mauser '98 'butcher blade' bayonet

[corc517]

one ?, will athis bayonet fit on a kar98k??

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[old-smithy]

yes it will it was designed for it

[gew8805]

I think that Carl means that the Sg98/05 will fit on the Kar98k but it is nowhere near the appropriate bayonet for that rifle. The so called Butcher Blade bayonet (the Sg98/05) was first issued in German service to Engineers and Artillery in 1906 and after the beginning of WW1 it became standard issue for Infantry as well. Manufacture of the 98/05 ceased in 1918 but it's issue in Germany continued through the early 1930s when it was finally completely replaced by the Sg84/98 bayonet, first on limited issue in Germany shortly before WW1, on through to the end of WW2 in 1945.

The various patterns of the 98 Mauser rifles in German service (and many others) used the identical bayonet lug so the 98/05 bayonet will fit many rifles, including Czech, Polish, Yugoslavian and some South American, however it is not necessarily the "correct" bayonet for them.

[old-smithy]

I thought they added the flashguard so that the KAR98 short barrel wouldn't burn the grips? or have I got my rifl edesignatiosn all muddled again? the 98 Mauser was the rifle the 98/05 was desinged to fit, along with the S98 and the 98/02 and all those lovely ersatz conversions of the earlier blades, beign a bayoent collector the mounts all look the same to me ;-)

[gew8805]

I thought they added the flashguard so that the KAR98 short barrel wouldn't burn the grips? or have I got my rifl edesignatiosn all muddled again? the 98 Mauser was the rifle the 98/05 was desinged to fit, along with the S98 and the 98/02 and all those lovely ersatz conversions of the earlier blades, beign a bayoent collector the mounts all look the same to me ;-)

You are correct, the flashguards were placed on the Sg98/05, the Sg84/98, and some Sg98 and - I believe? - some Sg98/02 so they could be used on the Kar98a, not the Kar98k the OP was asking about. The muzzle/bayonet relationship on the 98k was the same as the Gew98, so when used on the 98k the guard was not necessary for it's original purpose but with the Kar98a the bayonet lug came almost all of the way to the muzzle and the muzzle flash was severely damaging the wooden grips, thus the need for the flashguard.

Though the Kar98a did not remain in front line service through WW2, German bayonets continued having the flashguard until 1945. They probably felt that it protected the grips from damage other than the just muzzle flash and it does. (Soldiers as well as others are famous for using bayonet/ and knife handles for hammers, for example.)

[old-smithy]

got it (i think) the A is the short Carbine the K is the WWII one, My Bad, really must study the rifles one day

[gew8805]

No, you are thinking of the true, Kar98, a short lived carbine designed to replace the Kar88 and of about the same size concerning barrel length. It was decided that barrel was too short. The Kar98 was produced from 1898 - 1905 when it was replaced by the longer Kar98a. The Kar98 is extremely rare today with but few examples known to survive. Most went to the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe in Africa and the Deutsches Ostasiatische Expeditionskorps in China where their survival rate was low and most of the ones serving in Europe were sold as surplus or were converted for marksmanship training by the Imperial Army.

The more common Kar98a was the one that I spoke of and is illustrated, you can see how this bayonet attachment could cause damage to the bayonet. Overall, it is close to the same length and size as the very common 98k.