WW1/WW2 German dress bayonet question...

I won this bayo on ebay a while back...when I didn't know any better and was buying anything german...Well anyway, I was trying to do some research on it because of the wooden grips...All of the dress bayos I see are usually black plastic,black rubber, and stag...I haven't seen any dress bayos with wood grips...Is there any significance to this bayonet?....Any help would be appreciated on this...thanks Mike

The grips and rivets looks like home made replacements, You should probably buy a set of original grips with rivets or made a nice wood with imitation of surface of horn ones and used it with screws.

rockisle1903 said:

I won this bayo on ebay a while back...when I didn't know any better and was buying anything german...Well anyway, I was trying to do some research on it because of the wooden grips...All of the dress bayos I see are usually black plastic,black rubber, and stag...I haven't seen any dress bayos with wood grips...Is there any significance to this bayonet?....Any help would be appreciated on this...thanks Mike

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Mike,

The KS98 worn by justice officials (Justizbeamte) was issued with smooth wooden grips rather than plastic or stag. They were issued in both long and short blade configurations. I hesitate to say whether your grips are original or replaced without actually seeing it in person. Perhaps Slash will comment.

denny gaither said:

Mike,

The KS98 worn by justice officials (Justizbeamte) was issued with smooth wooden grips rather than plastic or stag. They were issued in both long and short blade configurations. I hesitate to say whether your grips are original or replaced without actually seeing it in person. Perhaps Slash will comment.

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Thanks for the info as I looked up Justizbeamte and found a similar bayonet...As to the originality of the grips...They do not seem to be "new" but who knows if they are replacements as the "fit" is good but not perfect...Thanks again Mike

Wood gripped Ks98 bayonets are not unknown. They are found on pieces dating from the late 1920s and into the IIIR period. As stated above, Ks98 attributed to the Justizbeamte have been observed with smooth hardwood grip scales. Keep in mind however that there are original bayonets with wood grips that are not in any way Justizbeamte related. Period sales catalogs and other reference material indicate that wooden grips were a legitimate Ks98 variation or available option for the purchaser. Wooden grips are noted with the traditional domed rivets as well as a few with bolt (non slotted) and spanner configuration. As Denny indicated it is difficult to render a certain opinion without having the piece in hand but the photographs here lead to some concerns regarding both the grip scales and the rivets. The fit of the grip plates are a bit off and not what one would expect to find on a high quality walking-out dress sidearm. The rivets however are of greater concern. The rivets appear to be finished flat on both the obverse and reverse sides. Perhaps no rules are hard and fast but one would expect to see domed or round headed rivets to the obverse. Not flattened as in this case. Hence the concern that as Andrej suggested these grip plates and rivets are replacements.

As a side note, during the war years several makers produced Ks98 bayonets with wooden grip scales shaped and formed to resemble natural stag or antler material. These bayonets feature steel or in some cases aluminum domed head rivets to the obverse.

Thanks for the information...and as always very informative and thorough...Thanks again Denny,Andy, and Slash for your insight...Mike