadly, it is not cost-effective. That is a LARGE jump, and I hope you understand where I'm coming from as a consumer.
On another note, what are the prospects for the process being available for 20s and 28s in the future? As bore size goes down, cost effectiveness becomes more tolerable.