delete please
- Thread starter ostrof
- Start date
ostrof, your friend may have unintentionally done you a bad turn. Those rifles aren't supposed to look like that. They are supposed to have a flat or matte look to them. The Finns used Pine Tar as a finish. They liked it because it stayed non reflective and stood up to the elements.
The rifle is very pretty but it wasn't built or issued that way. Pblatzz is trying to let you down gently. Your friend may just have devalued a very collectable piece.
If I were offered that rifle as it is now, I am sorry to say I wouldn't give it a second glance. That is just IMHO. Others may like it or even find it desirable but to a serious collector, it has lost a lot of its original appeal.
That being said, the workmanship is excellent and the rifle is pretty.
The rifle is very pretty but it wasn't built or issued that way. Pblatzz is trying to let you down gently. Your friend may just have devalued a very collectable piece.
If I were offered that rifle as it is now, I am sorry to say I wouldn't give it a second glance. That is just IMHO. Others may like it or even find it desirable but to a serious collector, it has lost a lot of its original appeal.
That being said, the workmanship is excellent and the rifle is pretty.
Coyote Ugly
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It has an Import mark on the Barrel: CAI GEORGIA VT , that caught my eye.
Post it on Gunboards for a real collectors opinion in the Nagant section, see what they say.
It's pretty to look at, but generally when you do something to a stock that isn't original, like sand it, Varnish, or pimpshine it, clean or strip, as in Mausers or any other rifle, it drops the value in half.
I would have left it original.
As long as you're happy with it.
Finnish M39 "exellent" to "exclusive", maybe more like "excellentee" to "mega pimpshined supremo".
This isn't the Furniture Refinishing Forum.
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OP, if it's exactly what "you" asked for, you should have said so. You don't like the replies you got back, your fault for not telling the whole story.
That being said, as I mentioned above, the workmanship is well done and the refinisher also had to remove more than a few feathers to make it that smooth. It is still a pretty rifle when all is said and done and I really do hope you enjoy it.
That being said, as I mentioned above, the workmanship is well done and the refinisher also had to remove more than a few feathers to make it that smooth. It is still a pretty rifle when all is said and done and I really do hope you enjoy it.
OP...I think your question is "how did my friend finish this rifle/what did he use?" Ask him! IMHO, I would guess tung oil as has been suggested and perhaps a wax top coat. This finish has been used on stocks for a long while now as the oil sets up a hard protective finish"inside" the wood and the wax is a weather/uv protector that can be easily cleaned and re-applied.....The North American version of pine oil if you will
and better suited to our climate to boot....nice rifle BTW....ask your buddy what he used and report back okay?
and better suited to our climate to boot....nice rifle BTW....ask your buddy what he used and report back okay?
I think I like it better with a little shine.
Here's a pic of mine. I never knew it was treated as such, but I knew it was non-refurbed.
Turns out it's not a cosmetic alteration ( but it does have a certain life to it now ).
After the Brady Bill came in it was coated in a wax / oil mixture and buried in the Nevada desert for several years! Hidden from an oppressive regime, LOL
Oh, I'll save the purist's the trouble...it's collectable value is reduced by X divided by the 9th power.
But I bought it off a cousin from south of the 49th & I didn't buy it as an investment; I bought it to shoot. And man is it nice to shoot!
It came with a VTK ( which is still AWOL, long story) & a Beautiful 1903 Carl G 6.5 X 55
And it's way more fun than the Swede. The fit and finish on the steel on the Swede are so tight that they don't help the action to flow. The Sako ( pictured ) has had enough use that the bolt just flows when you work it. The Swede will most likely shoot rings around the M-39...from a sandbagged bench.
The Finn just cycles, floats up and shoots; almost effortless. If I had to choose one to use in a practical sense, it'd be the Finn.
Nice rifle ; hope it treats you well.
Here's a pic of mine. I never knew it was treated as such, but I knew it was non-refurbed.
Turns out it's not a cosmetic alteration ( but it does have a certain life to it now ).
After the Brady Bill came in it was coated in a wax / oil mixture and buried in the Nevada desert for several years! Hidden from an oppressive regime, LOL
Oh, I'll save the purist's the trouble...it's collectable value is reduced by X divided by the 9th power.
But I bought it off a cousin from south of the 49th & I didn't buy it as an investment; I bought it to shoot. And man is it nice to shoot!
It came with a VTK ( which is still AWOL, long story) & a Beautiful 1903 Carl G 6.5 X 55
And it's way more fun than the Swede. The fit and finish on the steel on the Swede are so tight that they don't help the action to flow. The Sako ( pictured ) has had enough use that the bolt just flows when you work it. The Swede will most likely shoot rings around the M-39...from a sandbagged bench.
The Finn just cycles, floats up and shoots; almost effortless. If I had to choose one to use in a practical sense, it'd be the Finn.
Nice rifle ; hope it treats you well.
I wonder what the Finnish troopies were issued to maintain the stocks on issue to them. In most armies, incl ours, it was raw linseed oil. I can still remember the big tins of linseed being issued to recondition our FN stocks after a field exercise.
Though unconfirmed, there is rumor that some stocks were varnished in-arsenal for aesthetics and in accordance with post war style. I have a varnished example that I thought was a bubba job, until I saw another Tikka M91 and a VKT M91 with the exact same tone finish... wishful thinking, maybe, but I think that there's more to the story.
Not that that applies to the current discussion directly, but it's a related point by some tangent.
Not that that applies to the current discussion directly, but it's a related point by some tangent.
