Nowhere did I ask anyone to take what I said as gospel.I didn't miss the part where you mentioned it. So I take it that whatever you say we are to take a gospel.
here is what is said about the Kalashnikov;
The AK-47 and its variants are made in dozens of countries, with
Neither did I copy and paste someone's description of the AK47's production heritage.
What I said above is that the Soviets - - not the Bulgarians, the Egyptians, the Serbians or any of the other communist block countries that manufactured the AK47 - - the Soviets -catch that? The Soviets...used red stain and shellac on their AK's.
Feel perfectly free not to take my word for it either.
Matter of fact I invite you to search for - Soviet shellac AK - and peruse the thousands of hits that returns.