That looks sharp! Less writing looks more better. Makes me want to get my mitts on an 1851. Much easier to copy on one of those than on my 1860 round barrel.

That looks much better. I like the aging on it as well.

In the Civil War reenactment, and maybe the general muzzleloading community, term for something not period correct is "farb". So recreating the appearance of an original piece is called defarbing.

Customer brought in an Italian repro M1841 "Mississippi Rifle". I know in the 1850s, some were polished bright, rebored to .58, and fitted with 2 position flip rear sights to conform to the 1855 rifle specs.

Well, I thought he had one of those in unusually good condition. It had actually been professionally defarbed by an outfit called Lodgewood, who I see are still in business.

It was impressive.