Mismatched Bayonets?

[Perry Floyd]

I've pulled a couple of average condition K98 bayos out of the woodwork and know many others that have as well. One thing I find very common is that many are mismatched. What's the speculation as of why?
Is it because many were damaged/lost/broken wartime and that a replacement was then issued out?
What's the opinion of others here?

[Skipper Greenwade]

Perry,

There are lots of reasons for this, but the common thread among them is that the German soldier who carried the bayonet wasn't nearly as concerned as we are with the numbers on his bayonet & scabbard.

Loss of / damage to one or the other was probably the most common cause for the mis-matched pieces we see in vet groupings. Maybe there was a mixup after weapons cleaning in close quarters or ? ? ?

While the matching numbers are preferable from a collecting standpoint, there are a whole lot of bayonets out there that don't match!

Best,
Skip

[Colorado]

Also, in combat units when a soldier was wounded or killed his gear was collected. It was cleaned and reissued. If you are the guy stuck with that task, would you care about matching bayonets?