Armorer Refurbished Bayonets
- Thread starter Slash
- Start date
M1903A3
Keeper of the Def's Head
Hi everyone!
First off I want to thank everyone on this thread (on this whole forum?) for the OUTSTANDING information here which not only had expanded my knowledge but also sparked my interest. Special thanks go to Lance (Slash) who was kind enough to correspond with me and answer my questions. In short, thanks to his thread I had become interested in this idea of reworked or refurbished bayonets, and once I thought I had one, he agreed that it did appear to be one of these. So, here it is.
The bayonet and scabbard were listed as matching, and indeed they do! But look more closely and consider the other markings. The blade, marked S/240 (for Friedrich Herder und Sohn, Solingen) and (36 for 1936) does NOT match the scabbard manufacturer, which is marked S/155 k which translates to E and F Horster, the "k" being 1934. Now look at the serial numbers again.
Like the other items in this thread the scabbard has been stamped over the original numbers to force a match. And I should add that the man who did this left NO DOUBT that it was now this new number, 5019!! The blade is 5019a, but as is common no attempt was made to change the block letter of the scabbard, which is "i".
This is one of those bayonets that also has remnants of black paint, not only on the guard but on the scabbard as well. I wonder if this MAY have been done to cover up bluing that was damaged or removed, either during combat or during the repair process.
Where might this have been?? What battles could it have been through? Unlike the late wR items, the neat thing about these refurbs is that you KNOW it saw heavy use, heavy enough to go back for repair.
First off I want to thank everyone on this thread (on this whole forum?) for the OUTSTANDING information here which not only had expanded my knowledge but also sparked my interest. Special thanks go to Lance (Slash) who was kind enough to correspond with me and answer my questions. In short, thanks to his thread I had become interested in this idea of reworked or refurbished bayonets, and once I thought I had one, he agreed that it did appear to be one of these. So, here it is.
The bayonet and scabbard were listed as matching, and indeed they do! But look more closely and consider the other markings. The blade, marked S/240 (for Friedrich Herder und Sohn, Solingen) and (36 for 1936) does NOT match the scabbard manufacturer, which is marked S/155 k which translates to E and F Horster, the "k" being 1934. Now look at the serial numbers again.
Like the other items in this thread the scabbard has been stamped over the original numbers to force a match. And I should add that the man who did this left NO DOUBT that it was now this new number, 5019!! The blade is 5019a, but as is common no attempt was made to change the block letter of the scabbard, which is "i".
This is one of those bayonets that also has remnants of black paint, not only on the guard but on the scabbard as well. I wonder if this MAY have been done to cover up bluing that was damaged or removed, either during combat or during the repair process.
Where might this have been?? What battles could it have been through? Unlike the late wR items, the neat thing about these refurbs is that you KNOW it saw heavy use, heavy enough to go back for repair.
Very nice refurbished piece David. Glad that you got it and thanks for adding to the thread. There has been some discussion regarding black paint as part of the reworking or refurbishment process. Not sure how this fits. Some pieces have clearly been period "redipped" to restore the blued finish. Perhaps others were painted as well depending on the level of individual or facility performing the work. These well used veterans do have a certain appeal. I collecting friend of mine used to call an example like this "an EK I Bayonet." I always liked that term.
Thanks also for your kind words as well as those from gew8805!
Thanks also for your kind words as well as those from gew8805!
