The "R" word and collectable guns

[slug-gun]

What you say is true, but I still think there is an element of snobbery in there somewhere. For some collectors, just knowing that a gun has been refinished is enough to make it undesirable in their eyes, even if the refinishing is visually perfect and can only be detected by forensic examination. This is exactly the attitude of Dinky car and porcelain collectors, but not how collectors of vintage cars and paintings feel.

I sometimes think that the aversion to quality, sympathetic refinishing is Freudian. Maybe it is a subconscious dislike of another collector having previously dabbled with the object of their desires. Bit like they might feel about the woman in their life. This would explain why a factory-refinished gun is deemed OK, as it is a more impersonal intervention. Bit like letting your wife see a gynaecologist.

I don't think it has anything to do with snobbery, it is more about what floats your boat in terms of appreciating the appearance and feel of an air rifle/pistol, or indeed any collectable.

I have yet to see a refinished gun that compares to a mint one - the crispness and sharp detail of an original item is almost unmistakeable. The way it was originally polished at the factory, and that thin layer of grime and dried oil that has accumulated over years cannot be replicated. The dust that has gathered in the corner of the box, the whole thing as dry as a bone but still rust free, not having seen any oil for fifty or more years.

That can never be equalled by any restored item, no matter how skilled the restoration. And that is what I personally strive for, but that is me. Others would be equally happy with something well reblued but at a quarter of the price. It is horses for courses, and of course about how much money you want or can put into the hobby. Nothing at all to do with snobbery.

Dinky/Porcelain collectors will undoubtedly have a similar view. It is also about the challenge of the search. and the satisfaction derived from achieving a goal. Of course there are many rare items which can never be found in mint condition simply because they no longer exist in such. With items like that compromises obviously have to be made.

[Hsing-ee]

Buying a battered old springer with the intention of restoring it then realising it’s just an obsolete springer of which thousands were made, replacing the spring and whatever else it needs to achieve functionality and leaving it at that.