1958 (K) Factory Matching Letter Series SKS

Johnyy said:
Where are all your SKS pics for us to see? How many do you own? You have some prime examples for us to 'ogle over? Or pick apart, like you do. Or do you not own any? haha-I'm sure you do, please indulge 'us' with your Collection, instead of your knowledge for a bit- would be Splendid! Thnx U in Advance BB!
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I have owned 27 or 28 sks variants. 19 was the most at one time. Currently I own 15 sks variants. Two Romanian, seven Chinese and six Soviet. By CDN standards, half of my Russian guns might be considered "all original, or unissued" but I know better than that.

EDIT: 16 total currently. Forgot the all matching 1969 Albanian I picked up last year.
 
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Cerot said:
Took a pic of the markings on the sight post on my 57 SKS (dear god cat hair gets everywhere). This gun is my plinker so yeah its seen some use. Also the channel that the bayonet sits in on the stock, looks like they didn't get very much, if any, shellac in there.
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Nice!

The lack of shellac in the bayo channel could be a result of a half-ashed finish application, though it might also be due to prolonged contact from the bayonet.

Pet hair is sign of a well oiled rifle. Nothing wrong with that.

With a black cat the hairs won't be as obvious.
 
Horilka said:
But wait, wait - "it is impossible", "you faked it, no other explanations", "centuries of research of our forum..", "we have so many SKSs that Canadian rifles can be discarded" and "you should bark less and listen more".

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I have to thank you . did you ever make me laugh . that is one beautiful rifle . I'm used to seeing them in the laminated stock . very nice . I was almost drooling looking at those photos .
 
pcvando said:
Which we already discussed.

This is NOT a sign of refurbishment. But you do you, keep tooting your own horn.

Are you afraid of being wrong? Do you like the power you get on your forums when everyone thinks your an expert?

You might be able to fool others but not us. Go toot your horn elsewhere.
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Bravo . I love this post .
 
pcvando said:
Omg lmao.

This never ends!
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Don't worry about it P., That's the closest to an ''original'' UN Refurb. I have seen......i.e. stamps around stock bolt.!!!!
gave my BRAND NEW REFURB'' K to a family member......still have 2 " backwards N '' refurbs in hardwood and laminated ''
you did not mention you collect SKS as well........
cheers GLENN.
 
There is ZERO evidence that crossbolt stamps are definitive an indication of an original condition anything. The notion t h at they are an indication of original state, is a myth. Simply repeating something a million times doesn't make it true.

So far, a grand total of NO ONE knows what crossbolt stamps indicate, or when they were applied. It's purely conjecture.

Because of this, there's an equally plausible argument to be made that the crossbolt stamps are related to the stock alone, and have nothing to do with the overall rifle or originality of condition.


Hearsay.
 
Boris Badinov said:
There is ZERO evidence that crossbolt stamps are definitive an indication of an original condition anything. The notion t h at they are an indication of original state, is a myth. Simply repeating something a million times doesn't make it true.

So far, a grand total of NO ONE knows what crossbolt stamps indicate, or when they were applied. It's purely conjecture.

Because of this, there's an equally plausible argument to be made that the crossbolt stamps are related to the stock alone, and have nothing to do with the overall rifle or originality of condition.


Hearsay.
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I agree with you on the cross bolt stamps that they only apply to the stock and not the overall rifle condition. These stamps are generally sharp as they can be, which indicating that they were applied after shellack coat application. They are technical stamps indicating that cross bolt hole is done correctly and in the right spot for that particular stock.
 
gewehr76 said:
I agree with you on the cross bolt stamps that they only apply to the stock and not the overall rifle condition. These stamps are generally sharp as they can be, which indicating that they were applied after shellack coat application. They are technical stamps indicating that cross bolt hole is done correctly and in the right spot for that particular stock.
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+1 ...More insightful, observations.

Yes, the precise alignment of the crossbolt holes is crucial to proper fit of the barreled action. Because wood warps, expands, shrinks over time due to environmental conditions, stocks that were put into storage would need to be re-inspected, re-measured, and re-proofed on a regular basis until they were paired with a barreled action. The greater the number of stamps around the crossbolt holes, the greater the number of times that the stock has been re-inspected and re-proofed--and the longer period of time that passed before the stock was paired with a barreled action.

The OP rifle has 10 visible crossbolt stamps, some fainter than others, and some quite defined-- indicative of the numerous inspections and some refinishing too. But why so many stamps? Once paired with a barreled action, the crossbolt holes are essentially fixed in place.

Surplus stocks that went unused into storage would need to be inspected on a regular basis-- once every year or few years to ensure that the crossbolt holes hadn't migrated from warp during storage. With 10 visible crossbolt stamps, the OP stock very easily could have spent a minimum of 10 years in storage before it finally paired with it's barreled action.

I'm curious if the laminate stocks on letter guns exhibit this pattern of multiple left and right side proofs around the crossbolt. My guess is that original laminate stocks on letter guns don't exhibit such an excessive number crossbolt stamps.
 
Boris Badinov said:
I'm curious if the laminate stocks on letter guns exhibit this pattern of multiple left and right side proofs around the crossbolt. My guess is that original laminate stocks on letter guns don't exhibit such an excessive number crossbolt stamps.
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It seems to me that you're right. My 1957 letter series (the "И" series) SKS with a laminate stock has just a few proof marks around the crossbolt (pics):
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Left crossbolt-two proof marks
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Right crossbolt-one triangular mark far to the right
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A typical annealing stripe on the receiver cover
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No small Tula star on the receiver
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No small Tula star on the buttstock
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Interesting. Thanks for sharing.


Just to make it perfectly clear, my previous reply was an entirely an exercise in conjecture. We have no idea what the crossbolt stamps actually mean. Though I think gewher76 is on the right track.

I have seen laminate stocks on seemingly original letter guns with crossbolt stamps on both sides. But I have never compared the frequency in comparison to hardwood stocks.
 
Where the notion sprang up that crossbolt stamps are indicators of overall original condition, I have NO idea.

But I've heard it for years, and to date I have found exactly zero corroborating sources.

It's like the debunked claims about the East German /1\ property stamp, and the "1956+1" serial dating method for the Chinese sks. Both were claimed as ironclad facts for decades. No one questioned the veracity, and it became canon without anyone stopping to ask why or how they were proven in the first place.
 
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Man people get worked up over their SKSes! They're all $250 commie guns to me, excellent for throwing lots of cheap commie lead down range and scoring occasional hits on NATO sized targets! I don't care how original anybody says one is, if it's more than $300 they can enjoy it for themselves. I love mine and I won't part with it but it knows it's place, on the other side of the iron curtain that it built for itself in my gun cabinet. In fact I better go down there and have a look, it could be multiplying or refurbing or something down there...

Thanks for the great thread guys it was very entertaining.
 
Boris Badinov said:
+1 ...More insightful, observations.

Yes, the precise alignment of the crossbolt holes is crucial to proper fit of the barreled action. Because wood warps, expands, shrinks over time due to environmental conditions,

I'm curious if the laminate stocks on letter guns exhibit this pattern of multiple left and right side proofs around the crossbolt. My guess is that original laminate stocks on letter guns don't exhibit such an excessive number crossbolt stamps.
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Well another observation and proof of that my point about technological stamps around cross bolt is correct is evident on laminated stocks. Cross bolt cut is crucial on hardwood as well as on laminated stocks, however there is no technological stamps around wrist bolt on laminates. I checked on mine they are not there as well not present on 05RAV's sks either. Why you might ask? Because they are not precisely cut component of the stock, they can be a bit higher or lower, not important as long as it enforces the stock rigidity, its tight, then its, good to go. And those bolts are not inspected, and usually covered in shellack as the rest of the stock.
 
gewehr76 said:
Well another observation and proof of that my point about technological stamps around cross bolt is correct is evident on laminated stocks. Cross bolt cut is crucial on hardwood as well as on laminated stocks, however there is no technological stamps around wrist bolt on laminates. I checked on mine they are not there as well not present on 05RAV's sks either. Why you might ask? Because they are not precisely cut component of the stock, they can be a bit higher or lower, not important as long as it enforces the stock rigidity, its tight, then its, good to go. And those bolts are not inspected, and usually covered in shellack as the rest of the stock.
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A very interesting observation, indeed. No marks whatsoever on my laminate 1957 Tula SKS around a wrist cross bolt. Absolutely nothing there.
 
05RAV said:
A very interesting observation, indeed. No marks whatsoever on my laminate 1957 Tula SKS around a wrist cross bolt. Absolutely nothing there.
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Wrist crossbolts don't come into contact with the barreled action. Their apparent purpose seems to mitigate splitting at the wrist from the effects of recoil.

As such they would not require the regular inspection like the main crossbolt.
 
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