Type 38 carbine

[Bruce_in_Oz]

I was under the impression that the rifles / carbines with the ground-off "mum" were end-of-war "surrender" items rather than "battlefield pickups". It seems reasonable to assume that the Japanese Quartermasters were not prowling the two-way rifle range with angle grinders, defacing the markings on the weapons of their fallen comrades. Of the Arisakas brought back by my Army Engineer uncle, from a 1940's tropical sojourn in New Guinea, none had been "defaced".

As for "colour", didn't the Japanese treat their woodwork with Potassium Permanganate (Condy's Crystals) as a mould / rot preventative prior to the traditional oiling? That might explain the peculiar "reddish / purple" colour of some of the nicer surviving originals.

[Aragorn243]

Ground mums are end of war surrenders. This particular rifle looks like it has it's mum and might have the stacked cannonballs stamped into it. The photo isn't the best so can't be sure.