WW2 1940 German 84/98 III Bayonet bym Maschinenhaus Ferlach MISMATCHED PLUM CAPTURE REFURB?

[komet45]

I acquired this bayonet several years ago in a quest to find an affordable "bym" coded example for my collection. This bayonet is very interesting as nothing on it matches and all parts exhibit the same "plum" blued finish. The blade is spine dated 1940, has never been sharpened and is in excellent overall condition. The dark plum hue is very noticeable on the blade when it is in bright sunlight and is very striking. A very mild amount of pitting on either side of the crossguard can be noted, it is under the finish and would appear to be a clear indicator of refurbishment. While the bayonet pommel is correctly marked with a "Eagle 757" Waffenamt, the grips are clearly marked with "Eagle 253" Waffenamts and the flash guard is marked with a "Weimar Eagle 95" stamp. The scabbard is in excellent condition and is clearly stamped by Josua Corts und Sohn and dated 1938. It too exhibits the same color finish as all the other metal parts on the bayonet.

While none of these pieces match, they all appear to have been refinished at the same time. I cannot find any markings that have been removed nor can I find any signs of new markings being added Post-War. I have heard rumors and read vague accounts of a great German effort in the Spring of 1942 to refurbish out of service equipment and supposedly many bayonets were overhauled during this time. In haste, the re-dipped bayonets came out "plum" as the bluing tanks were too hot or so the story goes...

The blade DOES look right at home on an RC capture K98k rifle....could this bayonet also have been captured and refurbished by the Russians??

[komet45]

A few more images to add to the description

[komet45]

And one with the RC for good measure!

[AndyB]

Bym ist Ferlach in Austria, only austrian territory maker of S84/98, the grips and flashguard is mixed probably postwar, i assume the piece was reblued? the rusted pommel was cleaned and reblued. I assume Russian didnt hold german bayonets, only rifles, so its possible the piece was reused postwar and assembled with RC gun in gunstore.

[Anderson]

These Ferlach bayonets are interesting, but I agree it has seen some re-assembly at some point. The grip plates have the Solingen WaA253 mark, which wasn't used after 1940. Not sure where Ferlech obtained their bakelite grips from. Flashguard looks like it is mid 1930's made.

[komet45]

Andy, the RC K98k was used just as a reference - the bayonet and rifle were not sold together. I was just noting that the finish is somewhat similar on both pieces, making them a rough visual "match." You are absolutely correct about the pitting under the newer blued finish, which is indicative of refurbishment by someone....but who?? No markings have been removed, no new serial numbers have been stamped or over-stamped, no apparent signs of modification at all by the potential Post-War user at all.

The most recent finish is very "plum" in color tone, and while none of the parts match each other they all appear to have been refinished in the same way. The "plum" tone bluing is interesting to me as it does pop up in German, Italian and Russian surplus. I have several other S84/98 bayonets that have "plum" blades, almost all are dated 1942. Has anyone else read anything about a large-scale overhaul of field equipment done by the Wehrmacht in Spring 1942??

[komet45]

Anderson, I strongly agree with the "interesting factor" the Ferlach blades possess. Their serial number system is very unique and the quality is high. These and the "jwh" blades by Staatliche Waffenfabrik in France are really neat pieces, I really have become a sucker for German bayonets made in occupied countries. Good eye on the Waffenamts too, as they offer an added layer of intrigue! The "253" and "95" stamps were mostly used in the mid-to-late 30s and are clearly from different time periods as the difference in Eagles reflects. Both stamps were used by Corts during this time period, but it's doubtful that really has any bearing on the current configuration. I also feel like a German rebuild is doubtful as there are no "force-matched" parts present, have you ever encountered any war time arsenal refurbished S84/98 bayonets?

[AndyB]

The plum blued late war pieces are in origin condition not refurbished, as the problem by tempering and blueing solution was increased in time. Many firms refurbished postwar bayonets, so there is possible it was overhauled elsewhere in Europe.

[Anderson]

There is always the possibility of field refurbishment by a company armourer where a scabbard or grip plate is damaged. I'm sure it happened sometimes. So really impossible to to sure when the current assembly of component parts came together, other than it was after 1940. Flashguards did take a bit of damage from hammering sometimes and may get switched by later collectors or dealers.

[Frogprince]

Reworking started long before 1942 as evidenced by some early rust blued bayonets that are also almost impossible to tell apart from rust blued originals. Some reworked bayonets even have Depot style markings added, while others do not. 1940 in the time frame for period reworks - for me it would be a trip outside in natural daylight and some close inspection. Inspections that are sometimes relatively immediate in coming to a conclusion - or not depending on the bayonet. The topic of reworks in general sometimes complicated. Best Regards, Fred