09/14/2025
I want to express som**hing. In the past 25 years I given my life to being a student of the gunsmithing trade, particularly to pistolsmithing, riflesmithing and stockmaking. I do alot of refinishing and repair work, and that too takes years to master, but its not art, creation is art, and the 3 above disciplines are a true art. I say student because even a master at this trade always has som**hing to learn. While I feel I have excelled in all 3 of these, though I still know where my mistakes lie, even if others can't point them out, I still cannot choose which is my favorite, as the mood changes with the days, and someone will bring me a new twist on their own idea of what is art, and that intrigues me. So in that regard I guess I'm still human. What my concern is, is in the quality of craftsmanship. In todays world revolving around profits and the dollar, I see so many products come into my shop, high end and low end, whether by other smiths, or major companies, that I see as subpar on quality. There is no call for this in my opinion, especially considering what we are dealing with. Our trade is a small one and a very unique one, and the knowledge and craftsmanship of it is dyeing. That will not help further this trade. And I do not refer to the companies making combat arms by the hundreds each day that they sell to governments globally! Now back to the point, what I see today, and which is the reason for this writing, is the lack of quality in and of the work performed on the final product of a quality firearm, or what the consumer believes to be so. And the sad part of this is the fact that the consumer doesn't know any better because they unfortunately haven't seen high quality work, or quality work in general, so they have nothing to compare and judge it too, they are mostly taking the maker's and seller's word for it, which one must remember, profits are their goal, not your true satisfaction. Profits drive commerce, I get that, but fooling your consumers as to what quality is with fancy wording and descriptions just so you can overcharge them is bad business. And its time people understood what to look for and be skeptical of, not that I'm any expert on the matter, just an observationist of the past and present of the trade dealing with guns made over the past 120 years that I have put hands on and worked on and repaired or enhanced. This is going to be a multi faceted subject with many parts that complicate it, simply because as a business owner I see the business side, but as a true gunsmith and craftsman, which is my true passion, i see that side too, and unfortunately today, few businessmen are also craftsmen, and thats where the breakdown has taken place. This subject really probably requires a book be written, with pictures for those who don't read so good.....So think about this a bit and give it some consideration. I'm going to collect my thoughts more thoroughly on this subject, make some notes, and I will resume this post/rant once I feel my thoughts on this matter are coherent to those reading this, and even then it may only be coherent to myself, and if that's the case, then you are free to come by and we can duke it out behind the sh*****se. I bid you all a Good Day.
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