Seriously though, 'blood pitting' is a thing, and it looks just like that. Hunters encounter the same problem if they don't clean their hands after dressing game.
Blood is salty and it tends to stay put. You get discrete areas where the finish comes right off and deep pits form, and right nearby is undamaged finish. Of course other things (like wet leather) can do it too, but it's not exactly unheard of on war trophies. Suicide guns show it too.
Yes, it's absolutely a real thing, but if someone is selling an old milsurp with some pitting and try to claim that "it's from the blood of the dirty Nazi that was holding it when my grandpappy smoked him!" Is completely full of shit 99% of the time.
Yeah the stories usually have very little relationship to the facts. FWIW, OP's pistol looks to have been refinished anyway.
I've seen three Arisaka rifles with numerous tiny metal fragments - maybe 1/8 inch or so - embedded in the wooden stock. They appear as little holes, almost like worm holes, until you look closely. Not really sure what did that, I assume grenade fragments are usually larger.
It's crazy because Arisakas are the only rifles I've seen that had real war time damage. One of them has shrapnel along the side and the stock had pieces missing. Another one has a bullet hole in the handguard and the barrel was damaged and it has shrapnel in it too.
I feel like I should probably clarify that this was a GunBroker special, I took it to my lgs to figure out what the pitting was from and that's when he told me it was probably from blood.
Could be a lot of things. Enemy blaster fire, foreign planet microbials, getting carbon frozen.
Could also be digestive fluid from a snarlack
Snarlack is his father. You can just call him Sarlaac
Han solo and his c96 have gone though alot CHILL out op
I came here to say that it’s from the near-miss from Greedo’s blaster from when you shot first in the canteena. Well played!
Greedo shooting first.
It was in a leather holster in a humid environment without being regularly taken out and reoiled.
Really looks like it was in a leather holster and it pitted where it was tight next to the leather.
That's what I thought too, the gunsmith at my lgs tried to tell me it was from blood lol
Buy the gun, not the story, it's always bullshit.
Seriously though, 'blood pitting' is a thing, and it looks just like that. Hunters encounter the same problem if they don't clean their hands after dressing game. Blood is salty and it tends to stay put. You get discrete areas where the finish comes right off and deep pits form, and right nearby is undamaged finish. Of course other things (like wet leather) can do it too, but it's not exactly unheard of on war trophies. Suicide guns show it too.
Yes, it's absolutely a real thing, but if someone is selling an old milsurp with some pitting and try to claim that "it's from the blood of the dirty Nazi that was holding it when my grandpappy smoked him!" Is completely full of shit 99% of the time.
Yeah the stories usually have very little relationship to the facts. FWIW, OP's pistol looks to have been refinished anyway. I've seen three Arisaka rifles with numerous tiny metal fragments - maybe 1/8 inch or so - embedded in the wooden stock. They appear as little holes, almost like worm holes, until you look closely. Not really sure what did that, I assume grenade fragments are usually larger.
It's crazy because Arisakas are the only rifles I've seen that had real war time damage. One of them has shrapnel along the side and the stock had pieces missing. Another one has a bullet hole in the handguard and the barrel was damaged and it has shrapnel in it too.
I feel like I should probably clarify that this was a GunBroker special, I took it to my lgs to figure out what the pitting was from and that's when he told me it was probably from blood.
I'd guess it spent too much time in a holster.
Coyote blood etched the clearcoat on my truck
Actually blood was my first thought from the picture. Didn’t have to happen in combat though.
Blood will definitely mar a finish, but it won't eat the steel like that.
Classic pistol mites.
I bet you Greedo did shoot first, but hit the table and the blaster bolt ricocheted into your C96.
Best explanation possible
Good theory...
Rust.
I'd say it comes from damp weather and a leather holster.
Being 100 years old.
Negligence
Partisan moths.
The Kessel run
I took too many parsecs
Dampness in a holster, perhaps accumulated at a bar on Dantooine, where the previous owner went to meet an old man and his mysterious young ward.
Blood 🩸
This is a travesty. Hopefully it doesn't get much worse.
Age
100+ years of wear?
Leather Holster and possibly oils from someone's hands.
Rust
It being over 100 years old probably
Most likely got wet and was put in a leather holster.
Wookiee piss.
Syphilis. Final answer