doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Blackened Damascus

How much of a price hit are blackened Damascus barrels on an English gun that were originally browned?

Jim

There are some very good students of these guns who believe many English Damascus barrels were originally finished black and white.

You mean blacked such that they look like steel, with little to no pattern visible? There were guns early on refinished like that when fluid steel became the norm, so an otherwise sound gun kept up with the fashion.

I've bought a few English shotguns that had damascus that had been blued black. Some don't like damascus barrels even though they will shoot them if they don't see the patterns. I rebrown the ones that I buy.

Delete

A fair number of British Damascus guns have been blackened. Owner gets what he pays for. Same basic procedures do both with just an extra step not done. I don�t discount a gun based on black, Brown or black and white nor do I pay extra. After you buy it if it does not suit you just have it redone by someone who does a nice job. I�d rather see a worm good finish that a shiny new poor finish.

Yes, blackened or blued to look like fluid steel. Personal taste aside, changes to a gun�s original finish affects price. Whether wear or refinish, value is affected. The question is; how much? Tough question I think given the variables such as maker and quality, but one that is asked during every purchase.

Jim

I've been wondering about this as well. I have a couple a nicely rust blued damascus barrels that I could go ahead and etch, which was the original plan, but I don't feel like doing so right now and the guns will likely be sold. These are not expensive guns, so I don't think the barrel black/brown/patterned finish will matter much to the selling price in these cases.

We all understand that hot caustic salt bluing is most certainly not traditional blacking, and unfortunately that is frequently the process used to "freshen up" a lower grade vintage gun for sale.

Used gun value is generally based on The Brand Value level (BV) of the maker's name (the name on the gun), the Original Quality grade (OQ) of the gun, and the Current Condition level of the gun (CC). There are some more or less standard descriptions/definitions/lists for these criteria. If interested in this method give me a maker's name, description of the gun as it left the maker's shop, and the current state of OE finish/damage/repairs/replacements/restorations/etc. If you do, I'll run a sample of this method's output.

A direct answer to your question is that it depends on the BV of the maker, the OQ of the gun, and the CC. The higher the BV-OQ-CC the bigger the hit from any "wart."

DDA