I purchased the wood here from Mike M and took it to Steve in Omaha who crafted this stock-
I think the stock does well with this metal engraving pattern which is the oldest gun engraving pattern dating to the 1500s and called Thistle Scroll- a very very deep relief engraving
Good work on finding the character of the wood Steve
Definitely not a grafted blank. This blank is pure Franquette English Walnut that was laid out so that the butt backed into the white wood of the crotch. Gene was looking for something non-traditional and he got it. I'll be showing some true graft-line sets in the near future. The graft line usually shows up as a black or close to black jagged streak through the middle of the blank with Royal, Claro or Black Walnut in the butt and English in the inlet area.
Couple properly laid out examples:
I talked with the maker this evening and he indicated that he had no problems at all working with this non-traditional blank. Excellent craftsmanship and a stunning finished product.
I saw that blank sitting in his shop I think-- spalted maple? or myrtle wood?
Regards from Iowa
Gene
PS- I know Mr. M. has a lot of wood like that
Wood is something you aquire when you see something you like, if you have the funds at that time, because every bit of it is unique and you might not see that same set of characteristics again
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