Agree entirely. I've got an old Stevens Favorite here, that was my dad's first rifle he bought for himself, when he was 13. Beat to heck, and not a trace of blue on it. Dad arc welded the broken lever, and blobbed braze on the missing screw head to make it work again. I recently replaced that screw, since the braze had stretched over the years, and it wouldn't hold the breech closed. Shoots just fine again! It's the first rifle I fired, and the one time when I was happy to insist on primogeniture.I'm with you undeg01......You can't beat a firearm with family history.....
The screws I replaced from Dad's repair are in a ziploc back to save them for posterity, too. They're as much part of the story as the rifle itself. When I get around to fitting the new extractor, the old broken one will join them.
Bill