Third Party Press

Gew 98 Stock Finishes

mauser1908

Senior Member
From 1898 to 1918 the gew 98 underwent substantial changes. Many of these were subtle and not easily identified without advanced disassembly. From the collector’s point of view, stock finish is one of the most obvious changes. Big thanks to Chris and Cyrus for modeling their rifles.

Linseed Oil Varnish- Linseed Oil Varnish is the most commonly observed finish on most Gew 98s, and was the dominant treatment from 1898 through 1916. There is a great degree of variation from maker to maker and even rifle to rifle. Linseed oil’s photo reactive nature lends some stocks to appear stained with a vast color spectrum from blond to almost black. Linseed oil characteristically builds up on the wood’s surface with each additional applications. During the stock finishing process, stocks were treated with three applications of varnish. Due to shortage, in February of 1916, the Prussian War Ministry required that all state arsenals and supervised private firms switch to a train oil. While the directive was issued in February, linseed oil varnish was the dominate stock treatment through 1916. [1]

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A 1916 JPS finished with a very high quality, late, linseed oil varnish. Sam/mauser1908 Collection.

Train Oil- Train oil is the first Ersatz stock finishing treatment. During 1916, train oil was applied side by side with linseed oil varnish ultimately becoming the primary finishing agent in 1917.1 While the composition is unknown, the sealing agent was whale (train) oil. This was rendered from various aquatic mammals to include; whales, seals, and dolphins.

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1917 dated materials request poster. Translation: "Fisherman bring train oil, catch dolphins and seals".

Train oil stocks are easily recognized from their dry and almost anemic look. This agent failed to build up externally like its predecessor and is synonymous with the dominance of beech stocks. They present a more natural appearance.
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1917 Ambergs with train oil finishes. Sam/mauser1908 Collection.

Untreated- By the end of 1917, train oil was all but exhausted. With no stop gap measure at this time, rifles with untreated stocks were delivered in the Fall of 1917. [1] This is best observed today by looking at the late war powerhouse manufacturers of Danzig and Amberg. Danzig stocks north of the ‘v’ block seem to often lack any factory applied finish. Danzig is well represented by very orange, natural looking beech stocks during this period. Sealed stocks become observed again during the ‘cc’ block of 1917 with the introduction of Kronegrund/Kronenol finishes.[2]

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Two wonderful examples of natural beech stocks, from Danzig's 'w' and 'cc' blocks of 1917. Cyrus/PrayingMantis and Chris/chrisftk collections.

Kronengrund/ Kronenol- The stain and sealant company Jaeger, which is still in existence today, created the final observed stock treatment. Kronengrund and Kronenol was a two stage stock treatment protocol. Unlike train oil, which was inferior to linseed oil varnish, the Kronengrund/Kroneneol procedure was a legitimate alternative to linseed oil. Use of this procedure was not directed until February of 1918. To outline the process, Kronengrund was a applied and allowed to dry for 15 minutes. Following the drying period, Kronenol was applied. Kronegrund alone, provided excellent protection, the Kronenol treatment enhanced the water repelling capability of the finish. [1] In this case, forensic observations differ significantly from the original documentation; not unlike the use of beech stocks prior to 1916. While Jaeger’s procedure wasn’t authorized until early 1918; this finish appeared toward the end of 1917. Kronengrund/Kronenol is easily identified from its brushed on enamel like appearance. It has the appearance of a modern varnish and is far more shiny than linseed oil. It also presents a built up appearance on the surface of the wood.

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Kronengrund/Kroneno finishes on a late 1917 WMO, and probably the finest 1918 DWM in existence. Sam/mauser1908 and Chris/chrisftk Collections.

Period Sanding- Disclaimer: Controversial topic. This is in no way an attempt to legitimize sanded stocks. With that said, period sanding did occur on a case by case basis. The typical model for period sanding was in conjunction with a stock repair done through a procedure of uniformly sanding all or most of the stock.

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Period sanding due to a stock repair on a 1916 DWM. This repair was completed at Köln. Sam/mauser1908 Collection.




[1] Storz, Dieter . 2006. Rifle & Carbine 98. Verlag Militaria pages 94-96.
[2] mauser1908 Gl.V. Trends, 2017-2022
 
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Excellent write up Sam! Thanks for sharing. Learned some new stuff.

I recently (summer) picked up an all matching Gew 98. An Amberg ‘17, with a beech stock. Since I am now intrigued with the different types of stock finish’s.

Can we ID what type of stock finish this one has?

These are not my photos… I’ll take some better ones soon.

Thanks,
-Danny
 

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Great writeup Sam! You really do a nice job covering bases.

I agree on the period sanding. I'll get a few more examples of it posted.

Thank you Chris! Please add them!

Good read… I learn something new almost daily on this forum

Thanks Jory!

Excellent write up Sam! Thanks for sharing. Learned some new stuff.

I recently (summer) picked up an all matching Gew 98. An Amberg ‘17, with a beech stock. Since I am now intrigued with the different types of stock finish’s.

Can we ID what type of stock finish this one has?

These are not my photos… I’ll take some better ones soon.

Thanks,
-Danny

Thanks Danny! First, that a beautiful Amberg 1917.

To my eye, it’s train oil. Amberg probably stained their beech stocks in an attempt to darken them due to the beech being so light. The Suhl Consortium seems to have done the same thing. What may be helpful is to look at the picture reference and compare late 1916 and early 1917 Ambergs to those 1917s north of the ‘m’ block. Without looking at the data, and going from memory, Amberg produced through the ‘x’ block. So the blond stocks seemed to start popping up about halfway through the year. They probably just ran out of whatever the stain was made from. Chris and Cyrus can talk more intelligently on staining than I can. Hopefully they’ll chime in about that. It’s always tough to assess staining, the Consortium definitely did, their stocks are simply darker than every other maker, almost maroon in appearance. What complicates things, is that the train oil almost certainly degraded in quality as the war drug on. So it’s hard to say to what degree quality oil darkened the stocks vs later lower quality oil or potentially reduced applications.
 
Excellent guide to the finishes, Sam! This is definitely something that everyone notices, but can be hard to keep straight, i know it is for me.

I have one Gew, a Saxon Simson 1917, that i suspect is very early Kronenol. It is thicker, darker, yet shinier than linseed oil. Prussian Simson 1917s don't seem to have Kronenol finishes, though, so i wonder if Saxons ordered it earlier. Hard to say without more examples, and impossible to confirm without documentation, but still interesting to theorize. https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/gewehr-98-simson-co-suhl-1917-1765a.47288/
 
Thank you Chris! Please add them!



Thanks Jory!



Thanks Danny! First, that a beautiful Amberg 1917.

To my eye, it’s train oil. Amberg probably stained their beech stocks in an attempt to darken them due to the beech being so light. The Suhl Consortium seems to have done the same thing. What may be helpful is to look at the picture reference and compare late 1916 and early 1917 Ambergs to those 1917s north of the ‘m’ block. Without looking at the data, and going from memory, Amberg produced through the ‘x’ block. So the blond stocks seemed to start popping up about halfway through the year. They probably just ran out of whatever the stain was made from. Chris and Cyrus can talk more intelligently on staining than I can. Hopefully they’ll chime in about that. It’s always tough to assess staining, the Consortium definitely did, their stocks are simply darker than every other maker, almost maroon in appearance. What complicates things, is that the train oil almost certainly degraded in quality as the war drug on. So it’s hard to say to what degree quality oil darkened the stocks vs later lower quality oil or potentially reduced applications.
Appreciate the info! I’ll get some decent photos of the rifle soon.
 
I just posted a question about finishes. Now I think I found the answer. Thank you.

Would the Kronengrund/Kroneno finish still be used in 1934. What gave the stock the red color?

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WOW!! An EXCELLENT and informative thread just like the previous "Wood Sources" thread. Not sure how my eyes missed this one earlier in the month but glad I got to see it now. Thank you to all contributors (Sam/mauser1908 and all photo credits) for creating a free source of information on stock finish. I hope this thread gets added to the master index for articles if it has not been added there already by the time of my writing.

I learn something new all the time!!

TFW I see the words "period sanding" uttered on the K98k forum: 👀👀👀

😂😂😂
 
Oh wow, that's timely.

I was rooting around in my safe just now to check something and wondering about the finish on my beech stocked 1917 DWM. Very cool to know why it looks like that, I'd always just figured that it was something about beech not reacting the same to the finishing process as the older hardwoods.
 
Good read, thanks for sharing. Some time ago I bought that Amberg 1918 and I'm wondering about the stock's details. Is that a linseed or train oil finish? The rifle is 100% matching.
 

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Thank you, that was my guess... it's super light when it comes to the color of the wood. I wonder, so is this 3-time applied Train oil finish as it is supposed to be done during production by the manufacturer? That's all? All the markings are perfectly visible, so I don't think it was ever sandblasted or something similar.
 
Thank you! If you guys enjoy it, I can post more pics of that particular one. Just let me know. That's the upper one on the pic attached.
I'd definitely do a separate thread on that 1918. It looks like a beaut.
 
Just out our curiosity, do we know any photographs from the late war showing these super light Amberg Beech/Train-oil stocks in use? Please post a sample if that's possible, I wonder if there is a chance to spot such a bright stock in soldiers' hands.
 

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