TargetTalk

My hammerli 100 grip stock has some scratches, probably due to carelessness when I store them in a Toz-35 box. The scratch is very visible, but not deep at all. You actually cannot feel it...more of a blemish than a actual scratch (deep).

What is the best way to take care of this scratch/blemish? I am not sure whether it is made of Walnut, or some other material like beech stained like walnut. The scratch is visible because the color is not the same as the stock, it is almost whitish.

Someone suggested that I need to sand the entire grip and stain it again, is there a faster, more economical way to do things? Sanding is beyond my pay grade.

I think you have too much time on your hands ,let your pistol grow even older gracefully,
and what is with all the dribble at the end of each of your posts ,
just asking

Yours Guest

An old gunsmith's trick is to steam out marks, especially dents. Place a damp cloth over the grip, and then press a clothes iron (set to low heat) over the cloth. The steam generated will enter the wood, and swell the fibres, popping out the dent.

Alternatively, if the grip has an oiled finish, just rub the mark with very fine wire wool, and rub in more linseed oil.

guest2 wrote:I think you have too much time on your hands ,let your pistol grow even older gracefully,
and what is with all the dribble at the end of each of your posts ,
just asking

Yours Guest

Monon Labe, (Come take it) A code work for Pro-2A activist, who I am one.

Hi conradin,

I must have too much time on my hands too, as I like to keep my guns looking their best, perhaps I should be insulted by "guest" too ... oh well, I'll take my chances.

Steaming the scratch, as Tim S suggests, is appropriate for bringing up the surface of the scratch to the surrounding level of the wood. This works very well for dents were the wood fibers are not torn but be forewarned that it will most likely raise the grain requiring sanding and refinishing if you wish the stock to be smooth as it was originally.

Steaming works less well with scratches as the wood fibers are torn or cut. Steaming heats the individual wood cells, this causes pressure to build within and then to cause them to pop back toward normal, pre-dented size. Think popcorn or how you can remove a dent in a pop can by putting it in the freezer for an appropriate amount of time (Jr. High science class here). It works because of increased pressure within the intact cell.

In a scratch most of the wood cells will be torn, so no internal pressure can build.

In your case it's not necessary as you state you can't feel the scratch only see it. So the surface finish has been scraped away only so steaming won't make a difference. Even though moot, I wrote the above info just for general future use.

So for your present situation my suggestion is to take the stock to a local furniture store that provides repair and restoration service. These folks have kits full of dozens of "wood finish pens" which amount to colored wax that can be rubbed in, then buffed off. If you match the correct pen (this includes color and finish type)with the stain and finish on your stock it's very likely you will not be able to see the scratch at all once done.

It only takes a minute and I could see they would do it while you wait and without charge since it's such an easy process. Essentially it's wipe on, buff off and you are done. The trick is getting the correct pen.

You can buy these pens at home depot / hardware type of stores but the color range is limited. A better bet to buy the pen would be a woodworkers store as they carry more color / finish combos. Online purchases are a gamble because you really can't see the color swatch on the pen's packaging very well, as computer monitors (unless balanced which nobody but artistic types ever do) change the way we perceive color and will give false feedback.

In reality though, you really don't need a whole pen for one small scratch, and they to have a shelf life once opened for the first time, so a restoration shop will be your best avenue, at least in my opinion.

Long answer to a quickly solved problem ... sorry <grin>.

It's Molon labe, not Monon.

These were the words of Leonidas, Agiad King of Sparta, to a Persian emissary who had demanded his army's surrender prior to the Battle of Thermopylae, and a classic example of laconic speech and Spartan wit.

Leonidas, along with the majority of his army, perished when the Persians forced the Callidromos pass, and outflanked him.

Tim S wrote:It's Molon labe, not Monon.

These were the words of Leonidas, Agiad King of Sparta, to a Persian emissary who had demanded his army's surrender prior to the Battle of Thermopylae, and a classic example of laconic speech and Spartan wit.

Leonidas, along with the majority of his army, perished when the Persians forced the Callidromos pass, and outflanked him.

Hi Tim S,

It's my understanding that the pass was left unguarded when allies of Sparta retreated (without informing Leonidas of this minor detail) leaving it open for the Persians to take, no force needed. Do I have this wrong?

Hi,

pretty much, I was being a little dramatic. The pass was guarded by a contigent from Phocis. When the Persian force came to the pass, the Phocians assumed they would be attacked, and drew up on a nearby rise/hill to make a stand. The Persians ignored them except for a volley of arrows, and marched on. They could I suppose have attached the Persians in the flank, but they were heavily outnumbered (something like ten to one), and could probably not have stopped them, even if the will had been there, which their retreat would argue against.

Even if the Phocians had stood their ground, it's not thought they would have held the pass for as long as the main Greek force held the coastal path. And also the Greek fleet could not have indefinitely held back the Persians at sea.