Original German WWII Luftwaffe Single Etched Short Dress 98K Bayonet by Carl Eickhorn Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a WWII Luftwaffe Short Dress 98k Bayonet, produced by the legendary Solingen-based firm Carl Eickhorn between 1935 and 1941. The K98k dress bayonet was a dress version of the Combat style, and was worn by enlisted and NCO personnel. The bayonet was finished with a high-quality nickel plating, black checkered Bakelite or genuine stag grip plates and black painted scabbard. The choice of blade length was left to the purchaser, being nickel-plated short or long version. There was usually a red or green colored felt insert in the rifle slot and the bayonet was suspended from a black or brown leather frog.

Enlisted or NCO personnel were permitted to purchase K-98 dress bayonets with fancy etched blades. These etchings run the gamut from simple designs featuring the standard remembrance, Zur Erinnerung an meine Dienstzeit (In Memory of My Service Time), to very fancy, custom etched depictions, citing the individual’s regiment, unit, and sometimes even his name. Many blade factories offered unique etch patterns. The etch work was often state of the art.

This very nice German Etched Dress Bayonet by Carl Eickhorn measures 13.5″ (345 mm) with the scabbard on, with a 7 3/4″ (200 mm) nickel-plated steel blade. The blade is magnetic, with standard unsharpened edges, and remains bright and crisp. It is fully etched on the observe side, with Zur Erinnerung an meine Dienstzeit (In Memory of my Service Period) in Black Letter type on a banner in the middle of the blade. It is flanked by an Air Force (Luftwaffe) eagle insignia inside an oak leaf wreath on the left and a flying airplane amidst clouds flying over a small town on the right. The blade has full length narrow fullers on both sides.

The reverse ricasso has the stamped Carl Eickhorn 1935-41 style trademark logo. It features the trademark squirrel looking to the viewer’s left, holding a downward pointing sword. Above the animal is the quality word, ORIGINAL, and below is the company name and location, EICKHORN / SOLINGEN.  Carl Eickhorn is a legendary maker from Solingen, the famous “City of Blades” in Western Germany, which marketed many fine edged weapons.

The blade exhibits very minor surface wear and contact marks, common to extraction and return to the scabbard. Otherwise the nickel plate is unmarred. The blade is a slightly loose in the crossguard.

Thick black finished leather washer remains supple and is intact. Crossguard with quillon and pommel exhibit light contact and plating wear, while both plates of the black bakelite grip are firmly held in place by two steel rivets, dressed on the opposite side. The black enameled steel scabbard is in very good shape, with just some light enamel chipping. The leather frog is in similar condition, with a great patent leather look. There is a bit of finish flaking, but nothing major.

A very nice example of a Luftwaffe Dress bayonet by a legendary maker, complete with scabbard and frog. Ready to display!