Forums.NitroExpress.com

There has been much confusion as to where Geoff Slee's patterns ended up. I'm sick of reading and hearing about it so here goes:

Geoff's factory-stock patterns from memory went to a friend of a VIC gunsmith on the auction day. That includes Lots 112/114/115/116. Roger Vardy purchased a small handful of patterns that were bent, twisted and warped sold as "Lot 130 Odds and Sods". Lots 135/136 and 139 went to one or two other individuals, a handful of stocks machined in NZ walnut cut by Ted Stone; and misc O/U shotgun butts. However, these stocks were for the very great part a small fraction of the patterns that actually represented Geoff's business turnover. Oh, and a few patterns that I bought "evaporated" mysteriously after the auction on the following Sunday, despite measures taken to lock the room they were in.

Geoff's remaining patterns fell into three broad categories, as I saw them.

1) Commercial Patterns. This comprised, for the most part, the target/BR type patterns, silhouette, thumb-hole stock patterns. These were always the money spinners. It also includes sporter style stocks in Geoffs English Classic range, plus a few strays on broadly American styles. These represent the major source of income for Geoff over the years, by the very greatest majority.

2) His custom patterns, ie those done by Geoff for special jobs for makers like JC Millar, etc etc. These were patterns owned by Geoff - patterns which were the property of other entities were returned prior to the auction. These, to me and I am sure Geoff, represented the best of his efforts as a stock maker. He was somewhat sentimental about them, and rightly so.

3) His vintage British and Germanic patterns. One and two piece stocks by most of the grand old makers.

Some of the stocks and patterns in sections 2 and 3 were not even included in Slee's auction, but gifted to me afterward. Ditto some of Geoff's pet blanks that were just too good to auction off.

Cameron is in possession of the stocks comprising Lot 1. Plus Geoff's Lee Speed pattern, a Wilkins L579, perhaps a scant few exceptions. Plus a few of my own patterns - for example the BR50 is one of mine, and a few LH patterns. He has commercial rights to machine them, and I retain commercial rights to machine them for semi-custom jobs under our written agreement. Many of these patterns were warped, or inlets not right. It has been, for me, many countless hours to slowly sort through them. A few still remain to be done, but the patterns are now much better than when I first used them, and Cameron and I work together to get this sorted. Included in the English Classic Lot was a Rigby Style pattern of Geoff's making, based in style on the stocks I'll term "Paul Roberts Rigby Era" ie not vintage, but Rigby all the same. This shape has been inlet for various actions, M98, M70, L61R etc. This has long been the go-to Rigby style pattern in Oz. That should clear up the OP's question.

Patterns in sections 2 and 3 above are retained here in Tasmania, and the commercial rights to use the Slee name as it pertains to gunstocks, for reasons explained to Cameron. I was asked and have an agreement with Geoff to evolve and improve the breed of those in section 2. This is not my main focus, although I have many hundreds of hours in them now. Commercially, they were not really profitable for Geoff compared to the others but represent a great deal of passion and history and the epitome of his talent. Custom work pays real low. Patterns from Section 2 and patterns evolved from Section 2 will never be sold while I am alive, due to my agreement with Geoff. Included in Section 3 are Geoff's original vintage stock patterns. These include a few Rigby (ie Rigby family ownership) stock patterns. I am a bit of a hoarder of vintage stocks. For example, as well as Geoffs Rigby 275 pattern I have 18 or 19 others for 275's, plus the magnum stocked variants. They make an interesting library to draw from when making new patterns from the block. Oz in the 80's and 90's saw hundreds of vintage guns and rifles re-stocked for various reasons, in the great part by Slee and Waghorn.

For me, personally, to evolve and improve the breed, is much more rewarding for me.

Folk were ripping off copies of stocks cut from patterns in section 1 above long before Geoff died. I know it irked him greatly. Unfortunatley they were never copyrighted, so the horse has bolted on that front and for most of the patterns in Section 1 it's seen as open slather by some pantograph owners. Bloody shame and most unfortunate, but then the reality is that Cameron keeps the market fairly saturated with stocks cut from those patterns, and anyone wanting to compete with him have a real hard time generating patterns and getting a good wood supply.

Stocks cut from my own evolved patterns, plus those from section 2; and those from patterns of my own making, come marked with a Copyright normally under the grip cap flat or elsewhere on straight handed stocks or those with a Bag Grip.

There are numerous machines in Oz now, but very few if any are competent at stocking from the blank, which limits generation of original patterns significantly. I firmly agree with prior statements by folks like Darcy Echols and Bill Hambly Clark Jnr when it comes to what it takes to machine a stock decently. So if a person cannot make a decent pattern, they ought to aquire in an ethical fashion.

These last 15 or so years, I have spent around 50% of my work time cutting new patterns, and later also much time working on Geoff's, and vintage stuff like the Lee Speeds. Machining Geoff's production patterns was killing me, workload wise. Section 1 of the patterns went to Cameron Hatcher as agreed - nearly all of the popular stuff.

As far as the patterns Cameron has, I strongly urge folk not to accept a copy from anyone else who does not have fair claim to them. In effect, that only means me, with exception to the purchasers of the above pattern Lots who may copy them -but then they are not the same patterns! Cameron provides a valuable service in producing copies of those patterns.

As for myself, I don't copy Slee patterns from Section 1 above, unless for a custom job. Section 2 and 3, I sometimes do - when time permits. Ditto my own patterns. With so many blanks cut I have to move the buggers somehow. I've tried dropping much of the workload, but there is still enough demand to keep me extremely busy. And Cameron too.

There have been quite a few false and misleading claims made, some of it in print, about who got the bulk of Geoff's gear. There is much more history than that, but the above is enough.

Post Extras