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bayonets

Unutt

Well-known member
I took them all out of the case to rearrange in maker/year order, and give each one a quick oil refresher. Five did not make the pic (blankos and mismatches). One of the mismatches has a pyy scabbard, and another has a 1938 Clemen & Jung scabbard with no serial number on it. I always thought it might make a match for an orphaned 38 C&J bayonet. I tried to count them, but I kept getting lost, so gave up.
 

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Wow!! Awesome! About 270ish by my count. How do you get all the frogs off? The two I sourced in the woodwork, the frogs will not come off. And one I added a frog years ago , not it won't come off. Lol. Or do you try to buy them without?
 
Frog removal

Wow!! Awesome! About 270ish by my count. How do you get all the frogs off? The two I sourced in the woodwork, the frogs will not come off. And one I added a frog years ago , not it won't come off. Lol. Or do you try to buy them without?

I used Pecard's leather dressing for the really tough ones, and even at that, you can see there are three or four that I cannot get off without pushing them past my comfort level. It takes a week or so to have any effect on the leather, but eventually, you can feel the frog soften. Sometimes I have to apply it 5 or 6 times. Most frogs come off readily, but there are a few that resist.

I remove the frogs because I do not think they are good for the scabbards while they are stored, plus they significantly increase the amount of space required to display the bayonets, plus plus, I am not sure the oil I apply to the bayonets is good for the frogs. When I remove one, I record the bayonet maker/serial on a tag and tie it to the frog, then it goes into a tote that has all the other frogs in it. When I photograph one, the frog is pictured with it to help me remember it originally came with a frog.

I do prefer to find them without frogs if the price is adjusted accordingly.
 
A lot of bayonets S84/98, congratulation on the good and matching condition.b.r.Andy
 
Find a specific bayonet

The photo begs the question, "So when you want to look at a specific bayo, how do you find it (in a timely manner)" ? I have trouble enough looking through drawers that contain 36 to 40 examples each. http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?27378-Bayonet-collection-focus/page6&highlight=lista (see submission#52).

To start with, I pray I do not need to find a specific bayonet, but it happens.

The bayonets are arranged on eight glass shelves, four rows to the shelf, approximately 10 per row, by maker and year. With a few exceptions, they are arranged by S code, lowest top left, highest top right, meaning down the left side are 155, 172, 173, etc, and down the right side are 245, 244, 242, etc. 184 and 185 are on the bottom shelf. Dates are earliest to latest, front to back. For the most part, all the Ks are in front, and 44s are in the back. Most makers require two rows (the average quantity per maker is 16 or 17) and there are 10 per row. There are exceptions, of course. EFHorster took the entire top shelf (33 examples). Carl Eickhorn required three rows (24 examples) so they took most of the 2nd shelf. I tried to leave 4 or 5 spaces per maker on an outside row because it takes awhile to inject one into a center row. All the bayonets are arranged so the maker and year are facing the glass, so I can get close to a specific bayonet by looking at the examples next to the glass.

I took a pic so you can get a visual. The bottom three rows are non k98 bayonets, and swords.

While I was studying the picture, I realized the example on the fifth shelf, front right, is backward. I am fixing that now. By the time I finished putting them up on Sunday evening, I was getting delirious. Oil fumes I guess.
 

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Nice collection Mike .... What are you going to collect after you have fill your spreadsheet?
 
To start with, I pray I do not need to find a specific bayonet, but it happens. The bayonets are arranged on eight glass shelves, four rows to the shelf, approximately 10 per row, by maker and year. With a few exceptions, they are arranged by S code, lowest top left, highest top right, meaning down the left side are 155, 172, 173, etc, and down the right side are 245, 244, 242, etc. 184 and 185 are on the bottom shelf. Dates are earliest to latest, front to back. For the most part, all the Ks are in front, and 44s are in the back. Most makers require two rows (the average quantity per maker is 16 or 17) and there are 10 per row. By the time I finished putting them up on Sunday evening, I was getting delirious. Oil fumes I guess.

I follow the same basic plan so far as early production to late: number codes lowest to highest, then manufacturer firm name marked examples in alphabetic order, and finally all the alpha codes (also in alphabetic order). I once deviated from this when changing the lay-out. I tacked onto each manufacturer's S-code, their firm named examples followed by the alpha coded ones. The result was frustration coupled with a dose of foul language seemingly every time I wanted to find a specific bayo, so eventually put them back the way they were originally. The 9-drawer cabinet I utilize provides three parallel rows of 12-13 bayos each, per drawer. The cabinet is shared with German Imperial, Czech, Polish, U.S. MPBS M9, AKM/AK74 bayonets & RG34s as well.
 
fill the matrix?

Nice collection Mike .... What are you going to collect after you have fill your spreadsheet?

Aside from the obvious issue of actually finding an example of every maker and year, variations within each 'frame' are virtually endless, and it seems as if new ones are still being discovered. Wood grips, composite grips, bolts, rivets, double dates, unusual maker marks, alternate proofs and proof locations, capital letter blocks, lower case letter blocks, script letter blocks, skipped letter blocks, 4 digits, 5 digits, the list goes beyond my capacity to find or comprehend them. And I haven't even mentioned upgrades.

You are as aware of the number of variations as anyone.

Collecting k98 bayonets reminds me of surfing the internet. I am not sure you could ever find the end.
 
Aside from the obvious issue of actually finding an example of every maker and year, variations within each 'frame' are virtually endless, and it seems as if new ones are still being discovered. Wood grips, composite grips, bolts, rivets, double dates, unusual maker marks, alternate proofs and proof locations, capital letter blocks, lower case letter blocks, script letter blocks, skipped letter blocks, 4 digits, 5 digits, the list goes beyond my capacity to find or comprehend them. And I haven't even mentioned upgrades.

You are as aware of the number of variations as anyone.

Collecting k98 bayonets reminds me of surfing the internet. I am not sure you could ever find the end.

Agree with your thoughts. Much of what you mention is a largely why I try and focus on the late war examples specifically (with a few exceptions). But even with a focus on just that window of production the amount of variations/markings/anomalies is amazing. Your internet analogy is spot-on .....

I wasn't really trying to be a smart a$$. Merely curious if you were trying to fill each maker/year frame or concentrating on the myriad of variations as well. Thanks
 
Arrangement

I follow the same basic plan so far as early production to late: number codes lowest to highest, then manufacturer firm name marked examples in alphabetic order, and finally all the alpha codes (also in alphabetic order).

Interesting. It sounds as if you have them grouped as three different populations, S codes, named, and maker codes. I did not consider that possibility. I try to arrange mine close to the layout of the matrix that I keep. The way I arrange them however, does not allow for any kind of alphabetical organization.

The owner of the k98.free.fr website uses a similar structure as you have described. It is easier to navigate than mine, for sure.
 
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Variations

Merely curious if you were trying to fill each maker/year frame or concentrating on the myriad of variations as well. Thanks

Like you, some variations intrigue me. When I see or hear 41crs, my ears perk up.

If I were to complete the matrix, I would continue to add to the myriad of variants.
 

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