- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Here's my take on Russian SKS's. Experts chime in.
1949 -- spike
1950 to part 1954 -- polished steel
part 1954 to 1956 -- matte silver (bead blasted and coated)
Refurb (all years) -- any of the above, commonly matte silver due to superior corrosion protection.
My belief, not completely supported by evidence as I do not own 100+ SKS variations (so experts/collectors please chime in and share your experience and observations):
Most SKS's produced sometime in 1954 and onward were given matte finished (bead blasted) bayonets, probably as part of the gradual improvements made over the years. I believe that this was more or less consistent at both the Tula and Izhevsk factories. Because 1954 was a "transitional year" for the SKS bayonet, there were both polished and matte finished bayonets used. It was probably not an abrupt transition, but ultimately the matte finished bayonet replaced the polished bayonet by mid to late 1954.
SKS bayonets were likely quite used and abused during issue and training, and it is therefore not surprizing that bayonet replacement and/or refinishing was common during the arsenal refurbishment process. Most of the "nicer" refurbs were upgraded with matte silver finish bayonets, while others were nicely blued or painted black. Clearly, some refurbs also sport original or replacement polished bayonets. Because there was so little consistency during the arsenal refurbishment process, any bayonet style is possible on a "refurb". Life would have been easier for the collector if Russian SKS bayonets were serial numbered!
Because only 3% to perhaps 5% of all SKS imports are truly non-refurbished or "as-issued", it is common misunderstanding to label all matte silver finish bayonets as "refurbs".
"Yooper John", a popular and highly respected American SKS expert, supports this assertion and hence many believe this to be true. While Yooper John has great credibility and is the pioneer of SKS information sharing on the web, I don't believe he is correct regarding what is a "correct" Russian SKS bayonet. There are relatively few Russian SKS's in the USA, spread thinly over a huge population, due to the silly 1994 ban on the importation of combloc SKS's. Here in Canada, where the SKS has been widely imported for years, there is a sizeable number of true non-refurbished SKS's in the hands of collectors who have greater experience upon which to draw conclusions regarding what is "correct" on a non-refurbished Russian SKS.
I personally own a non-refurbished 1954 SKS with a matte silver bayonet, as does a number of other informed CGN collectors.
Well, that's my humble contribution to this thread. Feel free to refute, criticize, or support my statements.
Also feel free to contribute information on other facts surrounding any manufacturer of SKS (Chinese, Yugo, Albanian, etc.)
1949 -- spike
1950 to part 1954 -- polished steel
part 1954 to 1956 -- matte silver (bead blasted and coated)
Refurb (all years) -- any of the above, commonly matte silver due to superior corrosion protection.
My belief, not completely supported by evidence as I do not own 100+ SKS variations (so experts/collectors please chime in and share your experience and observations):
Most SKS's produced sometime in 1954 and onward were given matte finished (bead blasted) bayonets, probably as part of the gradual improvements made over the years. I believe that this was more or less consistent at both the Tula and Izhevsk factories. Because 1954 was a "transitional year" for the SKS bayonet, there were both polished and matte finished bayonets used. It was probably not an abrupt transition, but ultimately the matte finished bayonet replaced the polished bayonet by mid to late 1954.
SKS bayonets were likely quite used and abused during issue and training, and it is therefore not surprizing that bayonet replacement and/or refinishing was common during the arsenal refurbishment process. Most of the "nicer" refurbs were upgraded with matte silver finish bayonets, while others were nicely blued or painted black. Clearly, some refurbs also sport original or replacement polished bayonets. Because there was so little consistency during the arsenal refurbishment process, any bayonet style is possible on a "refurb". Life would have been easier for the collector if Russian SKS bayonets were serial numbered!
Because only 3% to perhaps 5% of all SKS imports are truly non-refurbished or "as-issued", it is common misunderstanding to label all matte silver finish bayonets as "refurbs".
"Yooper John", a popular and highly respected American SKS expert, supports this assertion and hence many believe this to be true. While Yooper John has great credibility and is the pioneer of SKS information sharing on the web, I don't believe he is correct regarding what is a "correct" Russian SKS bayonet. There are relatively few Russian SKS's in the USA, spread thinly over a huge population, due to the silly 1994 ban on the importation of combloc SKS's. Here in Canada, where the SKS has been widely imported for years, there is a sizeable number of true non-refurbished SKS's in the hands of collectors who have greater experience upon which to draw conclusions regarding what is "correct" on a non-refurbished Russian SKS.
I personally own a non-refurbished 1954 SKS with a matte silver bayonet, as does a number of other informed CGN collectors.
Well, that's my humble contribution to this thread. Feel free to refute, criticize, or support my statements.
Also feel free to contribute information on other facts surrounding any manufacturer of SKS (Chinese, Yugo, Albanian, etc.)
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