WW1 Bayonet

[JIMP10X]

If it had ever been arsenal blued, I would have expected the release button to have been slotted at that time. Seeing as how this is listed on capture papers, my best guess is that it was pressed into service late in the war unaltered or found in storage and traded to souvenir hungry GI's. Either way it's an interesting bayo.

As to the makers mark being wore down, that could have been done when the sawback was ground off and the blade was repolished or like Richie said a weak strike of the name in the beginning.

Just trying to help,

Jim

[BaselA]

Jim, you have been a great help with this bayonet I cant thank you enough. It is amazing, but the blade is still quite sharp in a few places, leading me to believe it may have actually been used in WW2. Any idea what the "A7" means?

In this photo, you can see that someone used the steel part of the handle as a hammer.

I was going to sell this one, but now I think I will hold on to it for a while.

[JIMP10X]

I really don't know for sure. I have heard most call the odd numbers here and there as control numbers and/or assembly numbers. I feel that numbers on a rework are there so all the parts that came off of one bayonet went back on the same bayonet. Others I feel are more in line with the factory keeping track of who did what inhouse. As an example "Fritz" is one of the guys shaping and/or polishing blades and his number is "4", if one gets inspected and found to be shaped poorley or not polished correctly and marked "4", I'll bet you can guess who's getting in trouble. Just my thoughts, maybe someone else has more insight?

I have also had several butchers and 84/98's with the flasguard beat such as yours. I gues in the field when no hammer is around a good old bayo with a flashguard will get the job done in a pinch

Jim