The bayonets of the GDR - Part 1 - the S84/98

[Sleepwalker]

Hello,

a topic that has been neglected for a long time is certainly the S84 / 98 from the time of the III. Reichs, which did their service in the former GDR / SBZ after 1945.

Much is still unclear about these bayonets today.

The S84 / 98 were used after their installation in the "Kassernierte Volkspolizei"(KVP) and the "Grenzpolizei" Border Police.
They were also used by the "Deutsche Volkspolizei" - German People's Police - and the "Betriebskampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse" - Factory Fighting Groups of the Working Class -.

As the forerunner of the NVA, the Soviet Union sent its junior partner a hodgepodge of various hand weapons, including weapons of the USSR but also stocks of caputured former Wehrmacht weapons. This also included the K98k and the S84 / 98.

It is relatively unclear in which state the S84 / 98 were handed over. Whether they were delivered in the state of capture with matching serial numbers or already sorted, mixed and delivered refreshed.
What is certain is that this S84 / 98 in a non-revised condition cannot be distinguished from the S84 / 98 used by the Wehrmacht. There is a more colorful mix than all S84 / 98s that were used until 1945, pieces of the Wehrmacht, the police, the Reichsbahn, unmarked official pieces and even veterans from the 1st World War.

Only later, when they were stored in depots of the People's Police or complex camps of the mobilization reserve, were they revised and modified.
I do not know the exact period.

Only now are these S84 / 98s clearly recognizable as GDR weapons.

The S84 / 98s in the GDR probably did not receive new numbers, acceptance or control stamps. So far I have not seen any original stamps.

The bayonets were dismantled, the parts freshened up, partially sanded down and re-blued. The parts were then assembled regardless of their serial numbers, so that no S84 / 98s with the same numbers exist anymore.

Handle scales made of wood and Bakelite that were still usable were reused, but there were also newly produced handle scales made of beech wood as spare parts.
Some of the fleshguards have been corrugated for a better grip and thus received their typical "waffle pattern".

Other fleshguards were only superficially abraded without being corrugated. Possibly these are refreshments at different times.

So far I have been able to find 3 types of Fleshguards.

- Smooth, sanded, burnished
- corrugated, burnished
- corrugated, bright or phosphated

The latter are likely to be the rarest.

While mouth sheet metal screws were probably still used at the beginning, the scabbards soon received rivets to attach the mouth plate and the spring insert. One can only speculate about the background. Probably it was just thought that these rivets hold better because screws could loosen and were also easy to remove.

There are different shapes of rivets.
So far I have been able to determine a total of 5 different rivet types.

- One-piece massive ALU rivets
- One-piece massive ALU rivets, larger
- Two-part ALU rivets
- One-piece aluminum rivets with a flat head, colored black
- One-piece steel rivets, burnished

According to my observations, the steel rivets are the rarest.


In other countries S84 / 98 were also overhauled. But these all differ from those of the GDR. Most similar are probably the revisions from Yugoslavia. These are easy to recognize by the four-digit number on the crossguard and the hook on the scabbard.

In the following I would like to introduce and bring you closer to the different variants using selected examples.
The bayonets of the GDR are meanwhile a separate collecting area with a growing tendency.

[Sleepwalker]

This piece is likely to be an early change.
It is a very late, former official piece which has been superficially revised, mainly on the back of the handle head. Wooden handle scales from before 1945 were used.
The Fleshguard was just sanded, without a waffle pattern.
The scabbard was sanded and re-blued. She received another screw.

[Sleepwalker]

The next piece is also a revised former government piece with reused wooden handle scales. The fire plate is also just sanded off.
The sheath has a two-part aluminum rivet. Here the different parts can be seen very well.

[Sleepwalker]

An S84 / 98 from former police stocks of the III. Reiches, manufacturer ACS, and has new beechwood handles.
The Fleshguard is corrugated and burnished.
The ALU rivet on the scabbard is a solid one-piece.

[Sleepwalker]

Here a more revised S84 / 98 from former armed forces stocks with reused Bakelite grip panels.
The Fleshguard was shaped and shows the typical waffle pattern.
The ALU rivet on the scabbard is a solid one-piece.

[Sleepwalker]

This S84 / 98 of the GDR comes from former armed forces and has got new handle scales made of beech wood.

The Fleshguard is corrugated but WITHOUT browning.

The ALU rivet is solid and one-piece.

[Sleepwalker]

A piece from Wehrmacht stocks and recycled Bakelite grips.

The Fleshguard does not have a waffle pattern.

The ALU rivet on the scabbard is the much larger variant. One-piece and massive.

[Sleepwalker]

This S84 / 98 comes from the former inventory of the Reichsbahn. It was given late reddish brown Bakelite grip panels during the overhaul.

The Fleshguard is corrugated and burnished.

This type of ALU rivet on the scabbard is colored black and has a flattened head.

[Sleepwalker]

The last piece is a late S84 / 98 from former Wehrmacht stocks.
The Fleshguard is corrugated.

The scabbard has the rare burnished rivet made of magnetic steel.

[Sleepwalker]

Finally, a short detour to the frogs used.
Here, too, much is unclear.

There were probably stocks of old Wehrmacht equipment.




It is unknown whether frogs were newly produced. But there are numerous pieces from ex. Pig leather without marking.
These could be late war production but also GDR production.


Most of the early leather items received an HVA stamp from the KVP - "Hauptverwaltung Ausbildung" - Headquarters Training -. These stamps can be found originally on belts, cartridge pouches and frogs.