Period Photos

Last night I was re-reading Kelver's book and studying the period photos contained in it. I noticed several photos were credited to the Colorado Historical Society. Taking advantage of one of the very few benefits of living in the "digital age", I decided to do a quick internet search to see what I could come up with.

Here are some gun shops I would like to visit...

John P. Lower's store, Denver Colorado

I also wouldn't mind shooting that Sharps Borchardt with Mr. Lower.

Carlos Gove's shop, Denver Colorado

The Freund Bros., Laramie Wyoming 

And lastly, another Freund Bros. Shop, The Wyoming Armory

 I love the interior and think I could have spent hours in there.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm fond of old photos.

Lee

Book Reviews and Available Knives

While waiting to get the Low Wall project started, I have been doing a bit of reading on the subject of vintage single shots.

The book on top, 100 years of Shooters and Gunmakers of Single Shot Rifles, was written by Gerald Kelver and published in 1975. I believe this is Kelver's second book on the subject. This book covers a broad range of subjects, from the origins of the Creedmoor rifles to Stevens cartridges and telescopes to gunmakers like George Schoyen and famous shooters such as`Charles Rowland. I enjoy the history and learning about the personalities involved, but because the subject matter is so varied one is left wishing there was more detail. Even with that lack of detail, I enjoyed reading it.

The second book is James Grant's Single Shot Rifles. It was published in 1947 and is the first of five books Grant wrote on single shot rifles. This book is a review of the rifles and features a lot of excerpts from period catalogs and flyers. It doesn't have much in the way of the history behind the development of the rifles or the companies that produced them. It does, however, allow you to see the options the factories offered and the various cartridges the rifles were chambered for. In the case of cartridges that were rare, Grant lists alternate cartridge cases that can be used through trimming, reforming, etc. This book was a little "dry" for me because of the catalog/flyer excerpts and lack of history, but it is still a good reference source.

By the way, I am looking for a reasonably priced copy of Kelver's, "Respectfully Yours, H.M. Pope".

Continuing with the single shot theme, here are a some links to articles I found interesting:

http://sandiegoschutzenguilde.org/History/PhiloJacoby.html
http://sandiegoschutzenguilde.org/History/JackLondon.html
 http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2010/08/history-pope-rifle-barrels.html

Available Knives

This Semi-Skinner is currently available and I am working on a medium Drop Point Hunter to go along with it. The handle material is fiddleback Myrtle and was provided by Cecil Fredi.

THIS KNIFE IS SOLD

If you are interested in purchasing this knife or are interested in having a custom knife made, I can be reached at baumgartknives@gmail.com

Cheers,
Lee

Low Wall Project

My Low Wall arrived and I am looking forward to starting the restoration process. According to the Winchester Arms Collectors Association website its serial number gives it a manufacture date of 1896.

As I said in my previous post, it has some issues. The stock is cracked in several places at the wrist, the forearm has some large chips, and the bore is pretty rough. The first place it will be going is Taylor Machine Shop in Puyallup, WA to have its bore lined.

Available Knife

The Semi-Skinner  below is currently available. The handle is Desert Ironwood, steel is O1, overall length is 7 1/2", and the blade length is 3 1/2". I had set aside this set of Ironwood scales for my personal use, but need to fund the Low Wall Project, so I pulled them out of "hiding". I haven't made a sheath yet, so if you are interested in purchasing it, you can choose a right or left hand sheath. 

THIS KNIFE IS SOLD

If you are interested in having a custom knife made, I can be reached at baumgartknives@gmail.com

Lee

A Pleasant Diversion...

Like my favorite gun writer Ross Seyfried, I prefer guns from an earlier period in time. I have zero interest in "black rifles" or anything "tactical". Where Ross has focused his efforts on guns made by British makers, I have found myself increasingly interested in vintage American Single Shots rifles. I have been lurking on the ASSRA forum for a while and recently decided to take the plunge. I am eagerly awaiting to take possession of the rifle pictured below.

 This is a Winchester Model 1885 Low Wall in 22 Long Rifle. It's got some warts, so my intent is to restore it. As this project evolves, I post updates here.

Lee

Sets and Pairs

Below are the last three in Rob's set of five. Handle material from top to bottom is Eucalyptus, Bocote, and Amboyna. All three are Large Drop Point Hunters.

Sets and pairs seem to be popular, which isn't surprising. On Accurate Reloading's Knife and Knife Making forum I posted the question, "How many knives do you carry in the field?". A majority of the people responding, most of whom are very active hunters, said they carry multiple knives in the field. Some guys are packing around three or four knives!

Here is the latest pair I made. The top knife is a Large Drop Point Hunter and the bottom knife is a Caping knife. The handles on these knives is presentation grade Desert Ironwood.

A Large Drop Point Hunter and a Small Drop Point Hunter in Redwood burl

Curly Myrtle and Tiger Myrtle Small Drop Point Hunters

If you are interested`in having a set of knives or a pair of knives made I can be reached at baumgartknives@gmail.com

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend and please remember those who gave their lives in the service of their country.

Lee

Rob's Knives

I am working on a unique project. I was commissioned by a gentleman named Rob to make a set of five knives. Rob has four daughters and wants to give each a knife for their birthday. The "twist" to this project is that Rob wanted me to choose handle wood with the first letter of the name of the wood matching the first letter of the daughter's name. We settled on Tamarind, Eucalyptus, Amboyna, and Bocote. Rob also wanted a knife, and since he is footing the bill, his was made first. Rob's knife was handled with Redwood burl.

Below is the second knife of Rob's five knives. The scales on this knife are stabilized spalted Tamarind. This is a pretty dark piece of Tamarind that has a little bit of everything going on. It has the black streaking , a couple of little knots and a few bug holes. It definitely makes for a unique knife.

The link below will take you to my original post on the Accurate Reloading Forum regarding Rob's knife and the second link is where I am posting the project as it progresses.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5021043/m/4741090902

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5021043/m/7001094902

Here's one more addition I recently made to the shop. This is a flat platten attachment purchased from Beaumont Metal Works.

Lee

A Few New Knives

A few knives that recently left my little shop...

Small Drop Point Hunter with Hawaiian Kauila handles. I had my maker's mark re-sized and this is the first small knife to wear it.

A note regarding the book the knife is resting on...I have been re-reading the works of the late Bob Hagel. Although his books are a little dated, I highly recommend them. Bob had lots of practical experience hunting North America and wasn't "tied" to any particular cartridge or manufacturer. He did, however, lean toward magnum cartridges with good reason. His books can be bought used inexpensively on Amazon.

A Large Drop Point Hunter with Redwood burl scales.

There was enough material left over from the first knife to make a second smaller knife. The gentleman who commissioned the first knife is pleased to be getting a set of knives.

And, a new addition to my shop- a Baldor buffer. I have also added a 10" contact wheel. I am now able to move the grind line much higher on the blade then I could with an 8" wheel. If you look at the smaller blades in the photos, you will notice they almost have a full grind.

If you are interested in having a custom knife made, I can be reached at baumgartknives@gmail.com