Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice GEW 1898 Nickel plated parade bayonet, which originally had a long 21 inch blade. To make it more manageable during parades, at some point the blade was shortened to 13 1/2 inches, and the steel fitted leather scabbard was shortened to match. The blade was original a “pipe” or “quill” back type, and the reverse ricasso is stamped with the WKC “Knights Head” logo used by Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Co during the Imperial era.
The hilt is the standard style, nickel plated steel, and the nickel plating is at about 60%. The grip pommel does have the mortise joint for attachment to a rifle, and was originally functional, but the lock is currently rust frozen.
The grip plates are fully checkered wood of very high quality, and are retained by rivets with spanner nuts. The right scale does have a crack clear through the grip at the upper rivet.
The scabbard is of fine leather that has been decorated with the usual pattern of twin lines. The stitching in the rear of the scabbard is still intact, with no seam splitting we can see. The upper and lower scabbard mounts are nickel-plated and have scalloped edges. The lower mount is retained by staples on both sides, while the upper mount has but one.
Very nice and ready to display!