Bill Blacker London Barrel maker
Bill Blacker London Barrel Maker
Bill Blacker is a barrel-maker
When one thinks about topend guns and rifles, one tends to think about actions and engraving and stocks.A dazzling piece of walnut or an exqui- sitely executed game scene is what grabs the eye.The barrels seem to be little more than the black bit on the front.And yet it is the barrels which define the thing as a weapon.Without the barrels a gun is no more than a club; or perhaps a bat. And on closer consideration there is far more to the
barrels than a pair of tubes. Bill Blacker is a barrel-maker at
the top of his profession. He began his career in 1976, aged sixteen, as an apprentice at Holland & Holland.The first year was spent making the tools of his trade and one day a week was passed at Willesden Technical College undertaking Mechanical Craft Studies.
Todays Quality Steel
Keeping Old Methods
Bill Blacker Crafting
The best London gun barrels
are built in the traditional way combined with the most modern materials and equipment. While machines were always used when possible, for example, for rifling the barrels, today we use the most modern CNC equipment and CAD design features. Yet, this is combined with all the traditional gun making methods. Filed actions to great precision using the "oil black" method, hand struck barrels, handshaped stocks and checkering, etc. Depending on the model of gun, from 650 man hours to well over 1250 man hours will be involved making it.
Recent News
Barrelwork is usually undertaken by former Holland & Holland man, Bill Blacker, one of the most respected names in the trade. Restocking is usually done by Stephane Dupille, a French artisan who works on the premises at Atkin, Grant & Lang and who is producing some of the finest stockwork that I have ever seen. Finishing is by Carl Russell and Alan Bower who also work on the Atkin, Grant & Lang premises and have long experience of the London trade.
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