Webley Spares Prices.

[Jerry Cornelius]

.

In what feels like the distant past, but wasn’t actually very long ago, I used to enjoy physically hunting down or discovering out-of-print books. These days, a couple of searches, and there’s a “buy it now” or “add to cart” button. It is more convenient, but I think we’ve lost something special.

I used to like finding the second hand bookshop in any new town I was visiting. Nowadays it’s rare to find one, other than charity shops they are almost always rubbish. (Incidentally it was Oxfam not the Internet that killed second hand bookshops. Free stock and no taxes.)

On the other hand I just ordered a book via abe books from the states for £15 including delivery, so, swings, roundabouts I guess. It’s not the same as browsing in a real shop though.

[look no hands]

I know how you all feel and agree with you, when I went to John Knibbs for the first time a few weeks ago I was in my element, lots of lovely old secondhand rifle's (just not the ones I'm after) but it was a pleasure to find somewhere that had a decent amount unlike the gun shop that used to be near to me when I lived near Southampton, which had a load of new Chinese/foreign made guns or very small selection of over priced secondhand stuff, but there's nothing like finding a shop full of what you're after for what ever interests you have.

I'm still hoping to find a gun shop with the rifles I want for my collection but in general the price for spares and whole rifles has gone stupid, I said the other day about the £645 Airsporter Stutzen I found in a shop, I have the money to buy it but I won't because I feel it's way over priced, I may never find another one for sale or because of the next time I find one for sale again they may all be that sort of money or even more.

Pete

[Binners]

A talented Engineer at our fair makes spares, here are a few.

[Jerry Cornelius]

A talented Engineer at our fair makes spares, here are a few.

Oh my. Those are so nice it’s almost worth buying them even if you don’t need them !

[Garvin]

Did the Service peeps come in two lengths or is this just a distortion of perspective (I suspect the latter)?

Beautiful work!

[Troubledshooter]

Did the Service peeps come in two lengths or is this just a distortion of perspective (I suspect the latter)?

Beautiful work!

Different height adjustments on the same sight type.

Paul is indeed a talented engineer.

[Garvin]

I know how you all feel and agree with you, when I went to John Knibbs for the first time a few weeks ago I was in my element, lots of lovely old secondhand rifle's (just not the ones I'm after) but it was a pleasure to find somewhere that had a decent amount unlike the gun shop that used to be near to me when I lived near Southampton, which had a load of new Chinese/foreign made guns or very small selection of over priced secondhand stuff, but there's nothing like finding a shop full of what you're after for what ever interests you have.

I'm still hoping to find a gun shop with the rifles I want for my collection but in general the price for spares and whole rifles has gone stupid, I said the other day about the £645 Airsporter Stutzen I found in a shop, I have the money to buy it but I won't because I feel it's way over priced, I may never find another one for sale or because of the next time I find one for sale again they may all be that sort of money or even more.

Pete

Pete your description of the Knibbs shop visit reminded me that I started on the long and happy road as an airgun collector after a visit to my local gunshop, which had the owner's fabulous collection of vintage air rifles in cabinets scattered around the place. I first saw a Webley Service Mk2 there at the age of 16 and thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. A year or so later I had one of my own (located via Exchange & Mart) and still have it, 40 years later.

i visited the shop recently and there were only modern guns on display. Depressingly, the shopkeeper told me his main cashflow came from selling Chinese-made cheapies, which had a big price markup.