Unusual No4 Pig Sticker Scabbard

[Flying10uk]

Here is my K98 bayonet which I previously mentioned. I purchased this item some years back from a chap who told me that he had purchased it from the son of a British soldier who brought it back at the end of WW2 and that is all I know of it's history. Please feel free to comment on any thoughts which you may have on the reasons for the scabbard being bright plated and which branch of the German armed forces may have used it as such. It came with the leather frog and all that I have done is to clean up the metalwork plus clean/treat the leather.

[Sentryduty]

No much I can say aside from commenting the scabbard had accumulated a lot of knocks and dings for something that at least appears to be a parade finished item.

[Flying10uk]

It was pretty mucky when I got it and I don't think that it had been taken care of for a very long time. It probably spent many years in a box of junk in someone's garden shed until I "rescued" it.

[Sentryduty]

Wikipedia page for Waffenampts does return this:

WaA253 S/175 Carl Eickhorn Baj. Solingen 1936-37

---------- Post added at 12:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 PM ----------

This page has a section on Dress and Ersatz bayonets that does quote references, perhaps it could be useful to you:

http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artikla...8bayonets4.htm

By their definition, a proper dress bayonet could not be mounted to an actual rifle due to the track for the lug being made undersized. So perhaps you have a proper fighting bayonet that someone has decided to polish the scabbard?

[Peter Laidler]

What is definately very refreshing to see in Sentyrduties photo (thread 10) is the fact that the blokes are wearing their berets properly. Cap badge over the centre of the left eye and not over the left ear which you see nowadays - like some peasant farmer in France! A gap between the beret band and the eyes (except Lt or Capt with sword on right end of photo), slack material pulled back and down. Very smart.

[browningautorifle]

except Lt or Capt with sword on right end of photo

He's a Lt. Peter, the Junior Subalturn carries the Regt Color. Senior Sub carries the Queen's...

[Peter Laidler]

Looking a bit more carefully BAR, do the WO 2's, 1's and CQMS's still use the Crown, Coat of Arms and crown/laurel wreath badges we can sort of see?

I used to have a view that there was indeed a time and place for what we called 'shxx order' dress. In the workshop, extreme hot weather, on the ranges and at training/exercise. But in camp generally, it took very little extra effort to look smart and businesslike. Just my view

[browningautorifle]

Yes, the Cheif W.O (RSM)(W1)wore the coat of arms, the Master W.O. seen here(CSM)(W2) wore the crown and laurel and the W.O wore a crown. All down on the sleeve so when you approached UK troops you'd get a salute, and then after compliments had finished, you'd find yourself explaining to the Lance that had just jacked his troops that you were in fact a Staff Sgt...equivalent...

[Peter Laidler]

Off at a tangent again...., so look away now!
Yep, I used to get fooled very often as a Capt BAR! I'd occasionally salute 'Major' out on the field firing ranges after seeing the black epaulette crown buttoned onto his button-up jacket front - only for him to tell me quietly that while he and his blokes appreciated this promotion, he was a WO2! The trouble, and constant grumble for junior Offrs was that a Major and WO2 were both in very similar age brackets so difficult to tell apart while dressed in '....craps' (crap order). Nothing to get too hot under the collar about I'd always say!

[browningautorifle]

Yup, been there...you should have seen what happened when we put our chevrons on our shoulder epaulets back in the '80's...what a joke. Nothing to get hot about, nope.