Arisaka Type 2

Kayak76 · Mar 11, 2018

Hello,
I am currently working to identify, clean, and diplay a number of firearms for my disabled father-in-law. They belonged to his father and have been in storage for over 40 years. He has no knowledge of their history, but is amazed at the information I have been able to dig up on them so far. He appreciates, as I do, those on this forum who have shared some of their wisdom with us.
The rifle I am now researching and trying to clean is an Arisaka Type 2. From what I've read, they are identical to the type 99, except for the takedown portion. Is it safe to assume that I can follow the same instructions/diagrams for disassembly? This one has been a little tougher to find documentation on. Upon first seeing this weapon, I thought it was stainless. Once I handled it, I realised it wasn't and thought it was untreated steel, but on close inspection portions seemed to have been chromed. I would greatly appreciate if anyone here could share some knowledge on this weapon and possibly their opinions on the finish. My father-in-law had never looked into this "treasure chest" until recently, so i know that he never stripped the bluing, but all other examples of type 2 rifles I've seen are definately blued. Thanks for you time.

boom boom · Mar 16, 2018

These Type 2 paratroop Arisaka rifles are pretty rare. I have never seen one in person despite having a fair amount of milsurps and going to shows back in the day.

You might gather better information on a collector website such as Gunboards.com or Milsurps.com as one of them may have this rifle or know about it. There was a guy, riceone, who was an encyclopedia on Arisakas on one or the other collecting websites but I believe that he has passed. You might be able to search for old threads where he posted though.

There is also a book, Japanese Rifles of WWII by Duncan McCollum for under 20 bucks at Amazon. Apparently pretty well rated and has some coverage of the Type 2.

Jerry M · Mar 16, 2018

Adding my two cents: these are very rare in issued condition.

NIGHTLORD40K · Mar 16, 2018

I would find an Innocuous spot and try a dab of cold bluing on a q -tip. If the metal is "in the white" the bluing will turn it dark blue/black. If chrome, or nickel, plated, it will just rub off, leaving no coloration behind.

These are rare enough, that even if it is some sort of plated finish, it is still worth quite a bit in that condition. Ive seen much rougher examples at gun shows in the $1200 -1500 range.

boom boom · Mar 22, 2018

Looking closely at the pictures, it almost appears that someone polished off the blued finish on the receiver rather than plating it. I also see a lot of scratches on the receiver that might have been made by someone using a wire brush. Plating would have tended to fill in the scratches. It is possible that someone did it to remove rust on the surface and I see what appears to be a bit of crusty rust in the corners of the receiver.

NIGHTLORD40K · Mar 22, 2018

boom boom said:
Looking closely at the pictures, it almost appears that someone polished off the blued finish on the receiver rather than plating it. I also see a lot of scratches on the receiver that might have been made by someone using a wire brush. Plating would have tended to fill in the scratches. It is possible that someone did it to remove rust on the surface and I see what appears to be a bit of crusty rust in the corners of the receiver.

Ya, looks "in the white" to me as well.

Dr.Rob · Mar 24, 2018

Even if it's been aggressively cleaned it has value as a shooting sample.

There were a lot of variations in Japanese rifles during the war. I would NOT 'dab some cold blue on it without consulting an expert on Japanese arms.

bannockburn · Mar 25, 2018

Kayak76

Sure seems like the metal is in the "white" and not nickel or chrome plated. Probably as Dr.Rob suggested it was "aggressively cleaned"; perhaps because of some ongoing problem with rust or excessive dirt/oil build-up.

This Colt Combat Commander is nickel plated; the finish on the Arisaka doesn't appear to be like this.

The frame on this TacSol .22 conversion is metal in the "white", that is it's had the original blue finish removed and has been hand polished. This is somewhat like the condition of the metal with the rifle.

Arisaka Type 2

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