When the original M1 Garands and M1 Carbines left the factory, they featured a cartouche, or inspector’s mark, on the stock. For each rifle’s serial number, there’s a correct cartouche mark. If you replace the stock on your rifle, you lose the cartouche. However, I can give your new stock a proper cartouche that correpsonds with its serial number.
Placing a reproduction cartouche on on a military rifle is a controversial thing. I have taken every step I can to ease that quandary for the person who wishes to have one added to their stock, but does not want it passed off as an authentic original at some point in the future. I burn a brand in each barrel channel of every stock I cartouche. This brand could hypothetically be removed, but the stock must be almost sanded in half to do so. The black charcoal from the burn goes deep and the stock will not look right at all to a new buyer. The mark I brand is “Shuff’s Reproductions”.
Each piece of furniture stamps differently then the next. Hardness of the wood, how flat the surface is, and if the wood is already finished or not all affect the appearance. Double stamps can and do happen. They happened often when real USGI cartouching was done and they can happen when I do them too. Please don’t expect a crisp evenly done cartouche, I’m only as good as the originals. Best results are in stamping an unfinished stock on an area with a level wood surface then adding dark stain, to your taste, in the grooves (taking care to wipe off excess) and dry. After this step the stock is finished as you like.