Yesterday's Weapons Forums

ok, so almost all the 91/30s we see have been refurbed by the arsenals, with the shiny lacquered finish. Was this the standard finish on all 92/30s, even before/during the war? I was just curious, because I was thinking about picking up another one, just to strip the finish off and see what the wood really looked like. I have some stock wax to put on it after, with all of them out there, I don't see that redoing one would be a bad thing, but it's still a piece of history.

Soviets always used shellac. Although the post-war application may be more crude than earlier. See:

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinFAQ.htm

Q. What is the original finish on Russian/Soviet stocks?
A. Shellac was used from the earliest production to the latest, probably because it is inexpensive and simple to use although it is not as durable as some finishes. Mosin Nagant stocks that appear to have an "oil" finish have just had the shellac worn off.

That's a nice site, thanks

SOG had some mosins that were never redone, thought they wanted more for them then the arsenel refinished ones. These were in the last flyer.