Nick Kusmit Engraving Records

[budrichard]

Nick Kusmit along with his brother John were the principle engravers in the beginning of the Custom Shop era. Winchester Custom Shop guns were not signed, at least not any that i know of. After Nick left Winchester he started signing his work. From Cody comes the following email:

"We recently digitized Kusmit's personal activity logs. The Kusmit logs are not currently available for extended research as we have not had the opportunity to thoroughly assess the information in order to make them readily researchable. We will be offering extended research into the Kusmit records after September 1, 2009. I encourage you to contact me at that time to discuss the availability of the records."

I would have to assume that these records also contain after market work Nick had also done but time will tell.-Dick

[casonet]

I am a new member to the group and I have a lot of questions. I have been collecting guns since the late 1960s and have a few Winchesters. Among them are two Grand American Grade model 21s. Both are 12 ga guns, and both bear the name of the original owner on the rib as "Custom built by Winchester for ............". Both letter correctly as custom Grand Americans from Cody and are older guns. The older of the two was commissioned in mid 1959 and was final insepected about a year later in mid 1960. I suspect that this gun came into the custom shop during the transition period and was completed as a custom shop gun. The other was commissioned and finished in 1964 in a much shorter time. Can anyone tell me why the first gun took so long and the second one didn't? Also, is there any way of knowing who did the engraving on each of these guns? The 1964 model was built for a woman and has unique non standard gold inlays on the sides and the bottom of the receiver that according to the Cody letter was requested by the original owner. This gun is still unfired. Both are in leather trunk cases. How unusual was it for someone to request non standard gold animal inlays? Thanks in advance for your answers. P.S. I have all of the books on the model 21 and have read them all, but I stil have questions.

[budrichard]

First welcome to the Forum!
Second the Grand American's from the Winchester Custom Shop are among the best M21's Winchester ever manufactured.
Third, Winchester would do just about anything one wanted within reason and non-standard enrgaving deviating from the 21-1 through 21-6 standard patterns is not uncommon.
Fourth, the only records I know of for an engraver are Nick Kusmits but suffice it to say the he generally worked on the higher grades.
Fifth, in the shifting of M21 production to the Custom Shop, most of the work was brought into one physical area of the company rather than in the various departments as previous to the Custom Shop. I can only suppose that your gun was caught in the transition which added additional time.
Pictures of your Grand Americans sure would be nice to see.-Dick

[casonet]

Thanks, I'll see about taking some pictures. Then I will see if I can figure out how to post them.

[Grant Tom]

Nick Kusmit along with his brother John were the principle engravers in the beginning of the Custom Shop era. Winchester Custom Shop guns were not signed, at least not any that i know of. After Nick left Winchester he started signing his work. From Cody comes the following email:

"We recently digitized Kusmit's personal activity logs. The Kusmit logs are not currently available for extended research as we have not had the opportunity to thoroughly assess the information in order to make them readily researchable. We will be offering extended research into the Kusmit records after September 1, 2009. I encourage you to contact me at that time to discuss the availability of the records."

I would have to assume that these records also contain after market work Nick had also done but time will tell.-Dick


Grant Tom says that I have been collecting Model 21s since 1970. At the peak of my collection I had over 50 of them. Mostly all small gauges. Chased 410s for many years. 1st one I had purchased, I had the custom shop convert it to a Grand American with a 28 guage barrel. I have all the documentation & invoices from Winchester as proof. Cody will not acknowlege it. I don't know the reason or when some one that got into Cody was able to change the records. They will not admit to having changed any records. Some were lost due to a fire in the plant.

John Kusmit the older brother of Nick Kusmit taught Nick how to engrave. John was taught by Ulrich the master engraver. I have visited the Custom Shop many times in my life & have pictures of it. Just before John retired, he was a nervous wreck. Due to the fact that he was very superstitious & one SOB in the custom shop always played jokes on him. After he retired his work at home was outstanding.

Nick kept a journal of all the guns at home that he engraved. He just started to sign guns just before he retired. The most famous Grand American
that he engraved was just before the sale to U S Repeating Ams by Winchester. It was built to honor Mr. John Olin. Upon completion I took the Grand American back to NILO FARM to show Mr Olin & had pictures of him holding this Gand American. He was thrilled that some one would spend so much mone to honor him. I have picture of ever one in the custom shop that worked on this gun.

Grant Tom

[budrichard]

We recently verified an engraved Model 21 21-6 that Nick did after retirement and signed. The purchaser got a very nice Model 21.
Grant Tom, it would be nice if you could Post some of your pictures for posterity or let me know what you intend on doing with your accumulated information. Loss of this institutional knowledge should be avoided.
In terms of Cody and Winchester records, the records and apparently the control are not infallible. Griffen and Howe are digitizing the Abercrombie and Fitch gun records. Bob Beach, the G&H Historian is doing an excellent job and appears to have archival experience, I'm not sure about Cody but one has to remember the records went from Winchester to USRAC and then to Cody. I'm not sure if CSMC ever had physical control of the records and who has USRAC records but CSMC maintains records of the Model 21's CSMC manufactured. I would assume that if one got a license from Olin to have CSMC put Winchester on a new Model 21, that CSMC would forward the record to Cody?-Dick

[Grant Tom]

We recently verified an engraved Model 21 21-6 that Nick did after retirement and signed. The purchaser got a very nice Model 21.
Grant Tom, it would be nice if you could Post some of your pictures for posterity or let me know what you intend on doing with your accumulated information. Loss of this institutional knowledge should be avoided.
In terms of Cody and Winchester records, the records and apparently the control are not infallible. Griffen and Howe are digitizing the Abercrombie and Fitch gun records. Bob Beach, the G&H Historian is doing an excellent job and appears to have archival experience, I'm not sure about Cody but one has to remember the records went from Winchester to USRAC and then to Cody. I'm not sure if CSMC ever had physical control of the records and who has USRAC records but CSMC maintains records of the Model 21's CSMC manufactured. I would assume that if one got a license from Olin to have CSMC put Winchester on a new Model 21, that CSMC would forward the record to Cody?-Dick

If anyone wants my information on 21s, my E Mail address is Gtom03@verizon.net. I have too many pictures to post. I also have in my position a video taken of retired Master Gun Smith Herb Oree of Winchester disasembling a Model 21 & re asembling the same & how to make adjustments to the gun. If you ever come to the Los Angeles area I will gladly show it to you. I will not loan it out because it can be easly coppied! This is the only one in exhistance......

Grant Tom