Re: Big Norm, Destroyed?
Jerry,
Your absolutely correct in your comments about the heat treatment. But what I am talking about is in the prep work and not the heat treatment. Any professional restorer worth his or her salt will tell you that removing the least amount of metal is primary in restoration. Preserving detail is very important. How many times have you seen the locking bolt thats been restrawed were the flat and the champered edge have been removed to the point that that area is practically rounded and the numbers almost gone. Look at Thors work. He keeps that area flat like its supposed to be. I have never physically examined his work close but the pictures look good. I have a trigger that someone turned a buffing wheel loose on to remove pitting. There isn't a flat area on its sides to be found.
Prep work is vital to good work both in strawing and in bluing. Removal of metal should be kept to an absolute minimum. After all, you are restoring and not just re-coloring. Attention to detail is very important. Sometimes it is best to leave small pits on the part. Here is where the artistery and talent of the restorer comes to bear. Then we get to the actual cleaning, heat treatment and the finish polishing which I won't get into here.
Personally, I believe that a hackers method of buffing any gun is the worst possible down and dirty method of preping. These people have destroyed parts and done more damage than they have helped.
But here is where in my earlier discussion, I tried to differentiate a quality restoration from a hackers destruction. To condemn a Luger to a greatly reduced valuation because it has been restored is not entirely correct. Some people are very, very good at restoring.
Big Norm
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