Craft Gunmaking, No compromises, No corners cut, EVER

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Reevaluation

I have heard from a surprising number of individuals expressing their regret about the demise of my gunsmithing blog, it seems there were a good number more that enjoyed and appreciated it than I'd have ever thought.  Upon further reflection, perhaps my decision to remove it was made in haste and anger, two elements that when combined rarely lead to the best of decisions.  The stated purpose of the blog was to educate owners of quality guns, of any type, to be able to distinguish competent workmanship from the not-so-good workmanship that, unfortunately, is so prevalent in gunsmithing (and many other trades) today.  There are far too many "gunsmiths" in the US that hang out a shingle and offer services that they simply lack the ability or experience to perform.  There are even some that refer to themselves as "master gunmakers", which is complete nonsense.  There is no legitimate guild or apprenticeship system to bestow the title of "master" in the US, as far as gunsmithing is concerned.  Anyone who refers to himself as a master gunmaker has bestowed that title upon himself should be viewed with even higher suspicion than other self-styled "experts".  I do not claim to be an "expert" or a "master", my only claim is to being competent.   Since (apparently) the blog was performing its intended purpose, I have decided to bring it back.  If some other person in the trade is inspired by something seen on the blog, I realise now that I should be glad to have been of help, but I still take no responsibility for the results.