Can anyone tell me anything about this bayonet?

[netexasemt]

Can anyone please tell me anything about this bayonet? I cannot find any name stamp or marking, the only markings I can find at all are on the end of the handle and they appear to be hand stamped one number at a time as they are not perfectly aligned and spaced. The number is 021378. I assume thats the serial number but why no other markings? The blade length is approximately 15 1/8" and the overall length of the bayonet not in the sheath is approximately 20 1/4". Thanks in advance.

[jack404]

looks to be a early lee enfield , i may be wrong as i am no expert on bayonets

No. 1 MkIII "SMLE"Short Magazine" version of 1907 pattern is my guess

[netexasemt]

Thank you Jack, I'll look into it and see if I can find an approximate value. Need to know for the insurance company, I don't plan on parting with it. Thank you again.

[jack404]

http://www.skennerton.com/edgedweapons.html

contact Ian , send him a email with the pics from here or a link and ask if he'll confirm what it is for you , he's a very nice bloke and i'm sure he'll do so ..

but your looking at $250-$300 as a basic price and it goes up from there

if its a US remington made one add another $200

the scabard is the thing of interest to me , it has the ball end and somewhere i have read they are rare and special but forget why , i'm not a expert just something somewhere if i remember right stated this so value may be way up on what i have stated or i may be totally wrong but do mention that to whom ever you consult

cheers

[jack404]

just went out to the box to pull my flat ended bayonet out to show you what i mean and found my KRAG bayonet too now its very similar and was copied from the 1882 pattern ( almost the same as the 1907 LE bayonet) and it does have a ball end on its metal sheath

so do get it checked as they are both very similar

pics of both in a while ...

[jack404]

ok suss out this site http://www.kragcollectorsassociation.org/kca/photos.htm

and then take a look at this pic

[netexasemt]

Sounds interesting, now I'm getting more excited to see what this bayonet is. From just searching, the SMLE P1907 appears to fit but you're exactly right about the sheath, not finding any with the ball end. Thank You again Jack.

[netexasemt]

Thats a nice bayonet you have. When was it made?

[jack404]

i', pretty sure itsa LE one because of the handle and the angle the metal meets the wood at , but i am not a expert on bayonets .. there where quite a few Krag variants many copied from the early LE's , the ball end on the scabbard makes me question this as i read the LE ball ends where very very rare indeed ( forget why ) ..

it'll need a expert or someone better than me to say exactly but either way , no less than a few hundred eh ..

this one i think ( i did the research myself so may be wrong ) in 1899..

[netexasemt]

That's very nice for something over 100 years old.

The one I have was purchased by my father several years ago and I have always liked it, he promised he would leave it to me when he passed. My grandfather, (father's father) passed on my birthday 2 years ago. I excitedly answered the phone when I saw it was dad's number because he always sings me happy birthday in a Donald Duck voice, has forever, but instead I got the bad news. That day my dad gave me my grandfather's wristwatch which he always wore which had just been given to him by my grandmother. Last year he gave me this bayonet on the actual day of my birthday. I have chosen not to celebrate my birthday on it's original day anymore as I cannot find a way to be happy on such a day.

[jack404]

I traded for the rifle and this came with it from a gent in victoria ( southern state here) not that long ago , a 30-40 Krag that i've , with help from the forum members , now has had 200+ rounds through , and i've another 900 rounds loaded and a waiting .. its a classic early battle rifle , i'm slowly getting at least one of each of the classics , and if needed , they'll all do the job ..

My grandfather was the man who gave me the greatest gift , a love for God, guns and freedom , if i end up half the bloke he was , i'm doing mighty fine .. sorry for your loss eh .. and what a hit , i have no words mate , only prayers .. cheers eh

[netexasemt]

Thank you Jack. I'm working on sending an email to Ian Skennerton now.

[stede]

Tex, I don't wanna rain on your parade but your bayonet is a Belgian made export model for the Mauser rifle.
After WWI Belgium got the machinery to make Mausers as a war reparation from Germany, and they made them to contract for anyone willing to pay. South America and the Middle East were big markets; but they were competing with the Czechs who also got the tooling to make Mauser rifles and ended up pretty well dominating the market because of lower labor costs at the Brno factory.
Your bayonet is an FN (Fabrique Nationale) long model. They are not particularly rare but yours in in better condition than usual...
It would fetch $60-80 on eBay or perhaps a bit more from someone needing to add it to a period FN Mauser.
Best, Steve in Colorado

[jack404]

Stede after seeing this and looking at some at a online museum gotta think your right eh ! Cheers to ya !



one on ebay for $119

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mauser-FN-19...b#ht_500wt_962

[netexasemt]

That's what I came here for. Thank you Stede for the information. I like it and it's not going anywhere, I'll give the ins. company the approximate valuation after finding a few for sale online. Thanks again Jack. You've both been a big help.