The Wehrmacht used Bakelit in WWII. They even tried to make 98k stocks out of Bakelit. Bakelit is one of the oldest or earliest plastic materials.

@thesayxx

10 ай бұрын

correct, the MP40 used Bakelite in its design.

@ralfrude3532

10 ай бұрын

@@thesayxx that's not the only one. The grips of 98k bajonetts, handguards for the G43, grips for the P38, MP44, P08 were made out of bakelite. The glue for the plywood stocks is out of a similar material or possibly the same resin. And lots of other things especially for electric installations and components.

@thesayxx

10 ай бұрын

@@ralfrude3532 They were using Bakelite for electrical insulations way before ww2. Used extensively in WW1 in aeroplanes, and even before ww1 for many types of uses.

@ralfrude3532

10 ай бұрын

@@thesayxx yes I know. Just to lazy to write the hole history. 😏

@stg4478

9 ай бұрын

@@ralfrude3532 the grips on a mg42 were Bakelite as well

You know when the mags are ripe and ready to eat when they turn orange.

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

A beautiful metaphor)

@celtisafricana4984

9 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂

@rickwilliams967

5 ай бұрын

You made a suicide joke accidentally 😂

Nothing beats a 1970s AK-74N with the wood furniture Bakelite magazine and a 1P29 scope.

@HuyPham-km9kn

10 ай бұрын

☝️ this is an example of gun enthusiasts who has good taste

@Yeeoldman63

10 ай бұрын

@@HuyPham-km9kn yep

@Cypher791

10 ай бұрын

What is that a 6 barrel Holley carb? “You betcha”… Edelbrock intakes? “Nothing but”.. Mayer-hoff lifters? “Ohh yeah 😏”…….. I made that last one up. 😆

@edthebumblingfool

10 ай бұрын

an FN beats it very easily.

@sys3248

10 ай бұрын

​@@edthebumblingfoolnah FN all black metal and polymer handgrip/stock is boring. Classic guns is sexy with their wood furniture. Bakelite make it even more sexy with a touch of 70 era.

I never wondered why it looked like this because the color just fits so well with the weapon itself

@DeerBoy736

2 ай бұрын

Same. This answer was way more complex than I expected.

@igotbanned3timesfromyoutub883

2 ай бұрын

@@DeerBoy736 fr I deadass thought it was intentional

@DeerBoy736

2 ай бұрын

@@igotbanned3timesfromyoutub883 Same again.

@DeerBoy736

2 ай бұрын

@@igotbanned3timesfromyoutub883 Same again.

@DeerBoy736

2 ай бұрын

@@igotbanned3timesfromyoutub883 Same again.

Plus the extremely rare Green bakelite is super aesthetic

@Apoc_Bone_Daddy

9 ай бұрын

@@angryewokadam5419 Dayum. Wish we can get them here in the states

@liammeech3702

9 ай бұрын

​@angryewokadam5419 why did border guards get green?

@juhokuusisto9339

9 ай бұрын

@@liammeech3702 I'm guesing because green is the KGB border guards waffenfarbe.

@vunguyenxuanhoang7422

9 ай бұрын

@@liammeech3702Maybe for better concealment effective?

I had always assumed it was more to do with the manufacture process than anything else, because Orange is not a color you want on a gun if you can avoid it... but the fact the original Bakelite mags were yellow is very funny. the CCCP was doing the Banana Mag before it was cool Side note I really wish those Palmetto Banana Mags would be in stock for more than a few hours at a time, I kind of want to get one for dry reload practices

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

We would all like to get original banana mags) But today we can only see them in old photos, because new bakelite mags have not been produced for a long time

@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL

9 ай бұрын

True, but black is a dreadful colour for a rifle also and almost universally rifles come in black.

@coco26006

9 ай бұрын

@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL You would think that, but in my experience, I've almost never noticed the black of a gun in the field, the only time I can think of is some opfor guy's optic was shining in the sun, and he probably wouldn't have successfully ambushed me if not for that, so really minimizing anything shiny is ideal... of course, breaking up the silhouette of the rifle is ideal, but perhaps not as required as one might think

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

@@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL As far as I can tell, this is quite enough for ordinary infantry. On average, the range of combat is about 800-1000 feet (250-300 meters), but even from 500 feet it is unlikely that the difference between a black rifle and a rifle of some other color will be visible. And what's the point, after the first shot, all the units so reveal themselves (but you still can't approach them, with competent command). These are more likely toys of intelligence or special operations forces)

@huh-cb1rk

5 ай бұрын

This reads so cring

Simple, because when bakelite is made, it has a yellow, orange, or brownish color to it, when the resin cures. I couldn't picture it any over way, bakelite mags look sharp on an AK. Good stuff, Casper. You got a subscriber.

@brucecamparmament3728

4 ай бұрын

no. Bakelite can come in any color. AG4 is NOT bakelite.

Answering the questions I didn't even know I had, thanks for the video!

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Thank you for taking your time! 🥰

Those bakelite ammo boxes look Gucci

You would never think the material of furniture would be such a big deal in gun manufacturing. We use Magpul polymer and wooden furniture on our AR’s and AK’s today and think nothing of it

@DjDolHaus86

9 ай бұрын

Plastics have come on in leaps and bounds since the 1920s but they were a fairly niche product and therefore not really heavily researched until the 1950s when metal shortages caused industry to look elsewhere for materials. For the russians a lot of the problem would have been that most of the patents to various polymers were owned by western companies such as Duplon which would have made it extremely difficult to get the knowledge and formulas for better plastics once international relations started to break down. As with all industry, making one thing is easy, making millions of identical things to a high standard in multiple different facilities is where things get tricky

Great video! I never knew Bakelite mags started out yellow .

@danielcurtis1434

10 ай бұрын

There not made out of Bakelite!!!

@rabbitholereviews

10 ай бұрын

@@danielcurtis1434 did you watch the video??

@Dziomolek

10 ай бұрын

real banana mag

@mail-qh2qc

9 ай бұрын

​@@Dziomolekthat's likely where the name came from

They also used Bakelite in a load of old Geiger counters, weirdly by the time of the DP-5V they actually got a green colour.

Bakelites hit hard on an AK-74N man. Gives off an awesome aesthetic

The true story is that when the mags were yellow, too many troops were mistakenly pushing bananas into the Magwell. This proved quite catastrophic hence the change. In field tests, trying to insert an actual orange into the Maxwell was very awkward by comparison. I hope this clears things up.

@casperarms

6 ай бұрын

😅😅

@huh-cb1rk

5 ай бұрын

I here it was because moneys kept stealing them

I always assumed they made the magazines that orange color to match the rest of the furniture on the rifle. I had no idea it was because they couldn't dye the magazines.

the green bakelite magazines, handguard, bayonet are for Border guards and will fetch a pretty penny over here in USA to a collector if one does show up

You learn something new everyday. Thanks lad!

very cool video man. I'm looking forward to seeing what else you put out

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Thank you, brother! 😍 I'm preparing a new video that will be released on Friday-Saturday!

@ThinkBIGBodybuilding

10 ай бұрын

@@casperarms nice man. I’ll check it out. Good work here

It’s strange how some AK’s have different colored wood on the fore grips than the magazines and they also have different grips too

@someamericanusingtank2551

9 ай бұрын

true

@hewhoplugwalks

9 ай бұрын

Quality control, that and lots of spare parts to go around. Broke your handguard? Eh, grab another from the bin.

@laurentdevaux5617

9 ай бұрын

Different colors ? Sure, but who cares, these toys are intended to kill people, they are not works of art ! Can you imagine a guy on the battlefield saying "Sarge, the color of the new grips doesn't match with the stock" ?

@prebenjaeger

8 ай бұрын

Considering how much wood and it's finish always differs, it's not really strange at all

great information for our beloved Ak , info that you can't get from Wikipedia ... thank you for this beautiful historical video.

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

thank you so much! 🔥

Whatever the reason, orange mags would be easy to find after a field exersize.

Fascinating, thanks Casper! Subscribed.

The cartridges changed colour because Bakelite is not UV stable. This change would also make the material brittle, moreso I guess when dye is added.

Great video and info!! Thanks!!

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Thank you for taking your time ^^

Thank you Caspar, for explaining why AK magazines are orange. Well done. Much appreciated!

Ok so banana clip makes waaay more sense now

Those Bakelite ammo boxes would not look out of place in a living room or office. Just need to polish the metal fittings. LOL

Plum aesthetic AK74 was great too

O wow I want that one at 4:55! That green one looks so cool!

The oblique foregrip at 3:14 is interesting.

@Zdzislew

10 ай бұрын

it’s styled for use with machine guns so your arm isn’t blocked by the drum or ammo bag

@golgotha1522

10 ай бұрын

@@Zdzislew It's primarily offset like that to not interfere with inserting and detaching 30 round mags. 90 degree vertical grips are often in the way of mag changes.

The fact yellow natural bakelite exists, makes it even better for me

idk why i always wanted those cool orange mags in video games

Respect, subscribed and hot the bell for your honesty

Cas, you gotta do a video on the piece of shit relic that is the esmarch TQ. Also great video, im glad you included the fact that dye can ruin plastic, its one of the theories to why plum mags also exist, that they wanted to get as close to black as possible without ruining its durability. Mishaco has a great video on theories about plum mags

@LobertERee

9 ай бұрын

I was watching a tutorial on those. The first step (after unrolling it, ofc) is to yank the tourniquet really hard to see if it breaks.

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

Yes, I will definitely make an issue about the pink tourniquet soon, and also about a couple of things that were used together with AK) Fan fact, many people corrected me that "the bakelite magazine is brown, not orange." In fact, in the Soviet Army (and still in Russia) they are called "red mags", like hair color)

Very Educational! Great Work!

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!)

Do a video on the plum colour furniture on the ak and how it came to be

Thanks, didnt know I needed to know this; but I did.

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

To be honest, one time I just saw a Grand Thumb video with Jim, and there were a couple of lines, like: GT: Plum mags? I love them! Why are they this color? JF: I do not know.. GT: Russians! In particular, this inspired me to make an issue about the colors of AK magazines. But I decided to go in order, because orange stores appeared first, and that's why I made an issue about them. I plan to talk about green, light pink and plum mags. There were also yellow-transparent ones, maybe I'll make an issue about them too)

Thanks, Casper Arms.

Very informative video with good visual footage. 👌

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

Thank you! :3

A bit of a nitpick maybe, but AG4 isn't actually Bakelite, Bakelite is a phenol formaldehyde resin, whereas AG4 appears to be nylon (so polyamide) based.This means that the newer PA6-based black parts aren't actually all that different, at least from a chemical point of view, because PA6 is also a type of polyamide (but obviously, the way you process the polymer, its molecular weight and other parameters matter a lot, so the same polymer can have very different properties.).. But I know that the AG4 orange parts are commonly called "Bakelite" so I understand where this came from, just wanted to mention that the reality is actually a bit different for those who are interested in these nitpicky details . 😅

@brucecamparmament3728

4 ай бұрын

Correct.

wow this was a excellent video! very good info

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 🔥

I knew what they were made of but I didn't ever realize they used to be more yellow, I swear I've seen old photos were they were yellow but always assumed it was just because the colours on the photograph were all washed out, because in truth they were, just to what extent that had an effect on the colour of the mags I can't really tell.

Really nice job you deserve way more subs

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

what about “plum” colored 74 mags and furniture?

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

Good question) I specifically did not mention the plum in order to make a separate issue about it in the future)

Wait a minute. There is something suspicious about this video's premise. The Lionel Train Co. first used Bakelite for their model train products in the United States back in the 1940's/50's to eliminate having to use cast metal for their model products. A bonus was that Bakelite has natural non-electrical conductivity. Many of their model train products (transformers, locomotives etc.)were produced and left all naturally black. Other of the Bakelite products that needed to be differently colored were then spray painted in the needed colors over that basic bakelite black--but they didn't stay colored very long. Their overcoat of paint eventually chipped and peeled away to reveal the basic Bakelite black color underneath. Any Model Train fan knows this. Many electrical appliances of the time, were also produced using Black Bakelite plastic.

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

This is a very good remark, but it's just a fact that we are dealing with in the history of the Soviet military industry) Again, Mikhail Kalashnikov himself wrote to his superiors several times that they overestimated the requirements for the strength of many parts, he considered some of the requirements too high. And I suspect that the Soviets did not have anywhere near the level of bakelite quality that was here in the USA

@merqmerqury5069

10 ай бұрын

@@casperarms Nevertheless the Soviets were the first who start mass producing of reliable polymer mags, afaik

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

@@merqmerqury5069 I agree) I don't know this for sure either, but among the biggest players in the world, the Russians really were the first to make excellent polymer magazines. As far as I know, the classic army mag (made of bakelite reinforced with steel, or PA-6 polyamide) is still considered the best mag for AK

@cascadianrangers728

10 ай бұрын

You realize bakelite is an entire family of materials, with different strengths and weaknesses, and not a single, homogenous type, right?

@handsomeivan1980

10 ай бұрын

The bakelite magazines weren't actually made from bakelite. It's more of a fiberglass mixture

I dunno if it’s just tarkov but those yellow and orange mags make me happy.

Love your Content!.. 👌💯

@casperarms

5 ай бұрын

Thank you!) Do you think if I hired a voice-over announcer to make more videos, would you also be interested in watching my channel? I want to finish my studies, which I interrupted a few years ago, but I'm afraid I won't have time to do all my things at the same time

@ShaneBraaten

5 ай бұрын

@@casperarms I'm sure as long as you're putting out quality content like you have been, if the voice over makes it easier and give you more time then by all means Good Sir 🪖

Could you explain plum color? Great video.

Interesting information. Thanks !!!!

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Thank you for taking the time! ☺

Very interesting story. Thank you.

i thought it was light so incase they needed to find mags in the field it stand out

If you had watched body cam footage from the Ukrain war lately, sodiers do stock lots of mags on the ground right beside their shooting position, especially under the trench. So the mags color stand out in the ground actually helps a lot

On exercises when blanks were used, red mags were carried with live rounds in case of encounters with wild animals. The British Army did similar in Kenya but with red tape wrapped around the mag.

cool video, and a really interesting topic!

I always thought they were trying to match the wood furniture of the rifle too. As you said, that's a silly thing to spend effort on... but if you know anything about the military, that actually makes it more believable.

@casperarms

8 ай бұрын

There is such a principle as the observance of monotony, it's true. I can say that in the Russian army, commanders like to joke "ugly, but equally ugly". However, not to this extent. I can say that even before the war, in the Russian army, it was possible to see how a soldier wears part of the equipment in EMR camouflage (aka "pixel" or "digit"), while the other part of the equipment was in the old camouflage "Flora". I saw something similar in some US soldiers, where some small part of the equipment was in ACU, and the main part was in OCP

Here in the USA, the AK-74 magazines made of the purplish/blackish polymer are highly desirable. They are referred to as “plum” due to the color.

It was to differintiate easly calibers. Black mags - 7.62 x 39 (Ak 47) Orange mags - 5.45 x 39 (Ak 74 and other later guns)

@andrew32155

9 ай бұрын

Not a thing. Rare-ish, but there's orange polymer "Bakelite" 7.62x39 magazines. Their overall size and rather different curve from the stacking angle of the rounds is enough to distinguish them. It's mainly that far more of the polymer magazines were produced for 5.45x39 and the 74 family because the adoption aligned with the production of those magazines. And far fewer polymer 7.62 magazines were produced because there were enormous stockpiles of steel magazines already, and the "waste not want not" pragmatic issues of discarding existing stamping dies, jigs & fixtures for the 7.62 steel magazines. Had the Soviets figured out a dye that didn't significantly degrade the material properties of the AG-4 polymer & glass fiber (Bakelite technically? No. But a "Bakelite family" or "related" phenolic-formaldehyde resin...) they'd have colored everything black, OD, or some other more more discreet color.

Can you make a video about the plum coloured mags and furniture?

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

Yes, I have been planning to make a video on this topic for a long time) But now I need to collect more material in order to tell in more detail about plum mags and plum furniture of AK in general

Those bakélite Ammo boxes at 5:33 looks like some fancy rich people's travel baggage at 1st glance

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

So, very old-fashioned. From those times when there were these soft thick seats in the train cars, and the whole interior was in some kind of "home" style)

Also, let me get this straight. Upon reaching warehouses, they get yellow. Over time, they get orange. So they're not even yellow to begin with from the factory, correct me if I'm wrong. Was that due to air exposure? That's the likely reason, imo

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

I guess I didn't put it quite right. I will clarify) Bakelite magazines immediately after their production had a yellow color. I just wanted to say that when they were brought to the warehouses, a report was made on them. And it was written there that they were yellow. And after about 11-13 months, they found out that the mags had changed their color to orange/brown. I think to understand the reason for the color change, you have to be one of those guys in white coats and with a technical education, and I'm very far from that😅😅 In general, about 9 different variants of the classic bakelite magazines under the 7.62x39 cartridge were produced in the USSR. Externally, they differ quite a bit. For example, by the presence or absence of reinforcement of the housing with steel plates, or the shape of the lid from below, which holds the spring

@jehoiakimelidoronila5450

8 ай бұрын

@@casperarms ah... I see, I see.

Fantastic video keep them coming you will build followers with quality I pray. I will be one of them mate.

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! It's you guys who make me do more and more videos. Thank you!

I heard from a Russian veteran of Afghanistan that the soldiers preferred the steel magazines because if they got hit in the magazine, they believed the Bakelite material wouldn’t show up on an x-ray if it shattered. Kind of a superstition.

@wolfdima

6 ай бұрын

I heard this legend too, but the fact is bakelite mags actually stopped bullets and fragments.

fun-fact not even first "black" furniture and magazines were black it was more like dark plum color

I didn't watch the video so idk what he said but the real reason it's orange is because it looks really good

Well made video, liked.

you're making some really cool and factual videos. ty

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

thank you so much!)

PA-6 polymer parts look damn sexy on a 74u. The wood grain is classic, but it makes you look cheap or not very professional.

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

I agree. Especially if it's 7.62 AK and you look a bit like some kind of rebel from Southeast Asia, or something like that) Personally, I like the AK-74 most in black plastic or in plum furniture (but which is dark plum, and not obviously purple, this is purely my taste)

5:31 We have never made bakelite ammunition crates! The photo of the case from ДП-24 shows a set of individual dosimeters.

"are often mistakenly identified as being made of Bakelite (a phenolic resin), but were actually fabricated from two-parts of AG-S4 molding compound (a glass-reinforced phenol-formaldehyde binder impregnated composite), assembled using an epoxy resin adhesive" Wikipedia.

@andrew32155

9 ай бұрын

It's kind of an in-betweener. BOTH Bakelite and the AG-4 family are phenol-formaldehyde based polymers. So they could be considered as part of the same/similar "chemical family" but the chemistry and production methods differ, and the molecular structure and physical properties are significantly different. So calling AG-4 family polymers "Bakelite" is arguably correct in broad terms, if one considered "Bakelite" as the namesake for an overall family of phenolic polymers, but simultaneously incorrect if one is trying to be scientifically specific. Just as "Nylon" encompasses a wide range of materials and properties depending on chemistry & treatment or production, but all having a similar polyamide base. Nylons range from extremely soft ductile fibers or almost elastomeric compositions, to something like Delrin, which is still technically a polyamide/Nylon, is incredibly rigid and hard-wearing. Kind of an: "All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares." situation, conceptually speaking. Or how "jets" can encompass a 747 and an F-22, they have broad similarities, but extremely different use cases and capabilities. But both are aircraft.

Honestly, good video, and i learned something.

Hell American GIs used bakelite to make custom handles on knives that already had them. They're still collectible today as " theater knives".

Cool video! Even surprised to see a slip of the Rare Green furniture AKs, last I remember they are given only to Border Guards for their good service. I love AK history

Good lord, so that is why some of our boys had SA58 almost yellow like and some were different :D

Love the channel, but did u credit oxide for his footage?

When I was younger in the 90s and early 2000s I thought the made the AK 74 magazines out of wood because the brownish orange color.

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Yes, I had exactly the same)

great video, learned something new even i'm russian who's into military stuff

Fun fact: The reason for the orange colourations on Bakelite magazines today is due to the deterioration of the dye/pigment/paint on the magazine from Yellow to Orange. I have no clue what causes this. (I did not watch the entire video at the time of posting this.)

I always thought it was just cost being cheaper

You have a perfect accent to speak about slavic things! It is good enough when you pronounce russian words and it is good enough when you pronounce english words. Good job on that! Also thanks for content, it was interesting.

@casperarms

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! 🔥🔥

@casperarms

4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! ^^

i just naturally assumed it was something to do with alcoholism

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

😆😆

The punishment from your sergeant would reach you before the mag has hit the ground. xD

very cool video! thanks for sharing :)

The real reason is because it just looks cool

Because it looks cool

I always wonder about this...

We barely know why the polymer furniture used to be faintly blue.

I have heard the same that Bakelite is not an ideal material to work with.

i heard that the orange color is to differ the 5.45x39 from the 7.62x39 from the pre 1974 generations. The change of to the polymer happened in 1974/1975 ca. i dont remember properly the year. the magazines can be seen as generational in caliber and color as far as i can understand. i do believe the orange models are all 5.45 caliber if not mistaken. pls correct me

In the US home stereo housings we’re made of Bakelite as well as women’s jewelry.

_THE CHAD BAKELITE_ vs the virgin everything else

so if an AK mag is dark brown, you know it's seen some action

And for now they can put rk-3 pistol grip ,rails handguard ,and pt-1stock and pt-3stock it make em cool and more hit

@isyouthinkwhoamixd6631

10 ай бұрын

For akm

In sovi3t russia, you cant choose color. THE COLOR CHOOSE YOU!

About dyeing plastics. I visited a bunker in germany and they had body bags because they estimated that some people might die due to being injured or contaminated. Those bodybags made in the 70s or so were transparent because they lasted longer than black ones. They didn't wanted to have to change theme every few years so they took transparent ones with an estimated durance of multiple decades.

@retrogamer7571

9 ай бұрын

Which bunker did you visit?

@No5f3r4tu

9 ай бұрын

@@retrogamer7571 it was in berlin a civil nuclear shelter. if i remeber correctly it was at a subway station. The station itself was supposed to be the bunker and behind semi hidden doors was the ventilation system, beds that could be assembled, decon showers etc. and in the storage were 30 sport suits if people had to get rid of their clothing and 30 body bags.

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

@@No5f3r4tu Use transparent bags for this.. of course, it's not that I live in a pink world, but this is already some kind of overkill😵‍💫

This was a great video, I enjoyed seeing the Russian Army footage. You have a new subscriber, I look forward to future videos.

@casperarms

9 ай бұрын

Thank you!)

Now I'm wondering about wood magazine bodies purely for aesthetic for the bespoke larper.

great video

Because is more ✨aesthetic ✨

I wonder if some soldier wrapped his gun in some olive drab cloth to camouflage it during certain occasions

@casperarms

10 ай бұрын

Nope, there wasn't even close to such a practice

Because of the material that the magazines were made out of the materials called Bakelite a very early form of plastic