Refinishing May Be a Shot in the Dark

Question: I am about to refinish an antique firearm, a shotgun, which I recently purchased. Is there anything I should watch out for as I begin the overhaul? --F.M.

Answer: If done properly, a refinished firearm can be a beautiful collectible.

But, according to collectors, if the refinishing is not done properly, the value of your shotgun will plunge.

A veteran refinisher will take great care to not remove any lettering; to polish the firearm smooth enough to remove pits in the metal; and to keep all of the firearm’s edges sharp.

Care must be taken, according to collectors, not to remove too much metal and to preserve as much of the original firearm as possible.

Unless you have some experience in refinishing, collectors recommend having a professional do the job. It’s the smartest way to protect your investment.

Datebook

More than 200 collectible American swords will be sold by the Butterfield & Butterfield auction house in Los Angeles and San Francisco on Nov. 20. The collection, according to the auction house, was started in 1790 and spans conflicts from the American Revolution through the Civil War.

“The indisputable highlight of this sale is a stunning, jewel-encrusted sword presented to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant by his friends in Kentucky when he took command of the Northern Army in 1864,” according to a Butterfield & Butterfield statement.

For more information, call (213) 850-7500; or (415) 861-7500.

More on Canals

“We have lots of canals, but no one is enthused about saving our history,” says B. W. Morant of Sierra Madre, in response to a recent column about collecting American canal items.

Morant, who taught industrial design and drafting at John Muir High School in Pasadena and at Caltech, is a tool engineer by training. But he is also an expert on canals and does extensive lecturing on the subject.

His critical observation is based on his travels throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. For example, he says, the Rideau Canal, which stretches between the Canadian cities of Kingston and Ottawa, is a big tourist attraction with popular boat rides through the canal’s locks.

“We spend millions of dollars to ride their canals as tourists, so why don’t we restore some of our canals and do the same thing?” Morant asks. “Look at the history lessons to be learned.”

Most of the historic U.S. canals and their locks, particularly in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, have fallen into such disrepair that even the local residents are generally ignorant of both their existence and the role they played in developing this nation’s industrial might, he added.

Referring to Lockport, N.Y., he said, “it would be wonderful to restore the old ‘Lockport Five’ locks on the Erie Canal so that we could take a boat ride through the old locks.”

In Ohio, from which he just returned, Morant said: “The old Ohio and Erie Canal locks and the Miami and Erie Canal locks have badly deteriorated.” The best models of early American canals, he said, are in Rome, N.Y., at the Erie Canal Village Museum.

Of course, the National Park Service still maintains the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal with its scenic towpath in Washington, but, as Morant pointed out, it’s not a working canal.

Morant is a member of the American Canal Society, which publishes a quarterly newsletter, the American Canal Bulletin. Correspondence should be addressed to the society’s president, William E. Trout III, 35 Towana Road, Richmond, Va. 23226.

Morant said he would take questions from individuals interested in canal history and associated memorabilia, such as canal post cards. His telephone number: (818) 355-7280.