Purported to be a SG1884/98 German WWI sawback bayonet. Unfortunately, there's no scabbard with it. Any idea of a fair market value? The picture without the scabbard is the actual item I'm considering.
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Purported to be a SG1884/98 German WWI sawback bayonet. Unfortunately, there's no scabbard with it. Any idea of a fair market value? The picture without the scabbard is the actual item I'm considering.
Yes, those are really hard to find. I'm not sure they're rare but they are hard to find. You can find a number on Ebay but hard to say if the US bucks ($157.50USD) transfer to same value here... And, it's being bid on. You're making an offer to an individual? Start low and stay down or you'll overpay. You either get it or you don't.
German WWI Mauser Sawback Bayonet S. 84/98 GEBR. HELLER . | eBay
It's at $305 now.
They are rare enough I don't have one and don't plan on getting one anytime soon. Any German sawback is minimum $200 and count yourself lucky if you get it for that. I actually found an ersatz WWI butcher bayonet at a yard sale for $75 but that was a fluke.
Waiting to see what it closes at...Quote:
Originally Posted by Aragorn243
I would think without a scabbard, it's pretty close to max but you never know. Buy it now options with a scabbard exist for just a little above that.
But the manufacturer does play a part in these, it's not like it's just a generic bayonet. Serious collectors (which I'm not) want one of every manufacturer and some are rarer than others.
Thank you all for your input. It was in a local estate auction and I bid on it and won. Among the lot is a very nice WWI British military compass and a run-of-the-mill Pat.'07 bayonet, also without a scabbard and missing the locking mechanism in the pommel. I'll know more when I pick the items up. Here's a pic of the entire lot.
That little butcher knife at bottom is a nice catch too, they're excellent steel and they accompanied the wagon trains to settlement. I built two from kits I bought out of an estate and they're sharp and fine blades.
OK, I won the lot. The sawback bayonet is in good shape but no unit stamps and the manufacturers name is almost totally gone. I assume it was not deeply stamped to begin with. There is what looks like an "O" as the first letter and the last 4 are "weRK" as I quoted, with the "we" being smaller font than the "RK". Though the Lee Enfield bayonet is a somewhat sorry state Sanderson, it has two interesting stamps that I've not encountered before. On the pommel, it has a capital with a broad arrow (see pic) and on the guard is "D2D". I don't know if I should ask about that in the Lee Enfield forum. Any input would be most welcome.
The Broad Arrow inside a "D" is the early Australian ownership stamp. It preceded the D->D.Quote:
Originally Posted by lawrence_n
Thank you! It's a shame that the bayonet is in such a sad state. No locking mechanism, and some moron tried to put an edge on it, probably with a grinder.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sapper740
The phrase "illigitimus non carborundum" comes to mind! Actually, the Brits used hand powered grinders, at least in the field, to sharpen their edged weapons which probably never hit 1,800 rpm (1.500 rpm?) Did the Brits have 50 Hertz during the war? Anyway, the slow speed of the hand powered grinder probably made it easier to avoid over-grinding.Quote:
Originally Posted by lawrence_n
Okay, I put the bayonet up for discussion on an military blades forum. I'm now informed that it's an Sg14 as the blade is 310 mm. I'm told that if it was the S84/98 it would have a 250 mm. blade. My question is would the Sg14 be more common or more scarce? What gives the increased likelihood of it being an Sg14 is that would fit with what remains of the makers stamp, "Samsonwerk".