Central Plateau, North Island

Central Plateau, North Island
View from a friend's farm

Sunday 31 March 2013

Craftsmanship from a true craftsman

 

Our friend  visited this afternoon, and showed us his superb handwork. Words are not enough to describe the fine, delicate detail in this  50 calibre muzzle loading rifle.

1.49 metres in length, weighty, with  detail in brass, and inlaid silver wire. The barrel and flint stock were imported from USA, maple wood  showing beautiful grain and finish. This has a 2 stage, hair trigger.

I decided I would need nothing less than the sturdiest tripod, if I could even manage to hold it steady against my shoulder.

Muzzle loading rifle

Rifle butt with brass patchbox

 

butt end with carved detail,brass and silver inlay

To finish off a perfect afternoon, the sky rose to  the occasion once again.

Night sky at our place

Quotation of the day , author unknown

‘ A craftsman creates a thing of beauty,

to be held, admired and treasured forever”

Greetings from Jean

14 comments:

Val said...

Beautiful craftmanship!! Hope you are doing well. I am playing catch up, been away due to work.

Nancy J said...

Thanks Val, I'll pass on your words. Cheers, Jean.

Lindsjö taxar said...

Beautiful job and very rare I Think. Wouldnt have that on the hunt...to expensive I Think :-)

Carol Mattingly said...

Beautiful sunset

gz said...

Hi Jean, thanks for visiting my blog. We've been in NZ for nearly six months, in Te Aroha then in Whanganui since the end of January. We start our return journey to Ayrshire, (Kirkmichael near Maybole) on the 15th of April

Unknown said...
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Nancy J said...

Thanks gz, we live so close to eachother, Yes, huge snow there last week, and Sandra, thanks for lovely comment. Cheers from Jean

Nicky said...

Now that is a true labour of love, what an amazing craftsman your friend is.

Eggs In My Pocket said...

The gun is such a beautiful piece of workmanship! The sky photo is so lovely! Have a wonderful week!

Nancy J said...

Yes, beautiful work, I would have it on display rather than take into the bush in case it was scratched. Sky photos, thanks so much for lovely words, the colours have been quite intense, and vary from gold to orange to red/pink/mauve. A few minutes to be out there, then they all fade. Cheers from Jean.

Michaele said...

He is a true artist. You don't see many like him. Thanks for the great info on the Southdown sheep also!

camp and cottage living said...

What a beautiful rifle. I wonder how many hours he has in the making of it..
Is the heart inlayed?

fromsophiesview said...

Your quote says it all, Jean ~~~ beautiful work by your friend. I can just imagine the warm feeling he has inside when sharing his work. Thanks for sharing and the sunset tops it all off from Mother Nature's creative hand!

Ron

Nancy J said...

Yes to all comments, truly beautiful, and yes, the heart is inlaid, will post a cropped pic with better detail. And ask how many "man" hours...Colder mornings here, daylight saving has finished this morning, lit the fire 2 mornings now, as we have friends here for a week.Fancy NZ having the same breed of sheep as you might have Michaele, Sophie, sunsets all over the world, different every day. Greetings from Jean