A few random thoughts about restoring milsurps
Hi folks,
Someone contacted me this morning via e-mail (contact via another forum), having questions about his desire to restore a K31. This person essentially asked me "how do I make it look new, I know nothing about woodworking".
When I read my answer to them, I thought I was expressing quite a few opinions, and so I thought I could present them here for discussion and comments.
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Hi (...),
It's hard to choose where to start, there could be so much I could say. I will try to stick with the basics first and we can then take it from there.
First, when it comes to milsurps, I personally consider that they can be a part of history, in a certain way. If they haven't been transformed permanently by someone (you may have heard or read about "Bubba'ed" rifles), then they are indeed a relic of an important part of our past.
With this as my main guiding principle, I consider each project different from the previous, based on many factors.
How rare is the rifle? If it's super common, then I may take more liberty in my intervention. If it should be kept in a Museum, then I will be extremely cautious with my decisions about my work.
How original is it? If it's what is refered to as "all matching",it means that every part of the rifle is the exact same one as when it left the factory - nothing has been changed, swapped, repaired etc. Usually, in a situation like this, I will do very little to the rifle. I will not want to alter the fact that it's a collection piece. I may disassemble it, clean every part and reassemble. That's "maintenance" to preserve the firearm. Sometimes the wood may require a fresh coat of something (on a Lee Enfield, with which I'm more familiar, that would be linseed oil. On a Russian Mosin-Nagant, that would be pure shellac). That can also be considered maintenance, but not always.I would not reblue, or reparkerize, or repaint, metal with a worn finish; that I think is going against keeping the historical aspect of the firearm.
What work is required? Sometimes, wood is cracked. Or a metal part is worn so much that it prevents proper operation of the firearm. That requires repairs, so I've done this to some milsurps. I may decide to acquire a really rough, half-complete, non-matching rifle, because it's cheap, and the work required provides me with hours of fun. And it's less critical to preserve the historical aspect of the firearm since so much heritage has already been lost on it (unfortunately).
What would be the ideal finished state? Part of the charm of a milsurp, for me, is due to the fact that, well, it "looks" like a milsurp. If a rifle has been to war and looks brand new, to me that's a bit going against its character. I'm happy when a milsurp looks in good shape, looks like it will be safe to shoot, looks like it's being taken care of, but not necessarily looking like it just came out of the factory. Unless, of course, if it actually hasn't been anywhere else since it did come out of its factory. I will no doubt at a certain point get a never-fired or almost-never-fired Enfield, it's just a matter of time I suppose :)
Ok. now that all that is said, what would I do with your particular K31.
First I would read a lot about it. I would find out everything I can about it. So that way, I would know what to do, and more importantly what NOT to do with it. I would chat with K31 experts, probe their opinion. That's how I got started on my Lee Enfield addiction... What you want to avoid is doing something with it that would be irreversible and that would cause the loss of some of its historical aspects. Sanding and staining the original stock so that stamped letters or numbers vanish, for example. Parkerizing the metal that only was blued originally is another example. This almost always mean you take a rifle that's worth X amount of dollars, and after the fact it's worth something like half of that.
I still am not getting into details about the K31, I know... Ok try to focus Lou.
From your picture, I don't think the K31 looks too bad. I wouldn't hesitate to strip it and inspect everything and then see how much work is needed. If it's more of a shooter than a collector's piece, (i.e. non-matching), and if things are non-original and fixable (for example if the wrong finish is on the wood), then refinishing could be considered. If, on the other hand, it's original and the shape of the parts is part of it's history, then I would simply make sure all is fine, cleaned, oiled etc. And keep it in good shape.
Since I don't know enough about K31's, I will leave up to you to dig out the particular information about that rifle. Do take the time to learn what is required, and do things to the rifle that you feel comfortable doing. If you've never done anything with wood in terms of repairs, refinishing etc., I would recommend trying a few other wood working projects first; that way, beginners' mistakes will be performed on a stool, a shelf, or a spice rack, not on a firearm that could loose its value :) Or, find someone nearby that could teach you along the way; I'm always happy to get visitors over to my place with their Lee Enfield and teach them what to do. It's very doable in person, much harder long distance though. All depends on your level of self-confidence and your skills I suppose. But for me even more important is posessing the following quality: humility. I think that's what's helped me the most in my recently-found passion; I always remember that I know very little and that there is much, much more to be learned. That way I don't hesitate to ask questions, receive advices well, and am quite thankful to all those who are happy to share their knowledge with me.
Hope this helps, let me know!
Lou
