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What can you tell me about my Arisaka?

Vincent Vega

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The Hen that laid the Golden Legos
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Hello,
I recently stumbled on a Japanese Type 38 for a price I just couldn't pass up. I don't know a thing about them other than they were used by the Japanese in WWII and it fires the 6.5x50 cartridge. What can you tell me about my rifle?

One of the more interesting things is that the butt plate has been painted orange. Is there any significance to that?

The rifling is surprisingly good but man was the bore filthy! After over 20 patches using Hoppes and copper solvent it is now respectably clean. I'd obviously like to go out and shoot it and I know the rifle has been fired (and I think a lot) but how would I know if it's safe to go out and shoot now?

I have included pics below of some markings and whatnot. I understand the mum is significant. Why do some rifles have the mum but has been removed from other rifles?

Is there anything else that I should look for as far as markings or features to tell me what arsenal it was produced at?

Please let me know what you think and thanks much in advance!

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More info:
"The finish on Type 38 rifles will depend on the era in which the rifle was made. Pre 1930's era Type 38's were finished with boiled linseed oil (BLO). Later Type 38 rifles, had a lacquer type (urushi) finish applied. I am not at all sure when that transition took place. Be forewarned; Urushi contains the compound urushiol which is distilled from the sap of the Kiurushi tree. It is the "active" ingredient in poison ivy. Messing with it can lead to a very upsetting skin experience."

"Perhaps it (urushi) was more cheaply and readily available; linseed oil comes from flax, and urushi comes from the sap of a tree. Economics? Urushi is a really tough polymer and has been used for many years in the Orient for wood finishing. My hypothesis is that urushi was a cheaper material to obtain and use than linseed oil and was used because it served the same purpose for military rifle stocks; water proofing and wood expansion control (warping)."

"
I don't know if you can go by the color to determine this. My 3rd series Nagoya T-99 has a yellowish colored stock
Variations in the kind and amount of stain added to the finish will result in different shades of stocks"

http://www.oldmilitarymarkings.com/japanese_markings.html
 
"I've only worked on two examples that had any original finish left and it was a reddish orange lacquer under the hand guards, with a darker purplish cast on the aged exterior areas.
Some Japanese lacquers are made using a highly poisonous plant extract that kills any insect that tries to bore into the wood. The stuff is usually safe to handle unless you are allergic to it but if you breath in dust while sanding it can poison you.
To mimic the color I found under the hand guards I used medium brown leather dye added to Tru Oil.

Some jap rifles show signs of the lacquer being scraped off and brown boot polish rubbed into the wood. Rifles captured by the Chinese and others usually have dark oil soaked stocks.

Probably best to examine color images of well preserved rifles to get the color right. I would expect that different finishes were used at different times.

PS
This site
http://www.panzergrenadier.net/forum...hp?f=19&t=2878
Has information on the finish, called Urushi.
Theres excerpts from an article titled "Contact Dermatitis from Japanese Rifles".

From the article it appears many who picked up these rifles as souveniers chose to scrape away the original finish."
 
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