doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com From James Flynn.

Pictures and text.

Best,
Ted






I am the ruggedly handsome, modest fellow writing, Jens is to my right in the seated photos. On the table are a leather pad sample and some Cajun seasonings from LA. We also brought him some of my toasted pecans. The young man in the photo where we are inspecting an Essencia is my former exchange student from Germany.

When I called from the States to arrange our meeting, I asked him if I could bring him any tools, etc. from the US and he said no. He did ask me if I would show him how to do a leather pad. The Brits and Europeans do like gunsmithing tools made in the US. They really like the Nicholson #49 rasp.

Jens is located in Zella-Mehlis, the former home of Walther. He took us to Suhl to see the proof house. By the way, the proof house uses RCBS dies to make their proof cartridges.

The second American I know who has been through a European proof house. I got to see the proof house in St. Etienne when I was there. The proof master told me it was only because I was the rep for Establissments Darne, and they weren’t proofing any military arms that day. I was the first American on his watch. He was close to retirement age.

Merry Christmas, James.

Best,
Ted

James,
For those of us not in-the-know, who have no idea who "Jens" is, please inform us a little. Thanks.
JR

Jens Ziegenhahn. Ziegenhahn & Sohn gunmakers. The guy who makes the Essencia.

Sorry, John but I thought the topic was about the Essencia and Jens Ziegenhahn. Thankfully LeFusil cleared up the confusion.

When we were there I discovered that Jens' father apprenticed with Otto Wiess in Suhl back in the early 1950's.

Courtesy of Jens, my wife, student, and I got a first class tour of the proof house in Suhl. This was our first time to go to the old east zone and it was still very different from the West. I did see a brand new Trabant on the showroom floor at an abandoned car dealership.

The Germans are very advanced in their gunmaking. I visited a gunsmith in Idstein, Germany and he had a CNC mill and a wire eroder. I understood that this is rather common to have such machinery. German gunwork has a minimum quality that is good, then they have the very best.

While at Jens shop I watched a Lehrling, or apprentice, standing at a vise filing on a piece of steel rod. He was filing it into a square shape. It reminded me of what Peter Symes, formerly of Purdey's once told me. When he went to apply at Purdey's, the first thing they did was hand him a steel ball and told him to file it into a cube. It was an aptitude test to see if he had the conceptual and manual potential to do gunmaking. I supposed that was what the apprentice was doing at Ziegenhahn's. It has been so long ago I learned to use a file and rasp that I just don't remember not knowing how.

Well, I am starting to ramble so Merry Christmas to all.