My Barrel Blacking/bluing journey (K80)

[TK421]

Have seen and read a few posts on here about barrel blacking and bluing, thought I’d share my experience with you, especially if you’re on the hunt for a quality tradesman in this field. 
Just wanted to post a thread for others to read on my recent experience with Paul over at Stevens and Johnson barrel finishers down in Barnstaple.

After having a failed job already attempted on the K80 barrels by ‘another’ company I took to the internet/Facebook/forums trying to find the right man for the job of refreshing the barrels on the K80. I had been looking for someone to carry out a best london finish on the barrels, so after exstensive research I reached out to Paul at Stevens and Johnson and had quite a long chat about the barrels and blacking services he provided.

I found the conversation absolutely fascinating as he went on to explain the history of his family and their involvement in this industry since the mid 1800’s, they were somewhat pioneers in this field and his knowledge and explanations over the phone showed it, I knew at this point he was the chap for me, he also knew pretty much everyone else in the industry as well, which was also reassuring.

The Barrels were securely packaged up and sent over to Paul in Barnstable and in just over a week they were back with me, no fuss whatsoever.

I make no allowances I am pretty fussy and very particular about my gear/kit, I come from the old school of if a jobs worth doing it’s worth doing right and well. I’m glad to report that Paul didn’t let me down, The finish Paul’s achieved compared to the first company that had them (no names mentioned) is genuinely night and day, the job is as good as factory you could get, the depth of colour and finish he’s achieved is absolutely outstanding. Marks on the rib and barrel simply gone, mega impressed.

Anyway, just wanted to share this and a few images of the finished article, any marks you can see are merely oil/grease etc. Very hard to photograph as they are so blooming well finished!

One happy chappy here and nice to find a dedicated hard worker in the industry still providing this top class service.

 

Im not affiliated in anyway to Steven Johnson finishers, just nice to give credit where credit is due. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by TK421

[tpd1309]

They look great 

[TK421]

1 hour ago, tpd1309 said:

They look great 

Thanks, Photos genuinely don’t do them justice. 

[Pops_Hants]

Always lovely to refresh our tools of the trade so to speak, 

Looks like a great job and finish! Well worth nothing if ever I want to refresh my barrels. 

[Windswept]

They look very good in the photos. They are fairly local to me and I had no idea they existed. 

It would be rude to ask how much it cost but could you give a vague idea of a starting price at all?

[TK421]

9 minutes ago, Windswept said:

They look very good in the photos. They are fairly local to me and I had no idea they existed. 

It would be rude to ask how much it cost but could you give a vague idea of a starting price at all?

Hi, not rude at all, he charges £130+ vat including postage, which I think for this level of work is incredible. The amount of effort/time that goes into producing a best London finish and quality of finish is remarkable. Give him a call he’s a really nice chap to speak to. Trade prices are obviously different. 
 

the photos really don’t do the barrels justice, there’s as close to factory I think you could get without sending them back to the factory. 

Edited November 27, 2022 by TK421

[Windswept]

Thanks for details, I will pass them on as I know a couple of people who may be interested.

[Fil]

On 26/11/2022 at 17:49, TK421 said:

Thanks, Photos genuinely don’t do them justice. 

You're right about that. Not knocking your photos but Pauls' blacking is much deeper and shinier than the pics show. I use him all the time. 

Anyway... shush. Don't tell anyone as he's busy enough already. 

[TK421]

3 minutes ago, Fil said:

You're right about that. Not knocking your photos but Pauls' blacking is much deeper and shinier than the pics show. I use him all the time. 

Anyway... shush. Don't tell anyone as he's busy enough already. 

interestingly I was out shooting this week and met another fellow K80 shooter. His gun being a 2021 hardly used gun, I kid you not there was nothing in it regarding the finish on the barrels, we both agreed that given the choice we’d both pick Paul’s finish over the factory one as it just edges it in terms of depth/finish. I actually walked away a little smug if I’m honest 😉

[Fil]

2 minutes ago, TK421 said:

interestingly I was out shooting this week and met another fellow K80 shooter. His gun being a 2021 hardly used gun, I kid you not there was nothing in it regarding the finish on the barrels, we both agreed that given the choice we’d both pick Paul’s finish over the factory one as it just edges it in terms of depth/finish. I actually walked away a little smug if I’m honest 😉

😆 👍