waffenampts

[jager17]

i know this may be a stupid question but please bear with me. Was it normal for bayos to have only one or no waffenampts stamped on them?

[Tiger 1]

What kind of bayonets? Dress or combat?

Tony

[Reibert-Austria]

Dress-Bayonets aren´t WaA-stamped ...

There´re "Duty"-Bayonets without WaA, ("Waffenabnahme-Amt") - stamps.

These bayonets are known as "commercials".

Regards, Reibert

P.S.:
The German SG 84/98 third model was stamped several times with the WaA-mark on the bayo itselves and the scabbard also ...

[jager17]

combat bayos, thanks

[Ron Weinand]

Factory Guards

Some of the combat M98 Field Bayonets did come without Waffenamts. These were factory guard bayonets issued to the factory personnel and often do not have marks of any kind and are of fine quality in most cases.
Ron Weinand

[Frogprince]

Some late manufacture combat bayonets might have only one pommel stamp, but as Ron commented there is a whole class of combat bayonets (sometimes called by collectors “commercials”) that are non-Waffenamted.

Including , but not limited to: The German Police, Postal Service, Railway etc. Sometimes with added unit/other markings, sometimes not. FP

[dag001]

Well jager, are you confused yet? The area of SG84/98III (combat bayos) is a fascinating area of collecting with a myriad of types and variations. Your best bet is to start out with the purchase of George T. Wheeler's (ORPO) book "Seitengewehr: History of the German Bayonet, 1919-1945". This book will give you a good foundation of knowledge. There are also many other excellent books available; Ron Weinand & Gary Walker's book "German Clamshells and Other Bayonets" is one example.

[Tiger 1]

Waffenamts are acceptance stamps for weapons procured by the Wehrmacht. Generally if a rifle, pistol or bayonet, does not have waffenamts then it's likely not to have been military but commercial civilian, police or party owned.

Tony

[Frogprince]

"Well jager, are you confused yet?" (Just kidding)

It gets a little more "interesting" when looked at in more detail. For example while Tony's comments are generally correct. We have the seemingly inevitable exceptions. Like the Waffenamted Portuguese contract bayonets which have Waffenamts but were not Wehrmacht property. My point being that as general guidelines Waffenamts are indicators of Wehrmacht property versus (rifle equipped) German paramilitary forces. But sometimes you have to look at additional factors as well. FP

[SCHUPO]

These little stick eagles and letter/number combinations are "interesting."

I think it would be better to say that the so-called "Waffenamt" (WaA) markings indicate that the weapon passes Wehrmacht qualilty control acceptance inspection. They are not specificially a property mark, although they generally indicate that the item was issued to the military. As FP points out some exported weapons bear military inspection WaA. The Japanese contract for Mauser rifles and S84/98 bayonets come to mind as that detailed contract (found in Law's Mauser book) specifically stated that the purchased stands of arms would all require the standard German Military inspection before being shipped to Japan.

The Waffenamt (WaA) name is also actually a misnomer as the marking is technically a Wehrmacht-abnahmenstempel that signifies that the bayonet meets military inspection requirements after inspection.