Re: highest grade walnut stocks
1S2K,
From your question it sounds as though you may be just starting into high grade wood. In the SxS shotgun community you will find many references to Cecil Fredi and that group is as passionate about wood as this board is about reliability/accuracy. Two good sites to search are doublegunshop.com and shootingsportsman.com. If in fact you are already knowledgeable go no further.
Different varieties of walnut have diffrent characteristics in terms of density, weight , workability, etc. The same varieties will have different coloration and density imposed by soil mineral content and climatic conditions. The wood may be slab sawn or quarter sawn. It is correct that wood described as exhibition will usually be the best a vendor has but what qualifies as best is subjective. Evaluating a piece of wood entails subjective assessments to a degree but certain things must be present. The layout of the wood should be such that the grain through the hand is straight while the figure in the buttstock is idealy 100% coverage with each side, as close as possible, a reflection of the other. How the wood is dried is also critical as this is a determining factor in the wood's long term stability. When you say price is not a factor, know that there are blanks out there that will cost you as much as a new AIAW. Take a look at Jefvn's pictures and you will see a good example of proper layout and good side to side equivalancy in figure. Also, as the shavings start coming off the blank, major flaws can appear.
Unfortunatly I have not answered your question. Have fun looking and learning.
