RC, I think that Bob Edwards must have been "among" the folks who made twist or damascus barrels in the U.S. Even his own writing , on page two of this thread, only claimed to be possibly only barrel borer to do so. Here's his statement.
From 1861 to 1865 Edwards worked at barrel making, and " to the best of his knowledge is today [1909] the only man in the United States working at barrel boring who ever made twist and damascus barrels"
It would seem that if Edwards went to Brookton [Losey and Lull] at the age of 15, then others must have taught him much about twist barrel making from that year, 1861 to 1865.
