This may be of interest to all soviet gun owners/collectors

kwhunter

kwhunter

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:eek:

Not sure how many of you are aware of that, but the soviets used Creosote as the primary wood preservative; shellac is only the top coat.
Creosote is easily identifiable by it's specific odour; take the action out of the stock, or the butt plate and you can smell it.
Creosote is primarily a coal or petroleum residue distillate and it is an excellent wood preservative; railroad ties, telegraph poles they are all treated with it and they never rot.
It is an excellent preservative but environmentally unfriendly and apparently carcinogenic.

More about creosote here:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/contaminants/psl1-lsp1/creosote/creosote_synopsis-eng.php
 
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That's why you need to drink Vodka while cleaning your Russian Rifles to kill off potential liver tumors. :D

Kidding aside I wonder if this is why Russian rifle stocks do look darker?
 
This is the reason since the wood is mainly arctic birch which is light coloured.
The info is mainly meant for those who want to restore their stocks. The soviets never used boiled linseed oil.
And to answer the first reply: no, they should not as the base wood is very light; they just dipped the stock in the stuff; you can probably go darker if apply multiple coats. It is actually very dark considering the original colour of the wood.

Calum said:
That's why you need to drink Vodka while cleaning your Russian Rifles to kill off potential liver tumors. :D

Kidding aside I wonder if this is why Russian rifle stocks do look darker?
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kwhunter said:
This is the reason since the wood is mainly arctic birch which is light coloured.
The info is mainly meant for those who want to restore their stocks. The soviets never used boiled linseed oil.
And to answer the first reply: no, they should not as the base wood is very light; they just dipped the stock in the stuff; you can probably go darker if apply multiple coats. It is actually very dark considering the original colour of the wood.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna have to ask for a bit of proof or a link before I call BS on this - I had a couple Russkie SKS stocks showing no signs of any preservative penetration or darker coloration after the shellac was stripped.
 
I don't have the link to the soviet military industries, sorry.
And you can call it BS or any other way you want, it's a free country.
However, reading your first post I assume you are familiar with creosote, and if so you know how it smells.
Take the buttplate off your soviet made rifle and enjoy the stench!
Both my SVT and SKS were soaked in it, maybe yours weren't...

DaveGP said:
I'm gonna have to ask for a bit of proof or a link before I call BS on this - I had a couple Russkie SKS stocks showing no signs of any preservative penetration or darker coloration after the shellac was stripped.
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kwhunter said:
:eek:

It is an excellent preservative but environmentally unfriendly and apparently carcinogenic.
Click to expand...

We just went through this whole carcinogenic debate where I used to work. If you look further you find that it is the incomplete combustion of creosote is carcinogenic. Also for it to really have an effect you would either have to have a predisposition to it or bathe in it.

I do a lot of other things that will give me cancer long before the creosote in an SKS will... and I'm sure everyone on here does too. Sorry to break the news to you
 
P.s.

Here's a couple pics of the stock:
You can see the dark colour on the light coloured wood, the light spots and veins that were not penetrated by the creosote?
I can assure you, and I'm 100% positive on that, that in the '50 they were not using Minwax oil based stain to darken the wood...

IMG_0010.jpg


IMG_0017.jpg


DaveGP said:
I'm gonna have to ask for a bit of proof or a link before I call BS on this - I had a couple Russkie SKS stocks showing no signs of any preservative penetration or darker coloration after the shellac was stripped.
Click to expand...
 
I'd never thought about it,till KWhunter posted. It's the only one though out of all the ones I've had or looked at. Now it was an IZH if that makes any difference. The stock was a late 55/56 that had been renumbered once. I had a Syrian refurbed laminate stock that was sanded down,and it was bright with no smell. So maybe they were hit and miss with the treatment?
 
My SVT has the stock impregnated as well, my M-N M38 has it too but very faint smell.
I believe it was current manufacturing practice to have the wood impregnated for long term protection and it gives the characteristic blotchy appearance to soviet stocks.
I can't remember how the butt of my AKM-47 used to smell... :) but I wasn't paying attention at that time, there were other smelly things around.
The reason I brought up the issue of the creosote is because some people plan to refinish their furniture; to keep the stock original one has to apply the same treatment and finish.

I would need some creosote for myself, but apparently it is no longer available; if somebody has some to spare I would appreciate it.
 
Pine tar, anyone?

DaveGP said:
Alrighty then...I'll go stock-sniffing when I get home...
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Could it be something else like pine tar? Finns used it on some of their arctic birch stocks, sometimes in combination with melted reindeer tallow or turpentine and beeswax (depending on the districts) and they are beautifully preserved.
Pine tar has that creosote smell although less stinky. You can get something really approaching in liquid pine tar concoctions sold in ski shops for conditioning wooden cross-country skis. Easier to apply, too.
PP. :)
 
I've never noticed that all of the Soviet rifles were darkened. Most are but many Mosins, SVTs and SKSs are just shellaced and some with clear shellac at that. I've owned more than one MN that had lovely blonde wood. I will admit that I wondered about these rifles though, they mostly looked unfired but they all had mismatched bolts.

back in the late sixties, Lever Arms brought in a whole shipment of MNs that were blonde. What made me wonder about them was not only their excellent condition, but the fact that they were packed in crates rather than being strapped crosswise on pallets. I spent hours degreasing them to put out on racks.

Back then, you could buy a GOOD only MN for $10-$15 these went for $25. They were definitely a cut above the normal stuff for that time period.

There were also a bunch of regular grade MNs strapped on pallets that had very beat up stocks in the white.

For the most part though, they have a dark stain.

Considering inflation and the present condition of ex Soviet collectible/shooters on the market now, we are getting far better deals now.
 
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Well - I did sniff....;) and there is definately an industrial oil odor, just doesn't seem like a familiar creosote aroma..anyone else sniff their SKS's butt? :p
 
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