Greetings all!

The first time I've opened my 'mouth' on this site and as I could have predicted when I joined, it's because I need something. :)

I'm looking for someone that does a good pair of roughly 17th century boot spurs. Nothing too fancy. Recently got a pair of bucket-tops made by John Shrader in Santa Rosa CA. and need some spurs to finish out the look. Amazing boots, by the way. I highly recommend his work. I believe he made Craig Johnson's boots over 20 years ago. That would mean you got them when you were, ahem, 10 years old... right Craig? ;)

I'm also interested in finding a good repo Wheellock/Flintlock pistol gunsmith. Two I've run across so far for Wheellocks are Albion Small Arms and a custom crafter in Bavaria named Armin Koenig. Pictures of some of his work can be found Here. I've been trying to track down information on Dale Shinn, but I can't seem to find any contact information for him, just lots of pictures of his incredible work.

The Flintlock front provides a few very high end custom gunsmiths and a whole mess of re-sellers that are stocking very similar affordable models... Middlesex Village Trading Company, Loyalist Arms and Repair, and Military Heritage Weapons and Uniforms are three examples. I believe Gordon Frye reviewed the English Doglock version of this line of product.

Most of the rest I've come across are build it yourself kits in both Wheellock and Flintlock. I'm incredibly new to this interest, but I seem to have wrung as much information from the neck of the interwebs as I can manage and would appreciate any recommendations you all might have.

Many thanks!

P.S. You folks have managed to create in this community an incredibly valuable resource that seems (almost) entirely devoid of the ego trips, in-fighting, and pissing matches that run rampant on other sites that shall remain nameless. Thank you all for your knowledge, your patience, your willingness to learn and to teach, and your passion for these areas of interest we all have in common.

Jason,
I've moved your post from the Marketplace to Off-Topic Talk. Since you're seeking advice, this is the right location. The Marketplace is just for those seeking to buy items from other (non-business) readers.

:)

Thanks for the move, Chad. Sorry about the miss-post.

I recommend The Rifle Shoppe. They can get you in contact with builders. they also build guns, but they take a very long time to deliver. Here is a link. Their catalog is worth it for the info alone.

http://www.therifleshoppe.com/