I have a question for those of you much more knowledgeable about K98's than I. I have a K98 337 1940, I wanted to have the barrel and receiver re-blued professionally, the guy at the shop told me that due to the high nickle content in the receiver, the blueing processes might turn the receiver bright red. So, I suggested that the barrel be removed from the receiver and then only blue the barrel, since it is really only the barrel which needs to be re-blued, but he told me that the Germans used a corrosive sealant on the barrel threads and he would not recommend removing the barrel from the receiver. Is this guy just blowing smoke, or is there truth about the thread sealant being corrosive? Thanks for any information, John.
Corrosive thread sealant?
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Check around for a gunsmith that does a lot of German mauser work. I believe the Germans blued the barreled receiver as a unit. I may be wrong, but I didn't think the receiver had that high of a nickel content. The extractors are a different matter.
The barrels are a replacement part for a mauser rifle due to the fact that they wear out. This is the first I've heard of corrosive thread sealant. I'd recommend you check with several mauser gunsmiths before you decide who will do the work.
The barrels are a replacement part for a mauser rifle due to the fact that they wear out. This is the first I've heard of corrosive thread sealant. I'd recommend you check with several mauser gunsmiths before you decide who will do the work.
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tjg79 is right - the Kar98k was hot caustic blued, as a barreled action. Mauser Oberndorf were the first to use the hot caustic blue method (about 1939 it seems - earlier guns were rust blued).
Kar98k actions CAN turn plum red, but only if HIGHLY polished first, and the wrong temperature of caustic bath used - any competant gunsmith should know this. The extractors, as already noted, are another kettle of fish, but again it depends on the temperature of the hot bath - when "expedited", yes, they turn plum too - see mid to late war Kar98k's for this.
I have only ever seen ONE reblue where the 'smith knew what he was doing and it looked IDENTICAL to original - his name was Klaus Petzl, and was a gunsmith here in Australia, of Austrian lineage (he JUST saw WW2 in Austria, along with his brother, also a gunsmith but in Sydney). They learnt the RIGHT way - if I am not mistaken, Klaus did his apprenticeship at Steyr. I could honestly NOT tell the difference between his properly prepared reblue 98k and a near new original Portuguese contract M941 that was for comparison. Most hack-smiths polish the metal (WRONG!), and don't even bother pickling in acid (which it should be) - and they wonder why it comes out looking like Sloop Doggy-Dog's pimped out bling bling Pontiac... or if they do no proper prep at all, the rifle comes out as matte and grotesque as an RC hot dip reblue where the caustic pH wasn't even monitored...
I digress...
Yeah, he's blowing smoke in your pie-hole re corrosive barrel thread treatment.
Kar98k actions CAN turn plum red, but only if HIGHLY polished first, and the wrong temperature of caustic bath used - any competant gunsmith should know this. The extractors, as already noted, are another kettle of fish, but again it depends on the temperature of the hot bath - when "expedited", yes, they turn plum too - see mid to late war Kar98k's for this.
I have only ever seen ONE reblue where the 'smith knew what he was doing and it looked IDENTICAL to original - his name was Klaus Petzl, and was a gunsmith here in Australia, of Austrian lineage (he JUST saw WW2 in Austria, along with his brother, also a gunsmith but in Sydney). They learnt the RIGHT way - if I am not mistaken, Klaus did his apprenticeship at Steyr. I could honestly NOT tell the difference between his properly prepared reblue 98k and a near new original Portuguese contract M941 that was for comparison. Most hack-smiths polish the metal (WRONG!), and don't even bother pickling in acid (which it should be) - and they wonder why it comes out looking like Sloop Doggy-Dog's pimped out bling bling Pontiac... or if they do no proper prep at all, the rifle comes out as matte and grotesque as an RC hot dip reblue where the caustic pH wasn't even monitored...
I digress...
Yeah, he's blowing smoke in your pie-hole re corrosive barrel thread treatment.
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Erm, yeah, you are rightI submit SIR that the hole that the smoke was blown into was his "corn hole"....
No point changing it now - everyone knows. No offense intended
Yes indeed, this can almost certainly be done very satisfactorily with the barrel and action as a unit, or should you prefer, by detaching the barrel. Most Mausers were made of very plain steel indeed, deeply and selectively case-hardened, and they are designed to be strong enough with this sort of material. Of course it is possible that someone used nickel steel in 1940, but it would have to be VERY nickel to blue much worse than the 3½% nickel steel of US Enfields, which blue quite satisfactorily.
Anyway, this gunsmith claimed to identify it as such on sight. Just maybe he has the necessary knowledge of makers, but more likely he was just looking for an excuse to get out of doing the job. Some of them don't like to say "too much trouble" or "I haven't got the tools". I must admit I've always felt on much safer ground detaching a barrel I didn't have to keep free from even marked bluing. But then, I never claimed to be anything like an amateur.
There is or used to be a trick of dipping scope mount screws etc. in vinegar to make them rust in place. It was always a botcher's expedient, and I never heard of its being used with Mauser barrels. I doubt if its strength of hold would make a lot of difference, compared with the force needed to move a tight rifle barrel. Maybe this man has encountered one that had been dunked in sea water at some time, and never washed out properly with fresh. Or maybe... See previous paragraph.
Anyway, this gunsmith claimed to identify it as such on sight. Just maybe he has the necessary knowledge of makers, but more likely he was just looking for an excuse to get out of doing the job. Some of them don't like to say "too much trouble" or "I haven't got the tools". I must admit I've always felt on much safer ground detaching a barrel I didn't have to keep free from even marked bluing. But then, I never claimed to be anything like an amateur.
There is or used to be a trick of dipping scope mount screws etc. in vinegar to make them rust in place. It was always a botcher's expedient, and I never heard of its being used with Mauser barrels. I doubt if its strength of hold would make a lot of difference, compared with the force needed to move a tight rifle barrel. Maybe this man has encountered one that had been dunked in sea water at some time, and never washed out properly with fresh. Or maybe... See previous paragraph.
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