extreme gun decoration

I'm no engraver either but I can fully appreciate the skill and effort that went into building that rifle however I share Leonardo's feelings exactly - I like the individual sections but I don't like the way they are presented on this gun. On the flip-side, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and as long as the customer is happy with it, that's all that matters. If we all liked the same things, this would be a very dull and boring world.

Charlie,

Please don't hesitate to post pictures of your work on this site. I posted my first attempt at engraving and compared to what you see the professional engravers here, it was nothing less than downright laughable from an engraving standpoint but it was intended to have an aftermarket folk-art look ... and it did! Thing is, I didn't get a single negative comment - quite the contrary in that many people went out of their way to offer very helpful advice which is not something you find in most fields of craftsmanship. Most masters of a trade will keep their hard-learned secrets to themselves as it's a matter of job security, on this site you will find the grand masters of their trade freely and willingly going out of their way to share their tips & tricks with anyone who is willing to listen/read. I think the one thing missing is attributed to the folks like me, those of us who read more than post - I know I should be diligent in posting the two most important words, "THANK YOU".

I keep trying, I still suck at engraving but the only way I can find out all the things I'm doing wrong is to post pictures here and ask the masters. I may never be able to engrave worth a hoot and it doesn't matter because if my attempts at least offer some "comic relief" on the forum then all is right with the world! Main thing is, if you don't ask, you don't know and if you don't keep trying and learning from your mistakes, you'll never know.

FL-Flinter said:

I think the one thing missing is attributed to the folks like me, those of us who read more than post - I know I should be diligent in posting the two most important words, "THANK YOU".

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This is all too true, and as one of the guilty lurkers would like to add my "Thank You" to this thread. I have learned much while viewing this forum and have much more to learn! Thank you!

Many thanks for the "thankyous", how very nice. Though the overall effect of this work is a visual overload, there are some very nice ideas and techniques that provide inspiration to further a persons design and bench skills.

There are elements and techniques that I like very much on this gun. However, the whole is a bit too baroque for my taste.

I guess my biggest objection would be that the piece is lost as a gun. My basic philosophy has always been that an art knife gun fly rod etc. should still function. When I build a fly rod and put $10,000 worth of carving, wrapping and engraving work into it should still catch fish. An art knife should still have a sharp edge to cut and by George an art gun should still shoot.

Unless there is some real trick that makes this gun shoot heart shaped slugs it no longer functions as a gun.

What I like about the project.

I like the treatment on the buttplate
I like textural differences utilized on the various surfaces
I like the sculpted figures as individual elements
I like the look of the gold inlay scroll on the textured background

Ray