F*@k yea man wish i had the coin to jump on that i was watching it from the start congrats!

 

Congratulations

 

Very glad that kit landed in a forum members hands. Please consult here before making any build decisions, lets get this done the right way and make it an heirloom for you. There is only one man currently qualified to weld these!

 

Was thinking Two Rivers or John, but I don't think either are taking work? I'm patient. If it were yours, who would you send it to (or wait for?) And what's the protocol for finishing something like this? Knock the rust off and re-blue the whole rifle or just spot blue the welded sections?

Fefinitely feeling this is an heirloom piece for me. I just bought a super special (to me, anyway) 1960 kit here from another forum member, but the T2 is the crown jewel at the moment. I already have a 1950s Izhevsk stamped bayonet; now I just need a sling and mag pouch for it (preferably dated 1953). Already have a few feelers out for those.

 

Congrats, Great Score

 

nice score! love that phat gas block, what the heck happened to that tube? I bet the welder can fix that too.

 

Tube is definitely going to be left alone gives it some flair since the original furniture is gone

 

Yeah thats the right call

 

Its kind of crazy how nicely blued these 53-54 ish type 2s are. Maybe more years where that nicely blued?

 

I watched that kit, but I am really after a fixed stock T2. That kit should build a phenomenal rifle once done up. Can't wait to see it.

 

I just want one type 3 fixed stock reweld. It's on my bucket list.

 

Congratulations!!! Fantastic kit.

 

Yep was watching it and bidding but went little higher than I wanted to go..nice pickup

 

What did it sell for?

 

Around 6500 after shipping and all fees

 

Nice snag. That kit will make an excellent rifle once you have it built.

 

Beautiful piece. Can't wait to see it back together. I have a fixed stock Matt reweled for me many years ago. Matt did all 3 of these for me at the same time. Probably better people out there now but I'm happy with it. Shot it multiple times.I had the wood refinish can't remember by who. I've thought about sending it off to have a couple little spots fixed and reblued.

 

Can anyone tell me which month this one was built in? I'm guessing it's a later 1953 production since it has the double tabbed safety, but of course that's a pretty weak indicator for many reasons.

 

Pavel Pticin’s AK Markings book has the first letter in the prefix to be December. The odd part is that the second letter K in prefix doesn’t match his information. He has the production series as H, P, C, T. Anybody have any ideas?
On the last page of the 1953 chapter. It has a reference to the same prefix as yours. October 1950. Reference picture was used twice. I believe based on the caption, it was meant to show a T1 from October 1950 with the year remarked 1953 during a Ukrainian refurb.
@jithaca, can you please confirm that I’m reading the chart correctly?

 

Very nice - when the build is finished can I borrow it ? Please

 

No way Man, I got First Dibs

 

You are reading the chart correctly. Do you think it is possible the guy stamping the serial number inadvertently picked up the K stamp instead of the H?

The reference to Ukrainian mis stamp, is when the early hen scratched rifles were reworked in Ukraine they mis stamped serial numbers and dates. Probably due to hen scratching was worn and hard to read or maybe just sloppiness.

By mid 52 the rolled in arsenal mark and date code were implemented. so a 1953 dated rifle could not be a Ukrainian restamp error. It must have been a factory error at stamping.

Or Maybe at the end of the year there was a push for additional rifles and an additional second digit letter code was used.

 

Yes, the first letter is the month. Second was the series in the month. With four letters, I take that as weeks. Some had less than four series.
@jithaca, Thank you. I believe either one is possible in my opinion. Human error probably?

 

Interesting. @ptica , can you weigh in?

 

congratulations sir! awesome score for sure.

 

nice! i was watching this auction

 

Little update. Got her in today and unboxed. Unfortunately it's a bad night to do an in-depth unboxing, but I found the highlights. A couple of surprises, all positive:

1) The bore is great. The seller didn't include pics in the auction and sent me an okay picture afterward, but seeing it in person is best. There's one nick in a groove, but otherwise shiny and spotless.
2) The wood is NOT AT ALL what is pictured in the auction. The crazy yellow/purple color is completely gone in person and in the color-correct pics attached below. @Vlado can attest that I expressed my dislike of the wood color in PMs, so I bought a new set before it even arrived, lol! Whatever, can't have enough Ruskie wood anyway.
3) The sight leaf is matching! This was not pictured in the ad. I think this makes it all matching for a 1953?

Also, about the grip... I theorized that it could possibly be Chinese. I'm hardly an expert, so can anyone chime in on things to check for Chinese vs Type 3 fat grips?

The bluing is stunning in person regardless of the minor rust. I'm super thrilled to have won this auction and to get it rebuilt one day. Sorry to disappoint the forum, but this is a "milestone" build for me, so I don't intend to send it off ASAP. I need to earn it

 

Score one for the home team!!! Congrats on a pleasant surprise!

 

Congrats on the kit! I'm glad it went to a forum member. The grip does indeed look Chinese to me as well.

 

Got these 2 bayos in for it. I'm not sure which one I'll keep. Might hang onto both until I decide whether to go with a Vladtech cold blue or a minty hot blue.

The one on the left is a little saltier and would better fit the Vladtech aesthetic. From my limited research, these are both probably Russian-made, Finnish contract bayonets. Ideally I'd like a Russian issued <CB> stamped bayo, but only God knows how much that would cost.