Inherited K98 - issues?

[BoulderChris]

Hello, I've recently inherited several rifles from my Grandfather (see the 1903A3 thread here). I am new to this collecting thing and am wondering as to the condition of this K98. I know the bolt isn't supposed to be white....is re-blueing it something a qualified gunsmith could accomplish? And, eventually I might want to replace the stock.

Also, could someone educate me on what people are talking about with the "matching serial numbers"? The barrel and receiver appear to match, though the bolt components don't?








Thanks in advance! I can post more photos if needed.

Information

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[Patrick Chadwick]

What follows is a generalization, "what was usually done". Please, don't all write in eagerly listing the exceptions, that is just confusing for a beginner! I have a book of more than 400 pages on nothing else but the marking of German military firearms, so let's just keep it simple!

German military handguns and rifles were marked just about all over. In fact, looking at a complex piece like a Luger P08, you can say that German guns were marked on parts where other brands didn't even have parts!

There were precise regulations for the marking. Parts such as the barrel and the receiver were generally marked with the complete number. This was a four-figure number with a series letter in a cursive script. Obviously 4-figures, i.e. 1 to 9999 would soon be used up, so numbering continued with a 1a to a 9999 a, then 1b to 9999 b etc. And they got through the entire alphabet more once a year in times of peak production, so it is important to recognize that a number, even with letter, is not, in general, unique. Note your that rifle has 4701 d on barrel and receiver. So it is not the 4701th K98 ever, or even the 4701th of 1940, but the 44701th - and even that might be second or third time around. The bolt was also marked with the 4-figure number but not necessarily the letter. In your case, we see 3830s - and the bolt shroud has yet another number.
So your rifle would be viewed as a "mixmaster" - it may be perfectly OK as a shooter, but it is not what a collector wants.

Other parts were marked with (typically) the last two figures, for lack of space.

And the sizes and typefaces of lettering and numbering at various positions on the rifle were also regulated.

All this regulation means that a German rifle in its original configuration had numbers that matched. Obviously, collectors who want an all-original piece are very keen that those numbers match. And, so the world runs, if those numbers don't match, there are a lot of creative people out there doing something about it. Like replacing missing or damaged parts by others, and altering the numbers to fit. This is known as "forced matching". Some would call it faking.

In military use, if an already numbered part had to be used on a different firearm, the original numbers were not ground off, but were lined through, and the new number was applied next to the old, lined-out number. The corollary is that a ground-off number is a pretty good sign that the weapon has been falsified.

Although I have describe your rifle as a "mixmaster" - the usual term in this field - this does not mean that it is a bad rifle, just not longer in its original configuration.
Now take a look at the stock. This is a laminated stock, in good condition, and has been chequered. Material has been removed, so there is no way to undo the checkering.

Bearing all this in mind, it seems to me to be pointless to re-blue the bolt. You cannot make it original again, so save your money and enjoy it as it is. The important question now is: how does it shoot!

[Claven2]

Patrick - WW1 practise was to line out and renumber, in WW2, the field depots often scrubbed and renumbered, but the fonts should still be WW2 and follow a known pattern, making fakery difficult.

I recently build a ZF41 repro and faked a lot of the parts on another forum to illustrate how it can be done. I should really cross-post it here. In my case, I left lots of evidence of the fakery below the woodline, but above the woodline it's not real easy to tell. I suggest anyone getting into collecting K98's to buy good books and do your homework!

[Claven2]

ok, I cross posted the thread I was talking about to the restoration forum here:

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread....998#post267998

[Salt Flat]

BC, I came across an Arisaka T99 with similar checkering. I sanded the checkering off using a hard rubber block to back up the sand paper. I started with some 100 grit and finished it off with 220 and 400. These old military stocks usually have ample wood anyway. The checkering is probably only .020 inch deep so you are really not taking much off. Finish it off with BLO and you will realy see that red glue laminate! Salt Flat

[Patrick Chadwick]

Patrick - WW1 practise was to line out and renumber, in WW2, the field depots often scrubbed and renumbered...

Thanks for the correction. My knowledge is admittedly concentrated on the real "old bangers"!

[BoulderChris]

Thanks for all the replies! While having a "collectors" edition would be sweet, I didn't have to pay anything for this one and I don't ever plan on parting with it. Here is the link to a Enfield MkIII* I also inherited. If I could get it back to at least a "representative" appearance I'd be very happy even if all the numbers don't match. I've always been interested in WWII and this is like holding a little piece of history. Looking at it, I may be able to sand down the stock, there appears to be enough wood that it wouldn't look out of place if I remove the hash marks.

What is BLO?

[browningautorifle]

Boiled linseed oil is one of the possible finishes to be applied to the wood work after sanding. You will have to go deep enough to avoid a darkness in the wood where the checkering was. Careful should work though. Then again, the nice clean shooter. And again, sling and bayonet...mag pouches, charger clips...

[Salt Flat]

BC, When sanding try to keep all edges crisp--in other words a hard block backing the sandpaper will keep any sharp edges from being rounded over. Rounding off will happen if you just use your hand to back up the paper. The last time your stock was refinished, some of this rounding ocurred. Look at the clearance area around bolt handle for an example of this rounding. Sometimes you can square up some of the previous rounding using the hard block. Salt Flat

[OLDER THEN DIRT]

Boulder, why don`t you just leave it like it is. Your grandfather didn`t seem to have any problems with it & it looks fine.