Buttcaps

[dakota]

From pictures I've seen it appears that Shop 1's buttcaps are much thicker than shop 2's. Shop 1's also appear to have scrollwork. My 18" shop 2 AK has a plain, thin butcap. What's the story here?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Bill Martino]

Hi Matt:

Your observation is correct. Shop 1 makes a two piece scrolled buttcap -- pretty and fairly strong but not strong enough and it is subject to dents if you bang it and it tends to loosen with heavy use. A flat plate is stronger and less likely to give problems and that's why we do it that way in shop 2 where Kami Sherpa is the boss. In shop 1 we are on a limited partnership basis and my Gurkha brother who owns the shop loves the scrolled buttcap we designed together and does not want to change to the flat plate. We are still negotiating the change.

My ultimate goal is to get a flat plate buttcap about 1/4 inch, tang peened over, with two set pins or screws to lock it in place. You can hammer with this, it will never loosen, and you can modify it to fit your hand if need be. I have been working on this idea for maybe 5 years and you see where I am at.

Uncle Bill

 

[dakota]

Thanks for the clarification.

Are the Shop 1 caps hollow then?

Another question. What type of abrasives or polishing equipment do the Kamis use? They seem to do an excellent job of polishing.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Bill Martino]

Right. Shop 1 buttcaps are two piece soldered construction and stronger than standard but are hollow as are all standard Nepali buttcaps. It is the weakest point in the design.

From a practical viewpoint the shop 2 buttcaps are far superior. But they are not pretty.

Uncle Bill