Help me to identify an old bayonet.

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
15,395

:
A friend of mine found an old bayonet.The bade has been cut off. It has markings of -- c s z -- with a N centered below.The blade is 29/32" wide and not quite 7/32" thick.The fuller is about 1/2 the width of the blade and was perhaps 6" long.
What makes it unusuall to me is the edge is upside down to most.If it was a regular knife the edge would be on the top when holding the handle The hole for the rifle barrel is on the same side as the edge. I know it isn't real clear,but can anyone help identify this?? Thanks.:-)


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in ....;) hehehe.

 
A couple years back a lot of turkish mauser bayonets (what they were selling then as) were around the gun shows with the edge as you describe. I recall seeing some that were shortened. You might want to start looking in that area.
 
I could probably identify it for you; but unfortunately I will not have access to my library for a few days.

Usually, when we try to identify a bayonet we begin with the blade. Bayonets have only been in use for about 300 years but there are very definite trends with respect to blade length and style. Unfortunately, it sounds like your bayonet blade has been extensively altered. Since the markings are also unclear it would help if you tell a little about the hilt. (a picture here would be worth a thousand words)

1) Is it brass, aluminum, leather, or wood?
2) How is it decorated (finished) is the wood or leather checkered? Is the brass groved, or ridged?
3) What is the diameter of the barrel ring (inside) assuming it has one?
4) Is the latch spring visible (as in a flat spring on the side of the hilt), or hidden as would be with a coil spring?

Let me know and I'll get back to you this week end.
 
:
The handle is steel with wood inserts.The pommel is put on with steel pins it appears.The wood is put on with 2 screws that have the screwdriver slots in the nut.

The latch is missing,but it alos appears to have been a coil spring type by the way the holes are counterbored.
The hole for the barrel is right at
0.600".It measures 0.625" one way.
There is an interesting small rectangular hole just above the hilt.
It is about 1/8" X 1/16" nd goes all the way through.

What kind of throws me is the position of the blade when you are holding the handle in a hammer grip.
The edge is up and I was reading somewhere about some combat knives.A comment was made about a similar knife and that the Marine Corp was taught to hold a knife like that for combat.
Thanks for all the help.
smile.gif


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in ....;) hehehe.

 
YVSA,

The rectangular hole is there to permit lubrication of the latch mechanism. I don't have alot of information to go on but if I were to make a wild guess I would suggest that you are holding a version of the Czechoslovakian VZ 24 Bayonet. These were manufactured around the end of WWI and used by a number of smaller European nations and by some of the countries in Latin America.

The bayonet was most probably issued with the model 1895 Mannlicher rifle.

You should be able to pull up some pictures on the web. Let me know if we are getting warm.
 
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