Flattop Graffiti - Can Anyone ID the Artist?

[weaselmeatgravy]

Someone tagged this flattop. I'm not an art critic, but I kind of like it. Does anyone recognize the work? Type 1 BKH3 with what looks like a trigger from a later gun unless this one shipped late. Also the ER button is an aftermarket Colt style. Cylinder frame is cherry red. Wolf and bear both look a little skinny, maybe that makes them more frightening like Ramsey Bolton's dogs that hadn't been fed for a week. Other than the critters, it is mostly scroll engraving except for the flower (is that a sunflower?) on each side. The ivory eagle/shield grips were discussed in another post. It doesn't appear to be signed anywhere that I could see.

It came in this glass top SR logo presentation case but I can't get a good pic of the glass due to reflections.
I think Ruger sold these cases in the early 2000's but I suspect the engraving is older work.

 

[SteveRuger]

IMHO,
The pattern looks like the Japanese Style I have on One of my Super Blackhawks engraved guns it is pretty much the same except the animals & the engraving on the cylinder is slightly different.
I was told by the Gentleman I purchased mine from he bought the Super Blackhawk at the PX in Okinawa then for $125 dollars they could send them off to an engraving group in Upper Japan & in 2-3 weeks they would send it back to the PX to pick up. He would go there on R&R from Vietnam. If you wanted more Engraving or other embellishment's for a few dollars more. I feel they did a good job. They never put a name or markings on them he said.
I like it! It would look good on my Sparkle & Shine Display.

 

[jussbad]

If you have not done so, take the ejector housing off and see if it signed on the barrel. If not, I tend to agree with Steve - my first thought was Japanese engraver Ogawa. You can google him and see that he engraved state side as well as Japan. He would engrave guns during the weekend show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco - he was that good and quick. I believe a doctor in California brought him stateside to do engraving. Here is a picture of a Flatgate and Flattop that I feel are Ogawa (or one of his students) engraved. The LW was engraved in Japan through a PX as Steve noted above. Hope some of this helps.

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

Well, I have a "Small World" story here. The suggestion of it being Japanese sparked a memory of another engraved flattop that I bought and re-sold years ago. The dealer I got that one from told me it was Japanese work, according to the guy he got it from. I thought maybe I might still have pics of that gun on my computer so did a search for files that had "engrave" as part of the filename.

No, I haven't yet found the pics of the Japanese engraved flattop. But... I found a pic of this very same gun! It was tucked away in a folder where I used to throw random pics of interesting guns I spotted online.

The filename of this pic was "Cabelas-engraved-BKH3-1799.jpg" and has a last-modified date of Saturday, October 29, 2005.

Too bad I didn't note which Cabela's had it for sale. But that at least gives me a thread to pull.

2005 was a couple PCs ago. I got all the data off that computer and onto the one I got in 2011. But the 2011 PC had a hard drive crash earlier this year and I did lose some files. And file creation dates all got reset to the date I copied them off the bad drive, but at least it maintained the last-modified info.

Maybe I can still find a pic of that other Japanese engraved flattop. I remember it had an offset-left wide hammer spur which was likely done to clear a scope, so I am thinking it must have been D/T, which is probably why I sold it. I did find its spreadsheet entry on the "Sold" tab of my collection spreadsheet and see that it was SN 26335 and my brief description of it was, "OM Flat Top, fully engraved in Japan - Oddball!!!" and the condition percentage is listed as "????". I bought it from a local dealer on 4/12/2001 and sold it 7/5/2001 but didn't note who I sold it to.

 

[mr.deerstalker]

To honest with you, it looks like James White work, he is the master engraver for Smith and Wesson. Scott

 

[Heliman]

I too had a revolver that the engraver was never identified. Some one suggested Ogawa but never confirmed.




Dave

 

[jussbad]

Dave
Any chance you can show the inside of the grips on that gun? Any stamping or stencil of any kind? Kind of follow the grips on the flatgate I show above. Very nice, and it does look like Ogawa's work.

On another note there is a very good sized "pawn shop" in Redding Ca. called Old West. The owner is somewhat an expert on Ogawa guns and he was 100% convinced the .357 Flattop that is in my reply above is the work of Ogawa. I have not showed him the flatgate yet. I have also noticed on the intranet that Ogawa did sign some of his work as can be seen on some shotguns...

Gary

 

[Heliman]

Dave
Any chance you can show the inside of the grips on that gun? Any stamping or stencil of any kind? Kind of follow the grips on the flatgate I show above. Very nice, and it does look like Ogawa's work.

On another note there is a very good sized "pawn shop" in Redding Ca. called Old West. The owner is somewhat an expert on Ogawa guns and he was 100% convinced the .357 Flattop that is in my reply above is the work of Ogawa. I have not showed him the flatgate yet. I have also noticed on the intranet that Ogawa did sign some of his work as can be seen on some shotguns...

Gary

Gary, sadly the S47 has moved on to another owner. I can take a look next time I see her...
This revolver did come from southern Oregon. The owner passed and I got it from the family with no real provenance.

Dave

 

[HAWKEYE#28]

Know what I like about this work? "No rough edges".......... 8)