Graded Foxes stocked in American black walnut?

Silvers · Post by **Silvers** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:09 pm

It's my understanding that early graded A H Foxes were factory stocked in European walnut, and the Sterlingworth was the first model stocked in less expensive American black walnut. Is there any literature out there that contradicts this understanding? How about later graded Foxes after the Sterlingworth was introduced? Did there come a time when lower-end graded guns were factory stocked in black walnut? Silvers

DoubleGun · Post by **DoubleGun** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:19 pm

Silvers,
I just happen to have a very nice BE grade in for bending and pad. It is wearing a pretty nice piece of black that even has a bit of burl in it. The head stamped sn and grade are all still there and the stock certainly appears original to the gun. So we have a graded gun stocked in black. I would think that a customer ordering a gun could specify whatever wood he wanted?
Cheers,
DoubleGun

Silvers · Post by **Silvers** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:37 pm

Pete, thanks for your reply. Yes of course someone ordering a graded gun could specify black walnut and I've seen record cards with that very request. I was really looking more for standard factory specifications that might have changed for, let's say, inventoried A grades. Sorry I wasn't too clear in my post. Frank

FOXIST · Post by **FOXIST** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:30 pm

Silvers I can't help you out much on the written material.
I do have a 1909 repro catalog that states under the general description of the A H FOX Gun in the first paragraph:

" Genuine imported Circassian and English walnut is used exclusively in our gun stocks and each is carefully selected for quality of wood,direction of grain and beauty of figure."

The next reference I have is a 1923 catalog:
"The stocks used on all Fox guns are made from the finest selected Walnut wood (except Fox Sterlingworth, see page 14).Genuine Circassian Walnut used exclusively on the higher grades and selected Walnut on the medium to lower priced grades."

Just what "Selected Walnut" was I am not sure but most A grades I have encountered have what appears to be French or English walnut up until the late 20's with a some exceptions. I do own one 1923 vintage A grade that sports an original straight grain black walnut stock with proper factory markings and I have seen others that appear to have original black walnut.
Frank my 1935 vintage A pictured in the A & B section has Black walnut and it is my understanding that most Savage A grades of the mid thirties had American walnut.

Im sure Researcher will be along soon with more information. Paul

bbman3 · Post by **bbman3** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 5:41 pm

I had a very late Utica 16 AE that had fiddleback American walnut on it.It had the nicest A grade engraving and more coverage than any i have ever seen. Must have been a master engraver or special order gun. Bobby

Researcher · Post by **Researcher** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:34 pm

After about 1917 it gets pretty vague as to exactly what kind of Juglans those A to C grades will be stocked in. In the catalogues for HE-Grades it says English Walnut and XE-Grades and above say Circassian Walnut. However, in the 1925-vintage Super-Fox brochure it says American Walnut. In the Savage-era Super-Fox brochure it gives the HE-Grade stocks as being English Walnut. The A to CE-Grades from 1919 on just say dark, curly walnut or select, dark, curly walnut. Some years back a buddy of mine had a high condition 12-gauge CE-Grade two-barrel set of 1928-vintage and it had the plainest piece of yellowish Juglans regia just like you'd see on a 1959 Superposed Grade 1.