Blued 1918 Amberg Gew 98 C block

[cj556]

A fairly nice specimen less the idiot mark on the receiver. All matching and EWB marked like most I’ve seen. What is interesting to me is the follower was modified to stay open on a closed mag, my other two EWB guns lack this modification. I know Bruce has one of these and Martin08 another but I am curious how many are out there in the US with blue receivers in Imperial trim. Anyhow I hope the pictures help. This is my first Gew 98 of the year too, I was quite pleased to get it!

 

[cj556]

More photos

 

[cj556]

Last batch of photos

 

[flynaked]

I love the late blued guns, well done! I bought a blued bolt off a table at SOS and thought it was from a 98m, turns out it was a C block Amberg bolt, neat to see a whole rifle!

 

[Dave Roberts]

This Gew is in incredible cond. You are a lucky man to own such a Gew98 , I really like Gew98`s but I have only been able to find one in this cond. and a close friend just had to have it , he was like a raging loon until I sold it to him , then as suddenly as he went loony he snapped out of , very strange !!!!!

Did Amberg always blue there Receivers and did any other manufacturers do this ?? , I ask because I was under the impression from being told by a few collectors that all Gew98 Receivers were left in the white . Obviously this is not case . Please Advise

 

[chrisftk]

This Gew is in incredible cond. You are a lucky man to own such a Gew98 , I really like Gew98`s but I have only been able to find one in this cond. and a close friend just had to have it , he was like a raging loon until I sold it to him , then as suddenly as he went loony he snapped out of , very strange !!!!!

Did Amberg always blue there Receivers and did any other manufacturers do this ?? , I ask because I was under the impression from being told by a few collectors that all Gew98 Receivers were left in the white . Obviously this is not case . Please Advise

Dave, they started bluing receivers at Amberg pretty early. I believe before the "a" block. Ironically white 1918 Ambergs are rarer than blued ones. (kinda like sheet metal vs standard swp45s)

These are a cool endnote to Imperial production.

Marc, good snag.

 

[Dave Roberts]

Thank You for the enlightening info . If I had seen this Gew98. I would have passed because of poor info that I was given. Now I know why they say . Trust But Verify LOL!!! Knowledge is Power .

 

[mauser1908]

This is a great example Marc!

Dave, they started bluing receivers at Amberg pretty early. I believe before the "a" block. Ironically white 1918 Ambergs are rarer than blued ones. (kinda like sheet metal vs standard swp45s)

These are a cool endnote to Imperial production.

Marc, good snag.

Yes, about 85% of 1918 Ambergs were blued. I’ve trended around 30 and only 3 are in the white. All no suffix guns, as Chris said, I suspect they began bluing these in the ‘a’ block. I’ve trended a handful of very early ‘b’ blocks all of which were blued.

 

[PatickD]

May I ask, why they didn’t just blu the receivers/bolts in the beginning? I haven’t read a definite reason.

Reasons why not, I speculate:

The receiver/bolt stainless wouldn’t take the blu correctly? Change of formula later in the war, made bluing feasible?

Old world workmanship, want to show the quality of the steel. Not hiding it under a blu job? Aka simply tradition..

I am sure there is a correct answer. If someone knows, please let me know.

 

[chrisftk]

May I ask, why they didn’t just blu the receivers/bolts in the beginning? I haven’t read a definite reason.

Reasons why not, I speculate:

The receiver/bolt stainless wouldn’t take the blu correctly? Change of formula later in the war, made bluing feasible?

Old world workmanship, want to show the quality of the steel. Not hiding it under a blu job? Aka simply tradition..

I am sure there is a correct answer. If someone knows, please let me know.

It was an old carryover.... All of the prior models typically had a brown or blued barrel and a receiver left in the white. This even extended back to the needle rifles. I believe a certain amount of it was old world aesthetics, the other side was that I suppose a bare receiver was expected to be well oiled. Just speculation on my part though.

 

[mauser1908]

This Gew is in incredible cond. You are a lucky man to own such a Gew98 , I really like Gew98`s but I have only been able to find one in this cond. and a close friend just had to have it , he was like a raging loon until I sold it to him , then as suddenly as he went loony he snapped out of , very strange !!!!!

Did Amberg always blue there Receivers and did any other manufacturers do this ?? , I ask because I was under the impression from being told by a few collectors that all Gew98 Receivers were left in the white . Obviously this is not case . Please Advise

Dave, to help answer your question there were other makers who blued receivers in 1918. It was actually universal enough for the depot known as ‘H’ to have participated in the process towards the end of production. Basically the reason behind the blued receivers was they ran out of emery in sufficient enough quantities to continue the use of a bright white finish, the flat rust blue was the solution for this. Ultimately it’s all dependent on the manufacturer. Each began the transition at different times. 1918 dated guns in imperial configuration are scarce enough that we may never pin down when, or if, each maker transitioned. I can personally say I’ve seen the following: Amberg, V.Chr. Schilling, ‘H’, and Waffenwerke Oberspree. Paul would be able to give greater specifics.

 

[cj556]

Thank you gents I’m quite pleased to have this one. I believe WMO also blued some receivers in 1918? But the majority I see are Turk jobs perhaps others have seen original guns.

 

[chrisftk]

Thank you gents I’m quite pleased to have this one. I believe WMO also blued some receivers in 1918? But the majority I see are Turk jobs perhaps others have seen original guns.

To my knowledge none of the 18 WMO production was blued.

 

[hale1940]

Wonderful rifle and a very informative thread. For what its worth, I love the "old world aesthetic" of the receiver and bolts being left in the white.

 

[Dave Roberts]

Dave, to help answer your question there were other makers who blued receivers in 1918. It was actually universal enough for the depot known as ‘H’ to have participated in the process towards the end of production. Basically the reason behind the blued receivers was they ran out of emery in sufficient enough quantities to continue the use of a bright white finish, the flat rust blue was the solution for this. Ultimately it’s all dependent on the manufacturer. Each began the transition at different times. 1918 dated guns in imperial configuration are scarce enough that we may never pin down when, or if, each maker transitioned. I can personally say I’ve seen the following: Amberg, V.Chr. Schilling, ‘H’, and Waffenwerke Oberspree. Paul would be able to give greater specifics.

Thank You for the excellent and enlightening info , I wonder how many such Gew98 that I have passed on with blued receivers that were actually legit .

 

[Nick S]

Awesome rifle! The blued receiver is a new one for me too!

 

[Telperion]

Very cool rifle!!! I love those blackened receivers, too!
Interesting that the stock is even walnut!

According to my information, blank receivers and other parts symbolized "cleaned", "free of rust" and "well oiled" (and thus "working well"). What is more, visibility on the battlefield was a Plus in pre-smokeless powder times. So blank recs, together with the overall length of the G98 and the calibre itself was a carryover from former times. And probably the Germans were well aware of that but they didn't change it as any change in the drawings was forbidden as long as it didn't improve the "Kriegsbrauchbarkeit" (usability).

T

 

[PrayingMantis]

Great score, Marc. Added to the reference!

 

[Warrior1354]

A wonderful rifle Marc glad you won this rifle buddy. Very happy for you.

 

[cj556]

Thank you gents! As Chris says it makes a nice bookend!