doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ken the barrel browner

Carcano,

I’m sure the situation you describe is unfortunately not uncommon with one man shops.

I have also seen some elderly gunsmiths who had absolutely no issues like that. Jerry Fisher, Dale Goens and Steve Heilman come to mind. All sadly now deceased. They worked off schedule, communicated well and delivered on time. They were very selective in who they worked for I think.

The key to maintaining your sanity in this business.

Jim Kelly, of Darlington Gun Works was another elderly gentleman gunsmith that was always very punctual and organized, right up until his death. His sweet wife helped him much in that regard.

I miss him very much, and not only for his skill and professionaism, but he was a fascinating person to talk to.

I recall a Smith with the first name Andy caused a lot of gun owners grief, for not returning barrels or even calls. I think he had health issues in the end it was determined and was out of business. Life happens and I try to give people the benefit of doubt. But property needs to be restored to the rightful owner in all cases. One real issue is poor record keeping is always an issue in these cases. Without a paper trail to follow, anyone trying to figure out later what and where things are for return is operating under an extreme handicap. I limit myself to gunsmiths I can drive directly to for drop off and pickup when ever possible. When not possible I keep frequent contact with the smith. Not trying to pester him but don't want be forgotten. And quick completion is followed by quick final payment which sometimes does not happen. Nothing is more unfair to a Smith that having him wait for final payment. You do the work on time, you deserve to be paid promptly, not when I get around to it.

I’m sorry he died.

He mixed up a bottle of red oil for me and send it to me gratis. Wonderful solution, great tone.

We talked about barrel browning, and his ideas of scaling up his process.
I cautioned against it.
It’s not 1895.

We was already experiencing health problems then, and evidently his system flamed out, with many detractors.

Never heard a word since.
Until this.

Rest in peace Ken.
At least you tried

I'm saddened to hear that Ken61 died, and apparently suffered major health issues beforehand. Rest in peace Ken.

I remember the conflicts and complaints concerning Ken's barrel refinishing around the time he left this forum. It was very surprising because the complaints seemed so out of character. He always struck me as intelligent, responsible, and someone with a great work ethic. When he got into rust bluing barrels, he literally attacked the subject to learn all he could, and made every attempt to improve and do great work. He specifically leaned into Doug Woodin PA24 for advice, and said he would use Doug's results as his inspiration to do better. Anyone familiar with Doug's work knows this meant strict attention to details and perfection during the prep. So I wasn't surprised to hear Ted say that Ken wanted to take his Nitro Special barrels to a much higher level of polish than factory original.

Lots of people noticed, and it became apparent that a lot of folks were happily sending their barrels to Ken, and then endorsing him and giving him repeat business. I recall some pics he posted of probably a couple dozen barrel sets in progress, and it looked like he had almost an assembly line type operation. So CZ's comment about him scaling up his operation is a fact. However, it seems like things snowballed and got entirely out of hand, with business increasing about the same time as his health began to crash.

I'm sure it's no comfort to those who either lost barrels or had theirs damaged, but there is no part of me that believes Ken ever acted with bad intentions. I've seen a couple people that were terminally or severely ill suddenly take on large projects that I knew there was no possible way they could handle. It may be something like a tree that suddenly produces a huge crop of nuts because it somehow knows it is dying. I suppose it was no different with Ken, and he simply believed that he would somehow get better, and complete the barrels he had in his possession when he got too sick to keep up.

That said, it also surprised me that there are apparently 15 or 16 orphan barrels sets Ken had that the owners have not recovered. I'd have thought they would make a more diligent attempt to recover their property, especially if they paid in advance.

Ken was a good and regular poster here and had done good work for a number of people when things went sideways. I knew about your problem Joe. It just seemed out of character for him. RIP. Glad there was some kind of rational explanation for the sudden problems.

For the record, when SKB restored my 20 gauge Francotte, inquiries were answered in a timely fashion, I got regular progress reports. Can't ask for more than that.

Retirement cures many evils. Some craftsmen work too long. Some younger men succumb to the evils of drink or drugs. Whatever, the result is the same, lost guns and parts. I have suffered through that a couple of times and, after some effort, came out alright.