Critique Request Not so finished gun.

[griff silver]

I should've been done with this pistol...there are mistakes but overall I pleased considering my limited skill level. However hindsight is 20/20. I had to make the grips as I could'nt find any to fit this gun in aluminum. I am going to redo the grips leaving the star smooth this time as i think I over engraved them. Also I hate the big scroll on top of the slide it seems almost out of place. the train of though ( that wrecked lol) was to balance the other end with the star... oh well experience is what you get when you dont get what you want. . I am also going to go ahead and do the slide/barrel pin. One think I like is that with the exception of the slide top and star all was drawn with a pencil on Sams Transfer wax on the piece. Please beat me up I wanna get better!!

 

[Indy Joneds]

i am just a noob , but i think your stippling around the star isnt as black as it could be , which would show the star off more.

The star with the border is my favourite part because it is showing your personality and own style . your scroll work is very nice also though

 

[mvangle]

The huge white space on the grips is a distracting my eyes from the engraving.

 

[Big-Un]

I think if the star was left blank (not engraved at all) then the "white space" would be more balanced and not too much of a distraction.

Bill

 

[davidshe]

Pretty darn nice work in my opinion and a lot of it! Maybe engraving a simple circle border around each of the handle screws would balance out that white space a bit? I assume the slide is stainless? If so, can you briefly describe how you prepped the slide prior to engraving it? Can't exactly tell by the picture but it looks like the aluminum handles and the stainless ended up matching pretty well? Thanks.

 

[griff silver]

the slide is stainless and i had that terrible bead blast finish on it. I used a rubber sanding block like they use to wet sand a car. Starting with 320 grit i hand sanded it all down, then with 600, then 1200. as i engrave i rub it from time to time with 3m ultrafine sponge pad. thanks to everyone one for the comments. I am going to redo the grips and leave the star smooth i just think there to much going on with the grips.

 

[DAK4442]

Overall I think the piece is very well done. Before you try redoing the grips how about throwing that "running wheat" boarder around the screws to better match the star? A flat plain star might just give you more "white space" to draw your attention...IMHO

 

[Southern Custom]

If the star is left plain, then it will start to stick out like the area around the screw holes. I would do a double border on it or something similar to break it up. That or call it good and move on to the next one.
The only other thing I'd point out is to watch your "starter" scroll and try to avoid elongating them and flattening the spine. The one to the rear is noticeably "longer and flatter" than the one near the muzzle. I've done this myself to try and fit a spot and didn't really see it till after it was cut. Also on the panel to the right of the ejection port, there is one piece of round negative space where the scroll crosses itself that is a bit out of balance with the rest. Your customer will likely not notice of course so you just move on to the next piece and learn from this one.
Layne