Rifle for Reno

[Brian Hochstrat]

Here is a rifle I just finished up for a customer. It is to be blued and will have a custom stock. It will be interesting to see how it will look all assembled. It will be on display at the Reno show in January, I am really hoping my engraving does'nt loose its look when blued. I did my scroll design a little bigger in the hopes of it remaining visible once it is blue. I guess I will find out when I see it in Reno.

The lever on the mag cover is deeply sculpted, which was a change of speed for me, most of my stuff is fairly light, but I now have a better appreciation for what Phil Grifnee does, because it takes FOREVER. I spent an entire day cutting and sculpting and a half of another stoning and polishing and I was not puttering either, it really suprised me how much time it ended up taking. I am not sure that I would have the patience to do an entire gun in that style, if I ever have to find out it will be very expensive.

Anyway I hope you all like it, if you see anything you don't like, speak up, others see what I sometimes overlook. Thanks Brian

 

[Tim Wells]

Brian,

You got a cutting torch out there don't you?
Seriously, it looks mighty good and original. I really, REALLY like the way you did those inner scroll leaf folds. I've never seen them done that way before and I like em' better than any I recall seeing.

Lots of the right kind of detail and not formed like a cliche' for lack of a better term. I'm wresling with not doing that particular part like most of the scrolls you see these days, too much of the same thing sometimes. But not here. Great work my friend.

 

[Tim Adlam]

Brian,

I like the bold scroll style you chose, and it should work very well with the bluing.
The way you handled the available space is impressive.
[The back-side of that trigger guard must've been a bugger too!!]

Great job Brian!

Tim

 

[fegarex]

Brain,
Very nice! It might not be what purists want but I would suggest a caustic blue rather than a rust blue. The rust blue seems to wash out more but you will keep more of your contrasts with a caustic blue.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[BrianPowley]

Brian.........Great stuff!
Nice round scrolls. A real neat style (Maybe some Lynton MacKenzie influence here and there.)
Nice flowing lines and good balance throughout.
Can't say there's anything to be critical of.
Some gold or multi-colored inlays can add a whole new effect, but on this piece, it isn't necessary.

You did a fantastic job!

Brian

 

[dclevinger]

Brian,
That is just beautiful, great job. I completely agree with Rex about the bluing. You won't lose a thing with caustic.
David

 

[Marrinan]

very impressive design. Even though using "large" scroll the space is very well balanced and moves well-your leaf structures are inspirational to say the least. I really like the way you used the backbone and leaf/tendril bases to fill one side then used equal amonts of background removal to bring balance and harmony to the compsition.Thanks for sharing-Fred

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Brian............that's awesome!!!!

I'll look forward to seeing it at Reno. My experience is that if the photos look great then the real thing looks about 100 times better.

The sculpting's fun isn't it! a lot of work but well worth the effort.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[JJ Roberts]

Brian...What is not to like! Marvelous work!!! Hot bluing will look fine or you could use Nitre Blue or French Gray ..floor plate and trigger guard. Just a thought. Nice meeting you at the Blade Show. Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts

 

[Sam]

Brian, that's bad to the bone! Strong design with bold elements and beeeeyoutiful shading. No doubt this'll draw a lot of admirers at Reno. Congratulations! ~Sam

p.s. Please add it to the Gallery so we can continue to admire it after this thread sinks into oblivion.

 

[Steve223]

Very nice..i really like the big bold scrolls, Thanks for shareing

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Brian beautiful work. That gun sure will be an eye catcher. I think you will loose a little when blued. Ray Cover was going round and round with that. Your work looks strong enough to shine through though.

 

[ron p. nott]

Brian .. that is just fantastic , great scroll design and excellent flow of your scroll , the shading and the deep cut back ground makes this piece a show winner . looking forward to seeing you at the reno show .. ron p.

 

[Brian Hochstrat]

Thanks for the good reviews, once I send it off its out of my hands on how it will be finished but I am going to suggest to the owner to go with the caustic blue or maybe getting it back and removing the blue from the engraving as JohnB has suggested.

Brian P. there is a touch of Lynton in my work but I come by it honestly, through Sam, when I first began engraving I did a Lynton impression on a project and after Sam politely explained my error, I am very careful about what I use that was started by Lynton. Thanks, Brian

 

[SamW]

Bold and beautiful. I like it! S

 

[lesholmes]

Some things are too beautiful to be blued!

Ask your customer to consider a clear finish.