I just completed the companion guns that go with the Single Action Army shown in an earlier Thread...and also seen in Issue 139 of The Engraver Magazine. These are consecutive numbered Government Model Colt .38 Supers - one dedicated to Pancho Villa, and the other to Emiliano Zapata...The...
Ben Lane Jr. passed away this week. Ben was an outstanding engraver and a Founding Member of FEGA.
We remember Ben for his wisdom and leadership throughout the formative years of FEGA. He was a Texan, a gentleman, and a FEGA and Colt Master with an easily identifiable kind of work based on...
The Gangsters have been underway for some time and the work is nearing completion. These 1911's were obtained from the Colt Custom Shop a number of years ago; I had them stored away waiting for the right job. They are consecutive serial numbers and built in the original 1911 configuration...
This Buffalo Bill Colt is a re-creation of an original presented to Col. W. F. Cody as gift from his publisher, The J&H Mayer Company of New York in 1895. In addition to published articles, Mayer was the company that produced many of the original art porters and advertising for the Buffalo Bill...
This Colt SAA was hipped from the Custom Shop with full blue and a non-fluted cylinder. My client's theme objective was to celebrate the Mexican Revolutionaries, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. These two were politically active in the early 1900's in suport of the farm workers and peasants...
I have a couple of good friends who I visit with each year in Cody, Wyoming. One is HB - a lifetime Lawman from Texas, and the other is Keith Seidel - world famous leather craftsman and Saddle Maker from Cody. Keith is always a great host for our gatherings and one of our annual favorite times...
I have been researching issues about removing barrels from the new production Colt Pythons for engraving. I have always pulled Python barrels, it makes the engraving job so much easier! I had read somewhere that there was a technical issue about removing barrels from the new generation...
I'm in the process for engraving a pair of John Bolliger Custom Rifles for a client who is having them built for his wife and daughter. The client requested a theme with subtle hearts and a with birthstones mounted in gold crosses on the floorplates. Most of the work on both rifles is...
Greetings from Emporia and the beautiful new GRS Training Center Classrooms. The Lady Sharpshooters are hard at work - the hardest working group of students ever!
I have just returned from Las Vegas and the the Safari International Show held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. I was there with John Bolliger, Riflemaker from Pocatello, Idaho, to present our creations - rifle and pistol - for the SCI Grand Auction that was held Saturday evening, January...
The Annual CCA Show starts tomorrow in Noblesville, Indiana (Indianapolis). I'll have this 1903 on my table as well as the FEGA Auction Colt, the 2022 SCI Auction Colt and several others on my table. AND, if you can attend, you can also see the great work of Layne Zulke, Brian Powley, Lee...
I finished another major part of them 2022 Safari International 50th Anniversary Auction Rifle. This John Bolliger Custom was fitted with a steel butt plate that presented lots of room for scrolls and figures. Following the American Game Animal theme we decided on a Rocky Mountain Bighorn for...
I have been posting photos of work-in-progress on this project over the past few months. Today I finished the grip cap. This is more of a graphic than a hair and bones lion, but it's an early version of the SCI Logo....a Black Maned Lion over a Maasai Shield and Crossed Spears. The Lion is...
I've been posting photos of work-in-progress on the 2022 Safari International 50th Anniversary Project over the past few weeks. Here is an additional photo of the top of the slide. The base inlay was done with 24K wires, then came the task of forming the easily recognizable facial attributes of...
I showed the first side of the SCI Colt earlier. This project is a rifle and handgun set being created by myself and John Bolliger for the January 2022 Safari International show in Las Vegas. The Colt and Custom 300 Win Mag will be presented as a cased set for the 50th Anniversary Auction. I...
I'm working with John Bolliger (Mountain Riflery, Pocatello, ID) to create the showcase item for SCI 50th Anniversary auction - to be held in Las Vegas, January 2022. We are producing a combination Rifle & Sidearm cased set. I will be receiving the rifle parts from John soon, but meanwhile...
The Colt Collectors Association has produced their Annual Show Gun since the mid 90's. That gun is held as the final item in their Annual Auction - it's the highlight of the CCA Show. The Show Gun has always graced the cover of the Fall issue of The Rampant Colt Magazine, and that's the issue...
I have been working on a set of three Custom Shop Single Actions over the past 6 months or so - with a considerable amount of work yet to do. These are 2nd Generation .45's and they are set up with 4 3/4", 5 1/2" and 7 1/2" barrels. They have consecutive serial numbers and are fitted with...
I'm just getting into a set of three Custom Shop Colts SSA's - these are 2nd Generation .45's with three different barrel lengths, matching ivories, and consecutive serial numbers. The subject Theme is set by the client following Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and "The Cowboys."
Given the "Hollywood...
I'm working on a set of three 2nd Generation Colt SSA revolvers - three barrel lengths, Custom Shop Ivory Grips, and with consecutive serial numbers. I have completed much of the work on various areas of the three, but this is the cylinder of the first....inlaid with gold and platinum borders...