Third Party Press

Rich Herder 1938 K98 Bayonet

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bandanabandit1

Member
Recently picked up this prewar 1938 matching bayonet, scabbard, and frog. I took some nice photos of it today and wanted to post it here for some of your opinions. My biggest goal was to find a nice matching bayonet that was never sharpened and was in good condition - I think this one ticks all of the marks. Although I did have a few questions I wanted to ask; does the bluing look original? To me it almost looks too nice, but I don't see any red flags that would indicate that it had been re-blued. Can anyone tell me more about the maker, rarity, etc.? The frog that came with it is unmarked. Thank you all!

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Album:
imgur.com/a/rich-herder-1938-1TwKDiB
 
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Nice bayonet. The blue looks comparable to examples seen on Arnaud`s site. There are three 38 Rich Herders all in the "d" block. Here is one. You can go check the others out. http://k98.free.fr/Rich.A.Herder 1938-7231d.html
Andy will be on later to elaborate on condition and he should know about the rarity.
You should also take pics of the complete bayonet both sides, blade, scabbard, and pommel. We like to see the whole bayonet.
Your pics are fine except it`s like looking at pics of a classic car that only shows from just behind the front wheel well to just in front of the back wheel well and no interior shots.
 
grimlin13 said:
Nice bayonet. The blue looks comparable to examples seen on Arnaud`s site. There are three 38 Rich Herders all in the "d" block. Here is one. You can go check the others out. http://k98.free.fr/Rich.A.Herder 1938-7231d.html
Andy will be on later to elaborate on condition and he should know about the rarity.
You should also take pics of the complete bayonet both sides, blade, scabbard, and pommel. We like to see the whole bayonet.
Your pics are fine except it`s like looking at pics of a classic car that only shows from just behind the front wheel well to just in front of the back wheel well and no interior shots.
Click to expand...

Thanks, check out the link to the photo album at the bottom of the OP to see lots of photos.
 
Hello also all was wrote by Grimlin, it looks like very nice condition Rich.Abr.Herder Solingen bayonet, should be WaA253 stamped nearly on all parts, the blueing looks like fully intact, the other pictures in link are too excellent, but the pictures are too very nice and sharp. Personally i dont see any heavy using traces on that piece, no damage on rifle slot or frog wearing traces on scabbard so mostly the piece was lying anywhere in depot and most important it was well stored in last 8 decades. You should good wip and oil the piece as by photoshooting there was a lot of Your fingerprints on the surface.
The bakelit grips were made probably by Karl Potthof ,Solingen Ohligs are proper proofed WaA253, what is little weird they are not serial or assembly numbered same as not on flashguard. The frog is too interesting as made from spare reused leather parts, note the sewing rest on various direction, same as the rivets are not typical, so i assume post 1942 production there by a field reparatury too.
Rich.Herder is a so called middle range producer, never reached higher as 100000 bayonets per year, and i believe the 1938 is the one of the highest production years, they ended at i/j range. I have other 8 samples in e range reported.
 
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AndyB said:
Hello also all was wrote by Grimlin, it looks like very nice condition Rich.Abr.Herder Solingen bayonet, should be WaA253 stamped nearly on all parts, the blueing looks like fully intact, the other pictures in link are too excellent, but the pictures are too very nice and sharp. Personally i dont see any heavy using traces on that piece, no damage on rifle slot or frog wearing traces on scabbard so mostly the piece was lying anywhere in depot and most important it was well stored in last 8 decades. You should good wip and oil the piece as by photoshooting there was a lot of Your fingerprints on the surface.
The bakelit grips were made probably by Karl Potthof ,Solingen Ohligs are proper proofed WaA253, what is little weird they are not serial or assembly numbered same as not on flashguard. The frog is too interesting as made from spare reused leather parts, note the sewing rest on various direction, same as the rivets are not typical, so i assume post 1942 production there by a field reparatury too.
Rich.Herder is a so called middle range producer, never reached higher as 100000 bayonets per year, and i believe the 1938 is the one of the highest production years, they ended at i/j range. I have other 8 samples in e range reported.
Click to expand...
Thanks Andy, happy to hear that the bluing is original. What are some of the more rare manufacturers?

Also; should I be concerned about the flashguard not being numbered to the grips?
 
No some producers didnt serialise inner parts, i assume the 1403 should be on locking lug, when pressing it would be visible on protruding part. the flashguard is WaA253 marked so i dont see problem, the piece is too interesting because of change of type of proof was done in same period, as on pommel are down wings Weimar type eagles and on ball finial and flashguard already NS type straight wings eagle WaA253.
For more rare producers You could look here at forum or in link to Arnaud pages that Grimlin provide in his answer.
I assume makers that didnt produced a complete period also 1934-45 are more scarce, same as the early years prior war are more rare to find, like 1934 or 1936. Makers which are in lower production range are bym, jwh, Diamant, J.Sch. , Clemen and Jung, Durkopp to sample, but hangs too from year. but Rich.A.Herder to sample from 1940 is too rare bird.
 
I have always found RICH. A. HERDER S84/98 T3s to be one of the less commonly found makers. My own example is dated 1938 and sn 509 | i. Even more elusive are their S/239 coded examples. The OP's bayonet is what everyone hopes to find based on condition and originality, regardless of maker... nice score!
 
So I noticed that one of the grip screws has some damaged threads at the end which makes it difficult to unscrew. Does anyone know where I could find an original single screw and nut or even a pair?
 
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