This sent to the site by Rob Bianchin, Founder & CEO of Cabot Guns, perhaps the best folks in the 1911 game.
“I am pleased to present my first short documentary, Portrait of a Craftsman. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Mosaic Damascus steel which we are privileged to use in the making of special Cabot 1911’s. This video was filmed during a 3-day visit I made in October 2023. I showed up with a young talented videographer and no specific plan other than to show up and work for three days with Robert Eggerling towards making material that we will eventually put to use in the making of a Cabot 1911.
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The video is intended to be the first of a series where we will feature stories of what I consider unsung heroes, the great craftsman who we are blessed still work each day making beautiful and useful items by hand. These skills are disappearing at an alarming rate. We hope to preserve knowledge in this process, celebrate craft, and perhaps inspire future artisans.”
Robert Eggerling is an American treasure IMO and a true artist working in the most difficult medium possible, steel. He has created many of the most extraordinary artisan pieces of steel we have been privileged to transform into special pistols.
About Robert Eggerling:
The video features Robert Eggerling, who is 86 years old and has been referred to as the Master of all Damascus by experts in the subject matter. His shop is located in a wooded setting in rural eastern Pennsylvania, where he is compelled daily to create some of the most sought-after steel in the world. At Cabot, we have used Eggerling Mosaic Damascus steel to create a small number of what we refer to as our OAK (one-of-a-kind) or small batch limited edition pistols such as our recent California pistols, Leviathan, Aphrodite, The Eggerling Bespoke pistols and the Wolf Set.
A singular pistol made from Artisan Damascus often takes years from conception and the making of materials to realization. In this video, you will see Eggerling create Damascus steel over a three-day period that is large enough to make three sets of grips. What may not be evident is that the bars used to make this material involved weeks of additional work. The amount of time and highly skilled many hours involved in making beautiful Damascus steel is extensive. Crafting it into a pistol in such extraordinary material yet another matter and where we come into the picture.
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Love Damascus? Check out our Serenity 1911 model.
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