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Two New Diamants

Article about: My favorite maker for K98 bayonets is Elite Diamant. The company has a rather interesting history, and they have lived through all of the highs & lows of recent German history. Although

  1. #1

    Default Two New Diamants

    My favorite maker for K98 bayonets is Elite Diamant. The company has a rather interesting history, and they have personally experienced all of the highs & lows of recent German history.

    Although they are mostly known by WWII collectors as a K98 bayonet manufacturer, their claim to fame comes from the quality bicycles they make. The company is credited with creating a very important design that has now become a worldwide standard. That design is the double roller chain system. A chain system that can be found on many bicycles and pieces of machinery today. Diamant is also responsible for creating the ladies bicycle. A special bike designed especially for woman with a curved down frame allowing them to step through as opposed to over. This is another design that caught on world wide and is still used today.

    Finally, here are my two new acquisitions from this amazing company. A 1939 dated Elite Diamant K98 bayonet, and a 70s/80s era East German produced Diamant bicycle. These two pieces come from two very different eras of the company. After WWII the Diamant factory fell under soviet control as they were located in Eastern Germany. In the early years of the DDR Diamant made bicycles for the Soviet Union as a form of war reparations. As time would go on the Soviets would later give the DDR government a major part of the company.

    I found this bicycle on a local online selling site, and interestingly the man who sold it to me mentioned how he actually rode it while commuting around Fort Worth Texas years ago. The bike is marked "Deutsches Markenrad" or in English "German Brand Bike". This indicates that the bike was specifically made in the DDR for export to other countries.

    Just thought I would share these cool new finds with everyone. I now get to ride on a really cool piece of German history!

    Two New DiamantsTwo New DiamantsTwo New Diamants

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  3. #2

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    An interesting company, similar to Durkopp being general manufacturers rather than Solingen blade makers. Elite Diamant did however produce from the start of the TR era type 3, S 84/98 in 1934 under the S/185 code but ending production in 1940, presumably to shift manufacturing focus to other products for the war effort. I particularly like the way they used a trade mark style maker name on their bayonets in the last few years of production. Much nicer than the block letters most other makers used.

  4. #3

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    Quote by Anderson View Post
    An interesting company, similar to Durkopp being general manufacturers rather than Solingen blade makers. Elite Diamant did however produce from the start of the TR era type 3, S 84/98 in 1934 under the S/185 code but ending production in 1940, presumably to shift manufacturing focus to other products for the war effort. I particularly like the way they used a trade mark style maker name on their bayonets in the last few years of production. Much nicer than the block letters most other makers used.
    That's one of the big reasons why I like their bayonets so much. When K98 bayonets changed from the early 'S' coding system to the full name designation, most makers went with a generic font when stamping their names. Elite Diamant is pretty unique in the way they stamped their trade mark style name. I for one love the look of the trade mark. I would also really like to get myself a later 'i' coded example someday. Even when these bayonets returned to a coding system, Elite Diamant remained unique as they were the only maker to stamp a single letter for their code.

    I've wondered in the past as to what Elite Diamant shifted their focus on when they halted bayonet production in 1940. The company is still in business today making bicycles in Germany, although they are now owned by an American bicycle firm. Their website only briefly touches on the subject of their wartime production. Like many companies who had past relations with the TR they will do their best to distance themselves from that subject. Maybe Diamant shifted their production to something like aircraft components?

    Best regards- Jarret
    Last edited by Luftwaffe 1941; 05-19-2020 at 04:00 AM.

  5. #4
    MAP
    MAP is offline
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    Agree with Anderson, I always liked their logo too.

    Nice bike. Do you ride it?
    "Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated

    My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them

    "Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)

  6. #5

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    Yep!

    I'll ride it from time to time, but I make sure to go easy on it. It would kill me if I somehow ended up damaging it.

    Best regards- Jarret

  7. #6

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    I think only three manufacturers used a trademark at some point on the S84/98 bayonets they produced, the other two being Alexander Coppel, who used their scales logo on some government contract bayonets and the other being Ferlach, who originally used their "omc" logo before changing to bym.

  8. #7
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    There is possibility Elite Diamant is most real a completation firm, mashining of parts were realised on obtained rohlings. I assume majority of firms make it similar.
    The army acceptance probably didnt allow any Trade Mark, omc is in reality caligrafic M for Maschinenhaus, and ACS, AWS of Coppel were used only on Behoerden Modells, which went not per WaA control. b.r.Andy

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