Aguila Blanca
Staff
Press release from Cabot Guns. It's full of jargon that leaves me completely befuddled. I think what he's talking about is selling "virtual" guns -- for big bucks.
Will someone explain this to me, please?
- Thread starter Aguila Blanca
- Start date
FoghornLeghorn
New member
It sounds like a junior high script for a 'B' sci fi flick. Like, obi wan kenobi's
Either that, or somebody's typing while stoned?
Either that, or somebody's typing while stoned?
Value is whatever people are willing to pay.
One of the things they do is make super high-end guns that are unlikely to ever be actually used. As far as I can tell, prices on their regular guns start at $10K. Their "Moonshot" pistol, currently listed on their website is encrusted with lunar meteorites and lists for a quarter of a million. They valued one pair of of their pistols at $4.5million.
I guess from selling guns that will almost certainly spend their whole life being displayed as a works of art but never used, it's not a long jump to selling what amounts to extremely limited edition "prints" of the guns with digital proof of ownership.
One of the things they do is make super high-end guns that are unlikely to ever be actually used. As far as I can tell, prices on their regular guns start at $10K. Their "Moonshot" pistol, currently listed on their website is encrusted with lunar meteorites and lists for a quarter of a million. They valued one pair of of their pistols at $4.5million.
I guess from selling guns that will almost certainly spend their whole life being displayed as a works of art but never used, it's not a long jump to selling what amounts to extremely limited edition "prints" of the guns with digital proof of ownership.
Doc Intrepid
New member
+1
To "mint" a "Non-Fungible Token" is to create a single digital image that can neither be duplicated or reproduced - each image is (supposedly) a unique digital creation.
It's value lies in the fact that it is the only one of its kind. The idea is that collectors - especially crypto-investors and those who collect NFTs in general - will pay huge bucks for these "unique items" - and that their value will increase over time.
I will admit that - recognizing the Bible says thou shalt not covet - I dearly wanted one of those pistols in the article that JohnKSa linked. Cabot did a nice job in turning a meteorite into beautiful pistols. There was that pesky matter of my not having $4.5 million however...... And of course the fact that if I had such a pistol I'd shoot the hell out of it, carry it around everywhere, and destroy its collector value.
So if Cabot is selling NFT images of beautiful firearms to collectors for big bucks, more power to them. It isn't anything that I'd be interested in, but they cater to a much wealthier and more sophisticated crowd that I'd be found in! They must know their business.
To "mint" a "Non-Fungible Token" is to create a single digital image that can neither be duplicated or reproduced - each image is (supposedly) a unique digital creation.
It's value lies in the fact that it is the only one of its kind. The idea is that collectors - especially crypto-investors and those who collect NFTs in general - will pay huge bucks for these "unique items" - and that their value will increase over time.
I will admit that - recognizing the Bible says thou shalt not covet - I dearly wanted one of those pistols in the article that JohnKSa linked. Cabot did a nice job in turning a meteorite into beautiful pistols. There was that pesky matter of my not having $4.5 million however...... And of course the fact that if I had such a pistol I'd shoot the hell out of it, carry it around everywhere, and destroy its collector value.
So if Cabot is selling NFT images of beautiful firearms to collectors for big bucks, more power to them. It isn't anything that I'd be interested in, but they cater to a much wealthier and more sophisticated crowd that I'd be found in! They must know their business.
Wow. Just did a half hour read on NFT's. My head hurts, my eyes
are starting to cross and I feel a deep despair for the future of civilization
as we know it and the long term survival of Homo Sapiens.
Cabot builds some beautiful guns. Not sure I would want to own one, and
REALLY sure I have no interest in paying big "money" to own a picture of one!
are starting to cross and I feel a deep despair for the future of civilization
as we know it and the long term survival of Homo Sapiens.
Cabot builds some beautiful guns. Not sure I would want to own one, and
REALLY sure I have no interest in paying big "money" to own a picture of one!
From what I understand of the current NFT frenzy that Cabot is trying to cash in on is that people who accumulated large fortunes in cryptocurrency are freely spending crypto to acquire 'art'.
In reality, you cannot actually purchase much with crypto without converting it into currency. I doubt it would be very easy to liquidate millions in crypto into US dollars.
If I'm sitting on a pile of bitcoin, why not spend some imaginary amount of it on 'art' (it has no real value in and of itself) so I can brag that I have the only one of whatever digital art I bought.
I wish Cabot well. I hope it works for them.
In reality, you cannot actually purchase much with crypto without converting it into currency. I doubt it would be very easy to liquidate millions in crypto into US dollars.
If I'm sitting on a pile of bitcoin, why not spend some imaginary amount of it on 'art' (it has no real value in and of itself) so I can brag that I have the only one of whatever digital art I bought.
I wish Cabot well. I hope it works for them.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
That would take, I think, exactly one shot.Doc Intrepid said:
I haven't called Rob Bianchin up to ask him, but I have spoken with him at several SHOT Shows. As far as I know, they only made one meteorite 1911, and I'm pretty certain that it could not be fired. Why not? Because it's rock, not metal.
To understand how they could make a pistol out of rock, you have to understand Cabot Guns. Cabot's parent company makes industrial abrasives. Cabot Guns started off during a slow spell, when they were looking for ways to showcase what their abrasives can do. Somebody said, "Hey -- let's make a 1911," and it took off from their.
They don't start off with forgings or with investment castings. Every steel Cabot gun (frame and slide) starts off as a rectangular ingot, and is shaped into a firearm by grinding away metal until they get to where they need to be. No lathe's, no milling machines. Yes, they uses CNC techniques -- but their CNC machines run grinders, not cutters. You couldn't use cutters to "machine" a chunk of rock into the shape of a 1911 -- but you can grind it into that shape.
I'm pretty sure that's how they made the meteorite pistol. If I'm correct, it's just an expensive piece or rock which, if fired, would shatter upon the first shot.
The M1911.org on-line magazine has tested a couple of their pistols (not the meteorite gun, though), and has also published two factory tour reports. They make for interesting reading.
Doc Intrepid
New member
Thanks for the info regarding the M1911.org online magazine articles. I will check those out.
You could be spot on - although they claim the pistols (they show photos of 2 of them) are made of an "iron nickel alloy" which was what the meteorite was made of.
If you can get past their poetic write-up, here are some pretty interesting photos and descriptions of how they made the pistols: https://cabotguns.com/oak-collection/the-big-bang-pistol-set/
Personally I liked the bit at the end where they say "price available upon request", and you have to fill out a form they'll undoubtedly use to see whether you have the necessary ching to bother responding to!
(Um, no, I didn't fill it out. If I have to ask how much it is.......)
You could be spot on - although they claim the pistols (they show photos of 2 of them) are made of an "iron nickel alloy" which was what the meteorite was made of.
If you can get past their poetic write-up, here are some pretty interesting photos and descriptions of how they made the pistols: https://cabotguns.com/oak-collection/the-big-bang-pistol-set/
Personally I liked the bit at the end where they say "price available upon request", and you have to fill out a form they'll undoubtedly use to see whether you have the necessary ching to bother responding to!
(Um, no, I didn't fill it out. If I have to ask how much it is.......)
It was a matched set, one left-handed, one right-handed.
Supposedly both guns were test-fired. The owner said it was a very nerve-wracking experience and I believe him. What you say is true, the meteorite material, though mostly metal is crystalline metal and therefore likely to be fragile.
I certainly wouldn't bet on them holding up to much shooting, but according to the company they have been checked for function.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
I forgot that was a matched set. Thanks for the link. Of course, the link is all hype and doesn't really explain how they made them. In my view, they are still nothing but very interesting (and VERY expensive) paperweights.
Shane Tuttle
Staff
So, selling a one-off image of a firearm.
My brain cannot compute what I just tried to understand. Gotta go with the Blue Pill on this one.
My brain cannot compute what I just tried to understand. Gotta go with the Blue Pill on this one.
I have a nice gun. I'm commissioning an artist to do a fine painting of the gun. I will sell you that painting. Each painting is unique and cannot be duplicated. Therefore they are worth money....
the "canvas" and paint used is digital file computer code. Buy now!!
That's what I got from it, and that explains it to me...
As to the meteorite 1911s, perhaps I am wrong, but I was under the impression that the nickel-iron "rock" of a meteorite was melted down to make the metal used, This is a different matter than carving the gun out of an asteroid.
the "canvas" and paint used is digital file computer code. Buy now!!
That's what I got from it, and that explains it to me...
As to the meteorite 1911s, perhaps I am wrong, but I was under the impression that the nickel-iron "rock" of a meteorite was melted down to make the metal used, This is a different matter than carving the gun out of an asteroid.