Sten Archives

Back in 2017, I planned to build a Sten Mk. V and actually am planning to move forward with it now that I have built some VMAC9s that use Sten magazines. Well, as part of the VMAC builds, I bought some of the new MPA Polymer Sten mags and also decided to refinish some incredibly flithy Israeli modified Sten mags and loaders just caked in ancient cosmoline.

The Magazines

The Israelis had many different weapons in use following WWII including British Sten guns. Somewhere along the way they realized they could improve reliability by limiting the magazinees to 20 rounds via long skirted followers, adding brass wire on the sides to better stabilize the followers and soldering the bullet count peepholes closed.

At some point in the late 1950s, they phased out the Stens put thousands of these modified Sten magazines into long term storage where the preservative dried out, some rusting started and they became just genuinely filthy.

Closer to modern day, a US importer bought them plus we had Sten kits coming from all kinds of places. I bought two ten packs of filthy Sten mags from Centerfire Systems for a song, I have had the kits and these mags sitting in a tub.

Cleaning Them Up

The surplus steel mags are way too filthy to be reliable out of the box plus they look ancient. So, I opened up one the bags of 10 plus an odd box of six and oh man, did they need cleaning. I fired up my Vevor Ultrasonic cleaner that is filled with Simple Green HD, heated it up and then put the mags in there. My fluid was old to begin with but chunks of who knows what were floating up the surface as I ran 3-4 15 minute cycles trying to clean the things up. I’d do one side a couple of times, flip the mags so the other side was then face up and do it again.

They were in tough shape. The mags in a box were on better shape than the ones in the plastic bag. One of the mags looked like it has been put away wet or something. The inside was very, very rusted.

The mag loaders were caked with old cosmoline.

The solution was about 150 degrees. This is after the first 15 minute cycke.

I took some of the magazines and just oiled them after cleaning vs refinishing. That’s an option for you if you want.

Manganese Parkerizing the Surplus Sten Mags

The mags were disassembled and I used a sanding mop to quickly score the surface of the mags. Abrasive blasting would have given a more consistent surface and better results. I hosed them down with brake cleaner, let them dry and put bodies, followers and base plates in my parkerization solution – click here for more info on how to make your own black manganese park solution and process to follow.

Everything was lubed with 10w30. I like to scrub with steel wool to remove any loose surface phosphate. Note, I did not park the springs or locking plates.

They came out pretty good – better than I had thought they would.

Here’s one of the in process VMAC9 pistols with one of the mags installed. Most of my mags had “character” marks including dings and some light rust. All except for one were salvageable.

Summary

With a VMAC9, you can either use the MPA polymer Sten mags or original steel Sten mags. I actually plan to test both. I like the looks and history of the 20 round Israeli Sten magazines. The steel Sten mags are out there and are affordable if you don’t mind doing a little cleaning.

I hope this helps you out.

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I have lately become very interested in sub machine gun class weapons, or SMGs. I’ve built a number of 9mm ARs over the years and while they are interesting and fun to shoot, there’s not much history to dig into. So, I have been researching British Stens for a while now and the history that led up to them and the thinking behind “good enough” to get the job done vs. perfection is fascinating. It’s really intriguing when you see what folks can create when expediency is the name of the game.

To launch the series, I am posting this awesome video from Ian over at Forgotten Weapons. He always does an excellent job researching what he is going to cover and then walking the viewer through what he is presenting. In this video he provides an overview about the British Lanchester, Sten and Sterling.