Tim and Bill, Glad you brought this up. I have felt for a long time that there is no better way to really be connected to the past than cleaning up an old weapon. I know I at least think about who may have owned it and what the piece has seen and the stories it can still tell if we can only learn enough to hear its voice. That is a major part of the attraction for me, besides the desire to explore new cultures, the connection to the past and what it can tell us. We are all products of our past and as the world shrinks and we become closer we must know who each other is and where they have come from if we are to make this world prosper.
He sheds a tear at his own words
Seriously though it's why I love this forum so much and the people like yourselves who make it what it is, gives me insights I couldn't get anywhere else.
Dan