Yeah, I stained them. I wasn't very happy how they turned out though. The bottom handguard is different wood than the upper, at least on my example, and took the stain WAY differently, plus had way more grain. I couldn't get the top any darker, no matter how many coats I put on it. It just stopped taking stain. Oh well.... it's an AK.
Since then I've wrapped the Manticore Arms folding stock in OD paracord. Makes it much more comfortable and raises the cheek weld a tiny bit. I think it looks kinda unique and cool.
My dad, and I made the stock, 1/4" square stock, torch, and a wrench. We made the linkage for my first full custom bike the same way, so i decided i wanted a stock the same way. As for the "pimp den", don't hate the playa, hate the game. ....Actually, my wife bought it, that blanket is long gone now.