The Belgian tubes were almost always finished black & white, while the English tubes were almost always brown & white.
Is there any indication this would have an actual effect on a Lefever's finish. I have been under the impression that the bbls would have been imported as simple unfinished tubes & would have been asembled & finished by the US maker. The above would apply, I believe, to those guns imported into the US as finished guns, which was not the case with Lefevers, or the other American classics. Thus the origin of the tubes would have little bearing upon what finish was applied at the Lefever works.
PS; Pete, Whitworth bbls were listed as the steel option for a number of years on the Optimus Grade, They may have been available on special order on other grades, but do not seem to be a regularly cataloged item.
