The Simple Genius of the Classic Sten Gun Bolt
If you've ever looked carefully at a surplus components kit, the sten gun bolt is probably the first point that catches your eye because of exactly how remarkably simple it looks. It's not really a polished, elaborate piece of jewelry like you'd discover in a high-end contemporary rifle. Instead, it's a heavy, cylindrical chunk of steel that looks like it has been turned out on the manual lathe simply by someone in a serious hurry—which, in order to be fair, will be exactly how it was born. During the particular dark days associated with the early 1940s, Britain needed guns fast, and they will didn't have period for the finesse associated with a Thompson or perhaps an MP40. They needed something which proved helpful, and the bolt was the cardiovascular of this "good enough" philosophy. ...