As many of you know, Michael Petrov made a lot of friends over the decades because he was such a nice guy and passionate researcher. Michael first called me about 30(?) years ago to introduce himself and offer story material on his favorite subject. I knew of him by reputation but I was writing largely about contemporary custom guns and rifles and seldom had the opportunity to take advantage of his material.

Much later, after I relocated to Montana he called because he wanted to improve his photo set-up and I spent a few hours on the phone with him telling him virtually everything I knew about gun photography. He implemented everything I told him and before long was showing photos every bit as high quality as I was doing.

When it came to questions about compiling and publishing books he would call and I told him what I knew.

Michael was always so forthcoming, thorough and generous with information that I was compelled to treat him in the same manner. I shared a lot of information that I might not with others simply because he was going to actually use it unlike many people who just want to talk about it.

When he was planning Volume 2 he asked for some advise and I told he absolutely Needed a Foreword and About The Author blurbs. To quote him as near as I can remember, “Yeh, I know. I read them in your books but I’m not sure I want to do that”. Humility, period.

I told him he owed it to his readers who wanted to know who this guy MP was.
He was reluctant to the point that he was, the only time I ever experienced this, a bit of a PITA to get personal information out of in a phone interview.
Fortunately the last time I attended the Beinfeld Antique Show in Las Vegas, 2010. I was talking with MP and my friend Tim Crawford and said, ”Hey, wanna get some lunch?”

I will forever cherish the following two hours as the three of us talked over lunch and he told us much of his personal story. That info made it much easier to write the Foreword and Bio. Trying to fully define the depth and complexity his knowledge of Niedner in the Foreword I wrote that, “The Niedner buttplate is an almost universal custom gun feature: Petrov has the original pattern buttplate passed from the Michigan workshop to stockmaker Thomas Shelhamer on to a close friend and lastly gifted to Michael.”

Of all the items Joe Dobrinki has auctioned, of all the guns some of you were fortunately enough to acquire or study in the catalog and we have all been fortunate to entertain us with notions of owning, I wanted that buttplate pattern. I mean I Really Wanted it, and when I missed my chance to bid in the EBay auction I kicked myself heartily, then gave it up for lost…
A couple of days ago a small box arrived in my P.O. Box and in it was the Niedner, Shelhamer, Petrov buttplate pattern with this note.

Steve, I wanted to let you know what pleasure it was to meet you and work with you at the Seminar. (June 2014) You are a wonderful teacher and your help has been a major breakthrough for my stockmaking. I am seriously thinking about going fulltime into the business when I have perfected my skills. I hope you can continue these seminars as they are immensely helpful to the students, and Fun!
Enclosed is the Shelhamer/Niedner pattern buttplate that you had written of in M.P.s 2cd book. When it came up for auction I wanted to secure it from anyone that might use it on their work and have it lost forever. I also wanted you to have it for helping me with stockmaking and all that you have contributed to the gunmaking industry over the years.
Sometimes I would set it on my bench while I worked. Corny eh?
Anyway, Enjoy,
Dan Kleber

Dan is the fellow who came from Kodiak, AK last year with Springfield metal fully inlet into a walnut blank along with Kirkwood Bros. and Barney Worthen Springfield’s for show and tell and to use as study examples. He brought a large box full of tools and a smaller box full of frozen a halibut. His project went home virtually ready to sand and finish.

Known as Newton1131 here, you can count of his posts to be correct and accurate, but you aren’t going to see them very often because he is simply a low-key kinda guy.
Thanks Dan!

Dan at work on his Springfield in my Montana workshop, 6/14.