Armistice Marked M1898/05 bayonet with V cut.

[kalifornia Uber Alles]

Hi all hope all is well.

I recently discovered a website by the name of edgedweapons.nl Whilst I can find no mention of this seller on this forum or elsewhere, they have a wide selection of well photographed and described items. The S84/98s listed therein which is my usual area of interest; appear honestly presented as post war reworks where appropriate, which is more than can be said for some supposedly reputable dealers here in the UK who should know better.

With that In mind I took the plunge on an interesting armistice marked Seitengewehr 98/05 Bayonet. I’ve always wanted one of these recognisable “butcher blades”, but you might know my main area of interest lies in the third reich or interwar period, therefore to have an item that saw the difficult days of the weimar republic definitely appeals.

From what I gather, this item is one of a comparatively small number of weapons permitted to be kept by the newly formed reichswehr and police forces after the treaty of versailles. Like Mauser 98 and luger pistols of the era, it is stamped “1920” to signify it as government property and therefore accountable to the Allies. What I assume are faint unit markings are also present on the scabbard. The back of the pommel is so called “v cut” and the catch inside the locking channel ground away, preventing it’s attachment to a rifle and again compliant with the terms of the treaty as a police side arm.

Other than the aforementioned markings, the bayonet does not appear to have any maker's marks or manufacture dates, however this appears consistent with another weimar era 98/05 found on the web site below.

GERMAN 98/05 VARIATIONS

As this is my first butcher blade and I’ve been unable to find much on these Weimar marked examples, I’d love to hear what you guys think. Please find the seller’s website below.

Germany: German M 1898/05 n.A. V-Notched bayonet(ABCN804-5)(K0)(JN99-2)

















Regards

Dave.

[Anderson]

Dave, it is largely as you describe it, a S 98/05 n.A. pattern bayonet made after 1915. It was used in the Weimar Republic by Police School Niederschlesien from 1922. V cut as you say, to limit to side arm. Condition shows it had quite a lot of rust pitting, has been acid cleaned and either oiled or lacquered. There are worst condition ones out there, but there are also better ones. Depends a bit on your budget and what's being asked.

[AZPhil]

Very interesting.
I recently saw another V notch for sale on FB. But it was my first time seeing a V notch and hearing the explanation and who used it.

When viewing it, I don't see how this would keep it from being used as a bayonet. It looks like the locking mechanism would still work.

Does the V notch actually disable it?

Semper Fi
Phil

[kalifornia Uber Alles]

Thank you both for your comments, to hear this was issued to a police school is very interesting.

I haven't attempted to fit this to a rifle yet, although with the press stud compromised it would not give a secure fit meaning the bugger would likely slide off the moment you poked somebody with it . That being said, I’ve heard that many examples were not cut deep enough to affect the bayonet, as this is one of many examples of how the germans were paying only lip service to the treaty.

The finish appears to be blued when you look at it in person, although I have applied renaissance wax like I do with most of my items. The items was described as Very good condition (dealer speak for fair) but with pitting. The pitting however appears to be underneath the blueing which would suggest this was present prior to the refinish/rework. As these items were recovered on a hodgepodge fashion, many of which having spent years on a wet muddy battlefield, would it be unreasonable to assume that cleaning would have happened during the rework process, as not all examples would be in pristine condition. Whilst this is yet another assumption, with the reichswehr cobbling together what they could at short notice, would a police school have gotten the cream of the crop to work with when it came to a pile of old bayonets from the last war.