Bayo for the FIRST Mauser??
I have had this bayo with scabbard for about the last 25 years. In Feb of 2007 I started to collect milsurps. Recently I thought I would try to identify the bayo and the rifle it belonged to. The bayo has a very nice solid brass handle, and scabbard with brass at both ends and leather in between. There are stampings on one part of the leather that say "2812" and "18??". I assume the later is a date, but the last 2 digits are hard to make out. There are a few words stamped on the blade near the "S" shaped Quillon "Gebr Weyersberg Solingen", so I knew it might be German. I recently bought this very thick military weapon "Bible", and found a picture of my bayo and scabbard in the Germany chapter. The book identified it as the bayo for the very first Mauser model 1871 that shot the very first German metallic cartridge (11x60r)!! Pretty cool find huh? I thought those Mauser collector's out there might find this interesting...
