Question, what does in the white mean?

[wheelockhunter]

I may be purchasing an small mortar, but the seller told me in would be "in the white". What does that mean?

 

[walruskid1]

unfinished metal as in no bluing. left natural

 

[Stumpkiller]

Be warned. It can also mean "rusty and splotchy as all h#ll" depending on the seller. It simply means no finish or treatment has been applied to the metal.

Lots of folks assume it means shiny and polished and ready to blue or brown. Nuh uh. Not unless stated as such.

 

[Gaze]

Stumpkiller: Be warned. It can also mean "rusty and splotchy as all h#ll" depending on the seller. It simply means no finish or treatment has been applied to the metal.



Lots of folks assume it means shiny and polished and ready to blue or brown. Nuh uh. Not unless stated as such.

North Star West: All kits include walnut stocks that are inletted for the lock, barrel and trigger. The stock is approximately 90% shaped and smoothed. The ramrod hole is drilled to the proper depth. Our stocks are shaped by Red Brush Stocks, a top quality American company.



All barrels are breeched at our plant. All required exterior details: flats, bands, stamps, etc. are done for each specific style of gun.We use only modern gun barrel steel, made in the U.S.A. We offer barrels in 10" (for pistols) 20", 30", 36", and 41" lengths. Gages available are 28 ga (.54 cal), 24 ga (.58 cal), and 20 ga (.62 cal). We can also install 16 ga (.65 cal) for those who need more stopping power.



Our locks are finished, assembled and tested in our shop. We temper our own springs in order to have better quality control. Each part is cast especially for us, using our molds, by a top quality American foundry. We have our own wax machine, for complete control over the quality of our cast parts.



All guns supplied "In The White" are fully assembled and ready to fire. The metal parts are sanded to 180 grit. These guns need to be disassembled, final sanding and prepping done and the desired finish applied to both metal and wood parts. A 1 oz. bottle of "Tru Oil

 

[Stumpkiller]

They hit it with 180 grit samdpaper. If they did nothing else then you may get a gun with two dozen rusty fingerprints and/or an even coating of brown rust.

The good news is that you can always sand it back to bare metal and start over.


My flintlock is neither blued or browned in the conventional sense.

The metal was dipped in acid and set in a humidity box overnight, carded with a wire brush to remove the rust, repeated, neutralized, and then dipped in hot bear oil.

I wipe it with Birchwood Casey Sheath to keep it looking like that. Occasionally wiping beeswax into the wood and metal as a protective coating. If it rusts or stains I can blend it in with a 3-M metal polishing pad. Just keeps getting more "character".

My Bess was shiney "white" and I used Flitz and 3-M pads to keep her that way. I lightly toned the metal to a gray "patina" by removing the oil with acetone and rubbing apple slices (I kid you not) into the metal over a few days. I blended with either more treatments or the polish pads used lightly to even it out. Again, it was easy to return to "in the white" whenever desired.

I've owned a couple guns that had stain and boiled linseed oil as the only stock treatments. Laurel Mountain Forge sells good (compatable) stains and oils to finish a stock.

Mr. Ravenshear with my Bess, which looked just the same 15 years later when, like an idiot, I sold her.

Can only shoot one at a time.

 

[Gary]

That's a nice color for an unblued or unbrowned gun Stumpy.