K98 identification and odd Frog

[Bcunha]

Hi. New to the site. I inherited my father-in-laws WWII chest. He was a truck driver in the African Campaign and also served in Europe. This K98 was in his chest. He died in 1970 and it has not been opened since his death.

Bayonet is in almost unused condition, bluing is very good other than the tip. Blade is not sharp.

Pommel has Wa883 twice and eagles.

Blade has 3693 on one side and 41cof on the other. No other marks that I can find.

There is a silver dot on the top of the blade near the hilt.

Under the grip is 7423 on one side and 93 and an E on the other.

Grips have 93 KP in a circle, 4 with the eagle under it and 3634 scratched into the material. Other grip has Wa88. It also has numbers scratched into the grip, but it looks like they were changed or ?

Sheath has fnj 1940 on one side and 6407 and what appears to be an m under it. (cant see this well with the frog on)

Bottom of the sheath has some markings, but I can't make them out.

Frog is somewhat confusing. It is green webbing with leather on the bottom and the fastener. The webbing has three sewing seams and 4 rivets. I cannot find any marks on the frog. Because of the leather, I have not taken the frog off the sheath.

It would appear to not be a matching blade/sheath. I found that fnj is the mark of Coppel Gmph, but no markings on the blade to help me identify it.

Any assistance is appreciated.

[RH1941]

Why would you take it apart .

[Sarge]

"but no markings on the blade to help me identify it."
OK - Just WHAT do you think that 41 cof is??? I could tell you, but I'll let you look it up yourself! One of my favorite makers!
Oh, and the frog is tropical - Probably Luftwaffe.
Sarge

[Frogprince]

The bayonet is from 1941 and was made by the Carl Eickhorn company ("41 cof"). But the bayonet grips were made by another firm that specialized in them that was a standard practice for that time frame. With the various markings typical of that period, the "WaA883" identifies the German Army weapons inspectorate, and the silver dot probably just wear from the tip of the scabbard mouthpiece attaching screw.

As for the bayonet frog from the images it appears to be a later most likely somewhat ersatz version of the M42. They were originally made specifically for the folding shovel carrier to attach a bayonet, and occasionally have turned up in GI bring backs. Using a fabric back piece instead of leather they fit the shovel carrier - but not so for the bulk of the so called “skeleton” types which I suspect are actually Yugoslavian/East Bloc end of war and/or early postwar low tech copies (having a shallow "V" or triangle line of stitching between the rivets). Best Regards, Fred

PS: Sorry for "stepping" on the above comment that was not on my screen before I posted. FP

[Larry C]

Lets take it easy Gents and give him the benefit of the doubt since it is his first post and I understand everyones concerns with disassembly.

Mr Bcunha...for any "future" postings our seasoned collectors here are ardent ...each to what they collect and study. No disassembly would be required unless it was a last resort issue..which with these K98 bayos is a very rare occurrence.

Fred is one of the bayo forums top researchers and has given you the best qualified information. There are other Bayo Gents here who also may chime in.

Enjoy your stay here

Regrds Larry

[Bcunha]

Thank you for the information and for the education. I mostly work with firearms, and with old pistols, many have their serial numbers and other information under the grip. I searched the web for information on how identify the bayonet and found one site with pictures of the handles off and made the assumption that it was a place to get more information.

None of the web sites I found with a google search gave me (total novice to bayonets) a clear picture of how to read the Identification numbers, or advice like "don't take the grips off". A "start here if you know nothing about bayonets" might help folks like me that come across items like this.

After you posted, the "slap head here" syndrome kicked in on the cof. marking. As I did figure out the fnj on the scabbard is Coppel Gmbh, I should have caught that the cof was Carl Eickhorn.

I did not find any images of the leather/webbing combination for the frog on the internet. I have looked over the frog with a magnifying glass and find no markings or traces of ink.

So that I don't make another error. What are recommendations for preservation? Light oil to the steel or something else?. What about the leather?

[mauser9]

Very nice score. I know these bayonets are fetching good bucks a gun shows. I would recommend a light film of quality oil on the blade myself. Thanks for sharing

[Bcunha]

This bayonet is missing the press catch. I looked on the classified page and also searched on the internet. Is there a web page or site where parts can be purchased?