doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Skeleton Steel Butts- Pictures

My only skelbutt
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid201/pcea578846d85691fad669b0ada067ab7/f024f541.jpg

Don't be so bashfull I can barely see your butt.

Alder, another picture of your butt

This one...Original Parker Skeleton,with original screws Filed out to 'As New', then Restocked to AA Trevallion,Engraved to an Original Pat. by Barry L Hands.Charcoal Blue, Turnbull....Whadya Think??? Let me know....dt

Nice butt for sure.

For engraving to have longevity on a butt plate...don't you think they should be case hardened instead of blued ?

Unless it's just a closet queens butt.

Thanks, Terry!

Re The Question of Case Hardening Skeleton Butt-Plates, Toe & Heel 'Protectors',Steel Butt-Plates....I have a collection of aprox. 60 Toe & Heels 5 or 6 Steel Butt- Plates,at one time,many many more, but have Re-Stocked, both Guns & DB. Rifles over the last 'Quarter Century' and have used them to add some'Victorian Flavor'to the new stocks.I have found the 'Bitish made,(and German, Belg. Austrian,also) have been'Hardened' A few of the'Lesser Expensive Guns'mostly Birmingham made, left the Steel Parts in the 'Soft'.On a pair of Boss 12b'Hammer,Ejectors, Side-Lever Guns, c1890,Only 14 built,Ref. Donald Dallas Boss&Co.Book.After I had Re-Stocked them back to 'All Original Dims; I Fitted 'Toe&Heel'Protectors to each gun.(Supplied by'Dakota Arms'in the white.) After Re=shaping them to the Orig.Boss Pat. Barry Hands Engraved them to Jack Sumner's original Pat.I contacted several 'Experts'( Or as Mr Brum'Jack Rowe calls several people'EX-Spurts')'Were the Original Victorian Steel Parts Case-Hardened, or left 'Soft &Blued'??I Case-Hardened T&H pcs, &screws, Polished back to'Boss-Bright' then had Turmbull 'Blue'. Of the 'Many' Parker'Skels.Ansley H Fox Skeleton But-Plate(ONE) that I've been 'Privileged'to have on my Work-Bench, there has'nt been one that I could'nt put the'Graver' to, or File out for Upgrading(or Down-Grading) Do we know if Parker Bros. ever hardened any of these Units???? As to Longevity of engraving on Steel Butt-Plates,I have Purdey #208c 1819, & Joe Manton db c 1813. W.Greener,perc.c1829-35, All well used Engr.Still there. I just checked 5 other Parker Skeleton B/Plates,a couple with traces or original engr.all 'cutable with graver'. I have a G&H New York Bolt Rifle c 1930s,Steel Butt-Plate,Engraved,Blued,.."Diamond-Hard".I wonder what the 'Rockwell" is on the Galazan Fox Engraved 'Skel/B/Plate' is???Then of course we have Parker No168304,The C**r's gun I recently 'Stripped Down" and examined,I did'nt check the Skel/B/P did notice the Engraving was a little 'Thin'.Maybe someone will give some discussion to this Question?? cc

I know, as DT does, that Parker skeletons were blued, not by a rust method, judging by their appearance. My old Westley bar in wood is also blued in a wonderful high gloss method, probably not rust. I am ready for a buttplate restoration on my latest Parker acquisition, but the deep rust on this one may make restoration a replacement exercise rather than a refinish.

As I recall the Parker SKBPs were nitre blued, not hardened. I have 3 from various grades (G; D and B) and none exhibit the type of increasing embellishment or intricasies of engraving patterns that you would expect from an ascending-grade perspective. That is, the B is not that much more elaborate than the G; only tighter border scroll and slightly heavier fill. I don't know that I've seen an original A grade recently, but to my mind you really don't see the very ornate patterns and fill until you cross the "AA Threshold" in Parker Guns. Some of the early AAs (before the A-1 grade was offered) rival the most beautiful and intricate engraving I've ever seen anywhere. KBM

There is no reason why they can’t be both case-hardened and blued. When I interviewed one of the workmen for the Niedner Rifle Corporation I was told that the “Niedner Buttplates” were all case hardened (to keep the points sharp) the ones that showed color were left that way the rest blued.

Most all of the classic rifles I research have a blued and VERY HARD buttplate.