Hawken Reproduction

[Notchy Bob]

Short answer i assembled it. Found gorgeous stock at gunshow. No barrel, lock ect. I thought it was an original and bought for what is now low pocket change. The finish on it is ACRAGLAS!!!!, The absurdly low cost, figure and style made me buy it. At another show i found two, Brand new, Unused, plugless Browning MTN rifle barrels. A .54 and a .45 . Had sights but thats it. I think they were stock parts from after the rifles were discontinued. You are 100% correct about the Griffith plugs, tangs and lock. Stock was originally inletted for them so a no brainer. Triggers, guard and misc came from shop parts drawers. The underrib, thimbles, under logs came from shop stock and made on my lathe and milling machine. Shoots dead on with either barrel but very heavy for these old arms with the .45 barrel. When finished it will be cased as a 2 barrel set with accoutrements.

I like reviving otherwise hopeless projects and this one might pass as an original at 50 feet. FWIW i fell into some very fancy curly maple stocks and barrels for a beford and tenn mtn style rifles which will be my next challenge. Scrounging parts as we speak and in search of a wood saavy type near Florence Oregon to help with inletting as Mr. Arthritis and Uncle Carpal tunnel have given me the "fecal touch" when it comes to wood.

The snail on the Griffith looks the best IMHO and it directs flame and fragments away from rifle and shooters eyes. I think Snail shape and function are early ergonomic/safety features. I cannot imagine the trapper hunters of the day not considering an eye injury in the middle of nowhere as life threatening. Safely Directing the flame and flash away was a must and dictated design as well as function.

Epic post, @vintovka !

AccraGlas, for heaven's sake! I never would have guessed! The coloration of the wood is spot on, as far as I'm concerned. I understand that the original Hawkens were generally varnished and, as with violins, a pigment was added to give the varnish a very dark color. Surviving Hawkens are often very dark in areas that had less wear and handling and many people believe this is accumulated grunge, but in fact, it may be the original color. The lighter areas reflect handling, where the dark varnish was worn away.

I would like to commend you on your resourcefulness and craftsmanship. Your rifle really does embody that elusive "Hawken mystique," in some ineffable way. I could see that many people would mistake it for an original from just a little distance.

The topic of snails has been material for discussion before, but almost always just in terms of evolution of design for purposes of dating the rifles. I recall little, if any, discussion of the practical aspects of snail design. I have in fact seen documentation of eye injuries from cap fragments. The problem was not unknown, and was probably the reason for the high "fence" aft of the nipple on percussion rifles, as well as the deep cup in the nose of a percussion hammer. I did not realize that the Griffith snail had an advantage over the others in that respect, but I'm now even happier that my own custom Hawken fullstock has that type of breech.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[vintovka]

Epic post, @vintovka !

AccraGlas, for heaven's sake! I never would have guessed! The coloration of the wood is spot on, as far as I'm concerned. I understand that the original Hawkens were generally varnished and, as with violins, a pigment was added to give the varnish a very dark color. Surviving Hawkens are often very dark in areas that had less wear and handling and many people believe this is accumulated grunge, but in fact, it may be the original color. The lighter areas reflect handling, where the dark varnish was worn away.

I would like to commend you on your resourcefulness and craftsmanship. Your rifle really does embody that elusive "Hawken mystique," in some ineffable way. I could see that many people would mistake it for an original from just a little distance.

The topic of snails has been material for discussion before, but almost always just in terms of evolution of design for purposes of dating the rifles. I recall little, if any, discussion of the practical aspects of snail design. I have in fact seen documentation of eye injuries from cap fragments. The problem was not unknown, and was probably the reason for the high "fence" aft of the nipple on percussion rifles, as well as the deep cup in the nose of a percussion hammer. I did not realize that the Griffith snail had an advantage over the others in that respect, but I'm now even happier that my own custom Hawken fullstock has that type of breech.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

It took me a while to figger out what it was. The thickness and some runover under the butt and inletting told the tale. I researched it and very thin, colored acraglass has been used as an overall finish in very wet, humid conditions on big game rifles. It also was used to fill in for "previous" parts and made me suspect it was an original. It saddens me to think someone disassembled an original rifle and replaced the parts. This stock has a silver presentation inlay that was engraved at some point but now unreadable due to heavy wear inconsistent with modern parts. I showed the stock to the Late master builder Andy Fautheree and also suspected the stock may have been an original and rebuilt with modern parts. BTW Medicare spent just short of $100K on rebuilding my eyeballs so i have special interest in eye protection. Every time i look out the window across our wide river its a pure pleasure to see without glasses. Shame to wear safety glasses on range but worth it,

 

[OldMaineWoodsman]

Boy there is a nice one on TOW right now...

 

[vintovka]

Only took a couple years. Before and after.