Wood figure in grips and stocks - how important to collectability?

[thisisdonald]

I have Monty kennedy's book on stockmakingand checkering from the early 50s. I can tell you, from his book, he was very selective, as were his contemporaries, about The stocks they chose. Bear in mind though, that these are not off the shelf stocks, but ones made to order. The prized wood it seems above all else was curly maple, the stockmakers trudging around the hills of California looking for trees that would contain exactly what they wanted and trying to harvest them in secret before anyone else got to them first!!!
Monty also details how he tiger striped quite plain wood using a blowlamp and a metal stencil. The stocknin question was quite remarkable.

[AllanM]

I am a bit of a nutter for nicely figured stocks and am sure this is one of the reasons collectors often have more than one example of the same rifle.

Take Sheridan's for instance, often they can be quite plain but now and then you see some really lovely examples of American walnut and occasionally maple.

[Mark D]

[IMG]DSC00101 by davismark634, on Flickr[/IMG]


Not bothered by wood me

[AllanM]

I've just bought a Joker folding pocket knife with a Bocote handle.
Also known as Mexican Rosewood, it is a hard, dense wood with a very distinctive appearance with dark black stripes running through it.
I have to admit I had never heard of this wood before, but it would certainly make a stunning rifle stock.