Ben Forkin

[mellonhead]

I have been looking for a smith to take on a project for me and have been very impressed with Mr. Forkins work. All I have seen are pictures in magazines and on the internet. Can you guys that have guns built by him tell me if what I am seeing is real?

Thanks.

Toby

[kings6]

Hi Toby! Everyone I've talked to that have one of Ben's guns loves it. I don't have mine yet but it should be getting close to done. The only issue I've heard is lead times. Mine will have been there two years this April. When I talked to Ben he explained that he does work in "batches" A batch of lever action jobs, a bunch of 44 Special conversions, a bunch of the next type of project. In my case, my order got there just AFTER he had finished a "batch" of the type of work I wanted done. Regardless I have a hunch the wait will have been worth it when it shows up in the next few months.

[2 Dogs]

I know Ben Forkin and he is a dear friend. He most certainly is one of the most talented smiths out there. I have seen a considerable amount of his work and it is most professionally done. Like all the top folks in the field he tends to be backlogged, so get your job started ASAP!

[nitro577]

Ben is very good. You will be satisfied with his work.

[44special]

Yes, Ben does excellent work. I used him on two project several years ago before his name started being mentioned in magazines. Consequently the waiting time was very tolerable.

Ben does top notch work, and is a very nice guy to boot.

[mellonhead]

Does anyone have a current email address for Mr. Forkin? Thanks.

Toby

[COR]

Here's a Gunblast article on Mr. Forkin. His contact info is listed at the end.

www.gunblast.com/Forkin44Vaquero.htm

[lloydsmale]

definatley one of the best out there. Nothing leaves his shop that isnt perfect.

[taffin]

DEFINITELY ONE OF THE TOP 'SMITHS OUT THERE. HE TRAINED UNDER HAMILTON.

[mellonhead]

Talked to him last night. Pretty sure he is gonna get my next project. Thanks guys.

Toby

[golfswithwolves]

I just recently got my .41 Special that Mr. Forkin made for me from a Ruger OM .357 Blackhawk. He is very easy to do business with and a real friendly guy on the phone; always made time to explain to me what was going on and to make sure I got exactly what I wanted. VERY good work on the revolver!

[buck]

Is that name for real?

[Tom Richardson]

The name is for real.
The abilities are for real.
He is a good smith and a good friend.

I have a five shot 45 he built for me and another he did his tune and other magic stuff on.

[justahunter]

New here, but thought I would comment on this thread.

I have been conversing with Ben Forkin for several months over the phone. He is very patient and willing to share his knowledge. I dropped off my NM Flattop earlier this week to have an action job done on it. We talked for , to my surprise 3 hours. He not only explained in detail the things he would do to my Flattop, but talked of other gun related topics I was curious about and told a few hunting stories too. A very interesting person to talk to.

He also talked me into buying the Flattop instead of having an old model converted. He said the NM Flattop in 44 Special was just as accurate as he made. However, after talking to him I think I will have him convert an OM for me one of these days. Very personable. I recall Brian Pearce saying how his OM converted to 44 Special that Ben Forkin did was the best handgun he owns.

[kings6]

I have shown this before but this is the one he finished for me with the long cylinder in 45 Colt.



Ben truly is one of the nicest guys I have talked to in the sixgun world. He always returns a phone call if he can't answer right away and is a gentleman to deal with. He will be getting a marlin cowboy in 41 mag to work on next from me.