Post by butlersrangers on Oct 27th, 2017 at 4:58pm
'OBXJER' - Welcome to the KCA Forum. You have a nice looking model 1898 Krag.
Dick Hosmer has given you correct information on model and original manufacture time frame of your Krag.
Go slow and conservative with the cleaning. A lot of enthusiasts, new to U.S. Krags, are unfamiliar with how Krags were finished and should appear.
Case-Hardened receiver colors and patina on metal parts has been lost on many Krags by aggressive cleaning and lack of knowledge as to what is correct. Light surface rust and crud can be removed with small patches of #0000 steel wool saturated with Hoppes #9 solvent. A light touch will avoid harming metal finish and patina. Wipe solvent and loosened crud with paper towels as you move along the metal.
Initial wood cleaning should be done with soft rags and mineral spirits. Follow up with a wipe of Linseed Oil. (It appears to me you may have an American walnut stock and an Italian walnut hand-guard. Their colors may not match perfectly. That is 'OK' it happened).
To avoid cracking the hand-guard, it should be removed by sliding it toward the muzzle, after first removing the Stock and rear-sight. If 'snapped' over the barrel, hand-guards will crack. Take advantage of the barrel taper for easy hand-guard removal.
The pin that holds the front-sight blade in its base has a slight taper. To remove the pin, it should be driven 'left to right'.
"Grandpa's Gun parts" in the KCA Classifieds is a good source for original Krag parts and accessories.
If your Stock does not have a 'cartouche' (initials J.S.A. and a date) on the left-side in front of the wrist, it is likely the stock was replaced during an Armory refurbishment. Many Krags were repaired and refurbished between 1903 and 1918.
There is a minor chip/crack in your stock in the area behind the side-plate. A little wood glue, while the wood is dry, should repair that.
Your rear-sight is the model 1902 type that has probably been Armory rebuilt. The serrations look like a 1903 leaf.
krag_obxjer.jpg ( 218 KB | 0
Downloads )
Dick Hosmer has given you correct information on model and original manufacture time frame of your Krag.
Go slow and conservative with the cleaning. A lot of enthusiasts, new to U.S. Krags, are unfamiliar with how Krags were finished and should appear.
Case-Hardened receiver colors and patina on metal parts has been lost on many Krags by aggressive cleaning and lack of knowledge as to what is correct. Light surface rust and crud can be removed with small patches of #0000 steel wool saturated with Hoppes #9 solvent. A light touch will avoid harming metal finish and patina. Wipe solvent and loosened crud with paper towels as you move along the metal.
Initial wood cleaning should be done with soft rags and mineral spirits. Follow up with a wipe of Linseed Oil. (It appears to me you may have an American walnut stock and an Italian walnut hand-guard. Their colors may not match perfectly. That is 'OK' it happened).
To avoid cracking the hand-guard, it should be removed by sliding it toward the muzzle, after first removing the Stock and rear-sight. If 'snapped' over the barrel, hand-guards will crack. Take advantage of the barrel taper for easy hand-guard removal.
The pin that holds the front-sight blade in its base has a slight taper. To remove the pin, it should be driven 'left to right'.
"Grandpa's Gun parts" in the KCA Classifieds is a good source for original Krag parts and accessories.
If your Stock does not have a 'cartouche' (initials J.S.A. and a date) on the left-side in front of the wrist, it is likely the stock was replaced during an Armory refurbishment. Many Krags were repaired and refurbished between 1903 and 1918.
There is a minor chip/crack in your stock in the area behind the side-plate. A little wood glue, while the wood is dry, should repair that.
Your rear-sight is the model 1902 type that has probably been Armory rebuilt. The serrations look like a 1903 leaf.
krag_obxjer.jpg ( 218 KB | 0
Downloads )