Considering Paragons were built to order, it seems a reasonable request by the buyer could be made. I know Baker had a sample board of various Damascus patterns, but doubt the buyer got to see it, as I am sure most orders originated at the Dealer level. In general, the Baker Grades were generated by the barrel material type. That said, a knowledgeable buyer might request anything he wanted or knew about. The 1909 Paragon could have been a requested chain Damascus, or it could have been what was in stock. Baker admitted in the period after 1910 all barrel material was becoming harder to get. Unrest in Europe. I have a gun with Homo Tensile steel marked on the top of the barrels and with the Krupp flusstahl marks on the underside. Seems like they were out of Belgian material when it came time to build a gun requiring Homo Tensile, so they used what they had, even though the Krupp was much more expensive.
Last edited by Daryl Hallquist; 03/31/11 01:44 PM.
