denny gaither
Moderator - RIP
Here is another example of a reworked, reissued 98/05 bayonet to go along with Bill's RLM piece. This is a Weimar Police rework with sawback removed.
Per the Treaty of Versailles, the crossguard is dated 1920 on the obverse, denoting inspection by the Allied Commission. All 98/05 bayonets began life with a polished finish, but when these were reworked during the Weimar period, most but not all, had their metal parts blued. When this bayonet was issued to the Police, the reverse of the crossguard was stamped S.Fr.I.231.4. I believe this denotes "Schutzpolizei Frankfurt, Abschnitt (duty station) 1, weapon 231 (not sure what the .4 means).
The obverse ricasso bears the distributor's mark "L.O. Dietrich, Altenburg". Reverse ricasso bears the manufacturer's mark "Gebr. Hartkopf, Solingen". Also, the obverse ricasso bears the number K516 which is also stamped on the lip of the scabbard throat. The side of the scabbard was originally stamped with the same number but was overstamped with 231. As is usual with these reworks, the press stud and the grip screws have been slotted for a screwdriver. Unaltered 98/05's will not be slotted. This "rough out" frog is original to the bayonet, but I couldn't resist putting a white Police parade frog on it. I'll try to take a few pictures of the white one tomorrow.
Per the Treaty of Versailles, the crossguard is dated 1920 on the obverse, denoting inspection by the Allied Commission. All 98/05 bayonets began life with a polished finish, but when these were reworked during the Weimar period, most but not all, had their metal parts blued. When this bayonet was issued to the Police, the reverse of the crossguard was stamped S.Fr.I.231.4. I believe this denotes "Schutzpolizei Frankfurt, Abschnitt (duty station) 1, weapon 231 (not sure what the .4 means).
The obverse ricasso bears the distributor's mark "L.O. Dietrich, Altenburg". Reverse ricasso bears the manufacturer's mark "Gebr. Hartkopf, Solingen". Also, the obverse ricasso bears the number K516 which is also stamped on the lip of the scabbard throat. The side of the scabbard was originally stamped with the same number but was overstamped with 231. As is usual with these reworks, the press stud and the grip screws have been slotted for a screwdriver. Unaltered 98/05's will not be slotted. This "rough out" frog is original to the bayonet, but I couldn't resist putting a white Police parade frog on it. I'll try to take a few pictures of the white one tomorrow.
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