K98k with mismatched stock - likely history and value?

[Aragorn243]

Refinishing the stock depends on what you call refinishing and what someone else calls refinishing. For some guys, refinishing means altering the existing original finish in any manner, including cleaning. For others it is doing something that is not original to the rifle, varnish, tung oil, sanding, etc. It seems for the majority, light cleaning and new oil does not affect how they feel about the rifle as it is considered maintenance, not refinishing.

I like my rifles to look the way they were supposed to look while in service. When in service they were maintained. Therefore they would not have rust, dirt or oil grime all over them. I have deep cleaned a few stocks that were in really bad shape but usually I'll just wipe them down with BLO and be done with it. I've also removed finishes that were not original to the rifles.

Yours looks like all it needs is a wipe down.

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[Patrick Chadwick]

For some guys, refinishing means altering the existing original finish in any manner, including cleaning. For others it is doing something that is not original to the rifle, varnish, tung oil, sanding, etc. It seems for the majority, light cleaning and new oil does not affect how they feel about the rifle as it is considered maintenance, not refinishing.

"refinishing means altering the existing original finish in any manner, including cleaning."

I have a very simple attitude to all this: Proper maintenance would have been applied during its service life, so catching up on maybe decades of neglected maintenance is proper treatment. Dirt is NOT original. Fossilized grease is NOT original.

But maintenance is aimed at keeping a service rifle service-able. So all the parts swapping, forced matching etc. that goes on in the name of "restoring it to its original condition", and has nothing to do with its service-ability, is a falsification that quickly leads down the slippery slope to outright faking.

I like my rifles to look the way they were supposed to look while in service. When in service they were maintained. Therefore they would not have rust, dirt or oil grime all over them. I have deep cleaned a few stocks that were in really bad shape but usually I'll just wipe them down with BLO and be done with it. I've also removed finishes that were not original to the rifles.

100% agreement there