Charlie Russel - Jackknife Engraver

Charlie Russel - Jackknife Engraver 

Those of you with interest in the Old West at some point would almost certainly have run across work by the famous artist, Charlie Russel. He brought the people, animals, and correct scenes together like no other artist. 

The pictures I’m posting are from a rather interesting and special 35 W.C.F. caliber Model 1895 Winchester rifle. 

Charlie was a cowboy himself, so he knew his subjects intimately. He loved to spend time around a fire at night listening to others tales and telling his own stories. 

One night by a campfire he proceeded to use a jackknife to engrave his friend Frank Linderman’s 95. It appears to be the only time he engraved anything, and I‘m impressed by his first and only effort. When he finished, he handed it back to his friend and said “There she is. Now the old gal will always have fresh meat in sight.”  If you look closely left of the bear you can see his signature bison skull and the year 1913. 

I have an 1895 I want to engrave in a similar fashion. For some reason the rifle and engravings pull at me.  You can see from the pictures my old rifle has seen better days. A carbine, it’s missing the handguard, the buttstock has been repaired, and the saddle ring is gone. The caliber is 30/40 Krag, and I’d like to rebarrel it to .405 Winchester. 

I need time to get the rifle prepared and to decide how I want to engrave it. Do I follow in his footsteps and use a pocket knife, aiming for the roughness of his work, or recreate the animals more accurately with my own bulino?