Italian walnut...?

[Lead Snowstorm]

Playing around with some different photo backdrops for my guns, and I threw down both of the Krags to get some family shots, so to speak.

I was particularly struck today by the difference in color between the stocks. Do ya'll Krag experts think the 1898 is wearing Italian walnut? (It is a JSA/1899 cartouched stock.)

[butlersrangers]

Your lighter colored stock appears the correct shade for Italian walnut.

A lot of the Italian Krag stocks appear to have gotten stained, probably on the unit level. This was likely done so the light colored stocks didn't drastically contrast with a regiment's black walnut stocks.

I can't really see the wood grain in your photographs. The Italian walnut has some distinctive grain patterns.
Also, the inside of the barrel-channel is light and a good clue on stocks that may have been darkened with stain.

If you use the KCA Forum 'search feature', you may find prior threads on Italian Krag stocks and pictures of grain examples.

[Cat Man]

Nice pair of Krag rifles. The light color 98 does look to be Italian Walnut or sometimes called a yellow boy by collectors.

Here is a clear photo of the unstained butt stock from my "Camp Perry" 1898 with a 1900 cartouche Italian walnut stock.

[butlersrangers]

Beautiful example Cat Man!

[Whig]

I took some notes ages ago when I was studying old Krag posts and manuals and have the following information on Italian Walnut Krags from Bill Mook's collection. Thought it would be a good time to review this and post it for this inquiry.

Bill Mook had a huge collection of Krags. These are some observations regarding his collection of Italian Walnut Krags.

1st Group SNs: 234,502 - 268,788
Cartouches: 1899 and 1900
Sight used: M1898
Number he had: 6

2nd Group SNs: 278,978 - 309,881
Cartouches: 1900 and 1901
Sight used: M1896 (variation 4)
Number he had: 10

3rd Group SNs: 322,031 - 329,350
Cartouches: 1901
Sight used: M1901 (variation 1)
Number he had: not recorded

I haven't checked my Krags to see how many I have and which Bill Mook group they belong in. That's a project for a rainy day when I have nothing else going on. Very interesting topic, though.

Hope it helps!

[Whig]

Mr. Snowstorm- can you post the serial number of your M1898 Krag for us to see where it might fit in Mook's groupings?

The hand guard on the M1896 rifle looks lighter than the stock and could be Italian Walnut itself. Not sure from the pictures.

Thanks for sharing!

[Lead Snowstorm]

Mr. Snowstorm- can you post the serial number of your M1898 Krag for us to see where it might fit in Mook's groupings?

The hand guard on the M1896 rifle looks lighter than the stock and could be Italian Walnut itself. Not sure from the pictures.

Thanks for sharing!

A tad bit earlier than that first block: 223502.



The buttstock doesn't have quite that much figure/tiger striping as posted above:



The 1896 handguard is a pretty decent match for the stock, but is a shade lighter as mentioned. It doesn't stand out quite as much as the 1898 stock to my eyes.