With those topics, you should have ample grant money! Not trying say this project/subject would be a waste of time, my wife adamitely has informed me it is all a waste of time. My comments were not to dissuade, more an objective comment mentioning that you were walking into a lake of quicksand whether you knew it or not (you know better than most of us!). The rest of us of course enjoy sitting and conversing, perhaps sipping a stout, while watching you struggle. Every once and awhile throwing you a line when your head goes under.
Seriously though, it is a very interesting subject, and one I have casually kept an eye on over the years. Studying the Suhl gunmakers and trying to tie the strings from the little guys to the big guys, and from the one man shops to the little guys, all comes across as very interesting to me. Further to tie the steel makers to the gunmakers only adds another interesting facet. In the sporting rifle world, it gets even more muddied, big shops making guns for little shops, little shops making guns for big shops. Dates, times, marks, names, towns, history of an area, it all is very interesting. On more than one occasion I have THOUGHT I was getting close to getting something sorted out, only to have to walk away for a period before my head exploded.
