Roy,
I ordered that book through Dave. Really great! Thanks for the tip. The pictures help a great deal. The picture of the skelp barrel in progress with a glob horse nails at one end is worth the price to me.
I also got Charles Semmer's "Remington Double Shotguns". He has a chapter, though short, on damascus. Pictures of such items as Boston Ohonon, Chine damascus are all there.
In that chapter Semmer suggests an interest thing. This is not primary source, but more a reminisce of Del Grego. Del Grego claimed that he remembered old time Remington employees talking about making damascus barrels and what hot work it was. Semmer suggests that Remington was not buying finished or rough tubes, but rather forged damascus billets. He further suggests that they may have had an American source.
Again, none of this is primary source and much is speculation on the part of Semmer. But it does cause me to think. Were there American sources for such a product?
Pete
