Very helpful diagram. Nice to finally see trends starting with these. Mike, if you want a date for a = head, just see my thread down the page.
http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?35811-dhd-gew-conversion
Also, I believe one of my lazy s rifles is an early ‘37. I’ll check when I get a chance and add pics.
Ahh, there it is. Got it - it really seems like the "lazy s" skull marking on barrels is some kind of inspection of loose barrels, maybe sent to other SS depots? But, the depot at Oranianburg was huge, not sure how many people worked there. It's entirely possible that all of these odd skulls like this "= " one were just inspectors within that system. This is the most basic research, I don't have enough examples to make a definitive call. I guess I can dig deeper and see what shakes out.