Upgrading my display

[WalterB]

Great display! Can you tell me a little about your AK47 with folding stock? Is it activated or deactivated? What is its origin? Lovely collection, thank you for posting.

[Blitz]

Thanks Walter! The Ak-47 is, sadly, deactivated. If it wasn't i would be breaking a few laws here. But it's an original Russian made, in 1964. It has a normal serial number and a different "11" mark, don't know what that's for.

[WalterB]

Thanks Walter! The Ak-47 is, sadly, deactivated. If it wasn't i would be breaking a few laws here. But it's an original Russian made, in 1964. It has a normal serial number and a different "11" mark, don't know what that's for.

Beautiful! Do you know if this was a war trophy (for example, Vietnam war, Africa, etc.) I love the look of it.

[Blitz]

As a vet bring-back? No i don't think so. Since the dealer from who i bought i, a good friend of mine, bought it from Russia. It may have been used somewhere, but i don't know. Hell, everything is possible in our hobby.

[Tschako]

I'm sorry to hear that, Tschako. Surprizingly, there has been no change whatsoever in my EKs during the these just under two years. The fabric must be different in some way. Thanks for the warning anyway, mate!

That's good to hear! It never hurts to be cautious with something that's irreplaeable. At least I learned how to properly clean an EK. (Now, waiting for the howls to come for cleaning them!)
Tschako

[Blitz]

Just out of curiosity, how do you clean an EK?

[Tschako]

This is ONLY applicable to solid silver framed EK's, not latewar plated ones.
First remove the ribbon, of course if EK2.
Run it under hot water. This gets water under the frame.
Fill a shallow dish with enough non-abrasive cleaner such as "Tarnex" to
Immerse the EK.
Immerse EK and gently brush the frame with the softest, worn-out toothbrush you can find. Do this for a maximun of one to 1.5 minutes.
Remove EK and immediately flush under HOT running water for at least another minute.
Place EK on clean towel, pat, and air dry with a hair dryer for longer than it takes for you to feel ALL water is removed from inside frame.

The downside to this cleaning, (Besides the fact that other collectors don't like it) is that it removes th grime (aka patina) from the iron core too. I have done the four in the case, and two others, none of high value or rarity, and it has never affected the black iron coating itself. The other downside is that I'm gonna catch hell for heresy by posting this.

Just out of curiosity, how do you clean an EK?

[Blitz]

Yes, you are correct, that is herecy. But thanks posting it anyway. My curiosity is filled. And I'm not planning on cleaning any of my awards.