Laminate vs Walnut
- Thread starter Hambone
- Start date
I dont have many 98s, and I dont have much selection up here so I buy what I can. So based on that I wouldn't have a wood preference. I own one white glue lam, one red glue lam, and 2 walnut.
I will say this, I like the laminated for some of the reasons stated previously. I love that it was new tech applied by the germans. Stronger heavier, etc.
One reason I like Walnut, this may not hold true for everyone but in my experience, the Walnut holds a better edge on stamping and markings in the wood. Even bolt cutouts seem more crisp in Walnut.
I never would base a K98 purchase on type of wood. But they both do have some pluses and minuses.
Except for tiger striping, Walnut wins that one!
I will say this, I like the laminated for some of the reasons stated previously. I love that it was new tech applied by the germans. Stronger heavier, etc.
One reason I like Walnut, this may not hold true for everyone but in my experience, the Walnut holds a better edge on stamping and markings in the wood. Even bolt cutouts seem more crisp in Walnut.
I never would base a K98 purchase on type of wood. But they both do have some pluses and minuses.
Except for tiger striping, Walnut wins that one!
That stock looks pretty beat up regardless of the crack. But I see your point and have also had a mismatched gun before with a setback lug on a laminated stock. Was even a nice zf411 stock.
tsmgguy
Senior Member
This anal-retentiveness ust be because I am a Virgo
Hey, me too!
I recently bought a second hand, brand new condition Remington Model 1187 police shotgun. The PO had removed and discarded the original black plastic stock, and replaced it with a Gawd-awful Choate pistol grip. I went to Remingtons web site to order an original replacement, but opted instead for brand new red/brown laminates. Looks great, expecially with a new USGI OD nylon sling.
ClintJ
Well-known member
Yeah it is a late war white glue laminate that has had many rounds and been humped many a mile but laminates are superior and should stand up to all that right? I mean my ol' G98M with that lowly hardwood stock should have splintered to pieces by now right?
I think it is a given that a properly manufactured laminate stock is superior to walnut in strength, warping and moisture resistance. I can find several K98ks in my safe which have laminate stocks which are delaminating and K98ks with walnut stocks which have no cracks. That doesn't change the fact that a proper laminate stock is superior to a walnut stock, except for perhaps weight, ease of working, and showing wood stampings. I love walnut stocks. My pet shooter byf 43 is a walnut stock. I wish it was a laminate.
ClintJ
Well-known member
Well thats your opinion I suppose. Sounds like a speech Joseph Goebbels gave explaining the switch from walnut to laminate. Never mind the exhausted supply of walnut.
It's the opinion of every custom rifle maker as well. It's this guy's opinion too:
"Laminated wood stocks are actually the strongest and most stable of all stocks. Functionally, they are superior to both solid walnut and the synthetics. If laminated from decent woods and well finished they can be quite attractive. They are cheaper than solid walnut stocks because they are made from smaller slices of wood, most of which cost less than good walnut. The grain in the various layers of wood is designed to run in different directions and cancels out any tendency of the stock to warp. When properly glued under pressure and sealed laminated stocks are immensely strong and warp resistant, and virtually impervious to the elements. Laminated stocks are generally regarded as the stiffest and most accurate type of stock."
http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_stock.htm
The vast majority of my laminated stocks hold up quite fine, no signs of structural issues. I'm sure if you leave one outside in the Russian rain, store it in a barrel full of petrol or grease, place it on the wrong rifle, etc. etc. it will suffer. A properly constructed laminate stock is superior to walnut for as long as you have them. 
don w
Senior Member
The vast majority of my laminated stocks hold up quite fine, no signs of structural issues. I'm sure if you leave one outside in the Russian rain, store it in a barrel full of petrol or grease, place it on the wrong rifle, etc. etc. it will suffer. A properly constructed laminate stock is superior to walnut for as long as you have them.
The German Army agreed with you too Ham, and it had allot more combat experience than all us guys on this board put together , IMHO.
So , Sorry men, its true,, no matter how bad some of the more learned collectors this board may not want it to be.
I like walnut. But I also like a 'C" marked, thick, rough stock too. So I like both with equal enthusiasm.
Good Topic Ham
tsmgguy
Senior Member
It was not good enough just to tell troops not to ground their rifles in water and mud. If you've ever lived outdoors for days or weeks in the rain, you know that in short order everything that you own is wet and all of your gear and every bodily orifice is full of mud. For this reason, the Germans went to a great deal of trouble in testing, adopting, and producing their WWII laminated stocks. These stocks were labor intensive, but the WaA deemed it worth the additional effort and cost to cure a specific problem, that of walnut stocks absorbing water and swelling, particularly at the butt. Even before laminating, the beech used was more dense and less prone to swelling when wet than walnut.
The second part of the fix was to adopt the cupped butt plate. Tightly fitted, it served to limit swelling by inhibiting the amount of water that could wick into the stock at the butt. The stock could still absorb water and swell slightly, but could not expand beyond the confines of the butt plate, which also served to protect the softened wood, preventing further deformation and damage before it could dry, which it would eventually do.
Most of us here have had the experience of removing a cupped butt plate. Some lift right off, others are so tight that they're a b***h to remove and have to be "coaxed". The difference is likely a stock that's never been gotten wet, and one that has, sometimes repeatedly.
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Bob in OHIO
Senior Member
a small detail that's important. Beech, not birch...
It doesn't matter to me one way or the other, it's just a given. Custom gun makers can use any material they want and when it is a matter of strength, no warping, accuracy, and all the good things one looks for in a stock (other than appearance), it's either composite or laminate, not walnut. The British wanted it for their Enfields and couldn't get the process down. The Soviets saw the value over hardwood and adopted it for all of their firearms late war through the SKS......and don't forget the AK and AKM. Tks, for the detail TSMG and BiO.
GunKraut
Senior Member
Just today I saw a mismatched RC K98 with E/135 walnut bent bolt stock without finger grooves, with flat buttplate and bcd 43 E/749 action at Big 5. The trigger housing was marked E/211. No ground out numbers or electro-penciling on parts other than the bolt. And even there, only the bolt lever was butchered and the rest of the parts were untouched other than having tacky Russian blueing. Another Big 5 was selling a Mosin 91/30 sniper with scope, repro caps and bent bolt for about $600.
S/42
Thunda from down unda
yeah, I've tried telling people that over and over.
Germans used BEECH exclusively in their laminate stocks
Russians used BIRCH exclusively in their laminate stocks for Mosin Nagants, AK's and SKS's
And never the twain shall meet
