Garron Posted 5 March , 2011 Share Posted 5 March , 2011 Hey Pals, here is my latest purchase, Austrian made 1895 Bayonet It was a bit of an impulse buy on ebay.com, the exchange is pretty good as the moment so it wasn't that expensive. Grand total was around £28 Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrieduncan Posted 5 March , 2011 Share Posted 5 March , 2011 Am I looking at this wrong or is the 'cutting edge' on the same side as the muzzle-ring? If so, was that normal? Most bayonets I've seen had the cutting edge on the other side, i.e. the side closer to the ground. I'm not clued up on bayonets, so would welcome some input on the reason for the way the blade sits on this example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garron Posted 5 March , 2011 Author Share Posted 5 March , 2011 Well spotted mate, yeah the cutting side is the opposite to the majority on these bayonets, the reason why I dont know. Not sure of any others like it either. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrieduncan Posted 5 March , 2011 Share Posted 5 March , 2011 Cheers Gaz, wasn't sure if that was something particular to this model, or if there was any reason if some were produced 'edge-down'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 5 March , 2011 Share Posted 5 March , 2011 Gaz, as you've noted you have yourself a M95 bayonet. This model was probably the bayonet most widely used by European armies during the Great War. They were made to attach to the M1895 Mannlicher rifle and were unusual in that they used the cutting edge up design, see link HERE showing how they looked on the rifle. As indicated, your example was made by OEWG in the town of Steyr, and the Imperial eagle stamp on the ricasso shows it was issued to the Austrian army. This particular company in Austria made bayonets on contract for many different countries, before during and after the war. They are a very common maker. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garron Posted 6 March , 2011 Author Share Posted 6 March , 2011 Thanks S>S Shame there no dated of manufacture on them. It was bought as my Austrian example, thought it wasn't listed as such just M1895 Bayonet no reference to which conflict as I believe they were used in WW2 too. Took a stab in the dark (pardon the pun) and it turned out OK for me. It covers quite a few countries so I'm happy, don't really want to double up if I can help it. I don't intend to specialise in any particular country or type of bayonet just a general collection is my aim. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 6 March , 2011 Share Posted 6 March , 2011 No dates on them, but if it has the double-headed eagle stamped on the ricasso, then it is definitely pre-WW2. I believe that mark stopped being used as the Austrian state ownership symbol sometime around 1938. Being made by OEWG and having the eagle stamp, I think there could be a fair chance it is of WW1 vintage. Also the sharpening on the blade may mean it has seen some frontline use, although many of these have been reworked over the years. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militariaone Posted 6 March , 2011 Share Posted 6 March , 2011 I too never understood the flipped/reversed cutting edge with the 1895 Model Bayonets. The 1886, 1888, and 1890 Models (Essentially the same bayonet design) possess a normal blade's edge orientation (Edge facing down). I still wonder what the designer's intent was and why the change. Below are my NCO Variants, I thought you might like to see 'em. A great website for these bayonets too. http://www.old-smithy.info/bayonets/Austrian%201895.htm Regards, Lance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 6 March , 2011 Share Posted 6 March , 2011 I do not profess to have any great knowledge of foreign bayonets, but certainly some Czech bayonets also had the blade with edge uppermost. I was always led to understand this was for use as "in and up" to increase lethality. Regards tonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garron Posted 6 March , 2011 Author Share Posted 6 March , 2011 I had heard of the 'in and up' idea too Tony, whether it increased the lethality I don't know. Very nice Lance, mine doesn't have a scabbard sadly, one of the reasons it was cheaper than other examples. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 13 May , 2011 Share Posted 13 May , 2011 Gaz, I hope you don't mind me piggy-backing this onto your thread but it seemed to be the appropriate place to post it.! I recently picked up this M1895 bayonet made by OEWG. It is the NCO version similar to the nice ones posted above by Lance. It looks to be quite an early type going on the very small rivets in the crossguard, and the overall excellent fit of the components and grip quality, etc. This bayonet appealed to me due to its relatively clean condition, but also for its beautiful aged patina which I think just adds even more to its character. As usual hard to say for sure, but it just looks to me as though it may have been a prewar manufacture, showing that slight hint of quality workmanship. Of course all this extra attention to detail went out the window when the war began, in the frantic rush to equip armies using ever greater mass production. Does anyone know of any extra clues that could assist in more accurately dating this particular NCO version of the M1895 bayonet.? Any ideas would be great. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawdoc34 Posted 19 April , 2013 Share Posted 19 April , 2013 Hello chaps, here are a couple of new M1895s that have joined the collection,my 1st walking out version (without mortice) & cavalry version should clean up nicely with a little oil/wire wool (when get the time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free1954 Posted 24 April , 2013 Share Posted 24 April , 2013 I do not profess to have any great knowledge of foreign bayonets, but certainly some Czech bayonets also had the blade with edge uppermost. I was always led to understand this was for use as "in and up" to increase lethality. Regards tonyE would you happen to know sir what rifle those czech bayonets fit? i bought a bayonet that i thought was for a m95 but it don't fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 24 April , 2013 Share Posted 24 April , 2013 I think some of the VZ 24 rifles (very similar to the German 98K in format but with a straight bolt) had bayonets with the upward cutting edge. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 24 April , 2013 Share Posted 24 April , 2013 Yes while the M95 and VZ24 bayonets are very similar, and both feature the upside cutting edge, they are not interchangeable even with almost the same MRD. The M1895 Mannlicher rifle required more offset in the crossguard (ie. a higher muzzle ring) than the VZ24 rifle which has minimal offset (ie. a very lowset ring) Aleck that 'dress' version of the M1895 is interesting ... its kinda like the olden day "replica toy pistol, plastic, made in China" variety, not even functional - no slot. You can see the crossguard has not even been rivetted - but it is very shiny so no doubt it looked the part. Can you work out that maker stamp on the ricasso.?? Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawdoc34 Posted 25 April , 2013 Share Posted 25 April , 2013 S/S, Its the zeitler croosed swords & hammer but the plating has made them rather faint, here is a standard zeitler M95 from the collection to compare it with- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free1954 Posted 25 April , 2013 Share Posted 25 April , 2013 thanks for the replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Old Prohaska Posted 10 May , 2013 Share Posted 10 May , 2013 I too never understood the flipped/reversed cutting edge with the 1895 Model Bayonets. The 1886, 1888, and 1890 Models (Essentially the same bayonet design) possess a normal blade's edge orientation (Edge facing down). I still wonder what the designer's intent was and why the change. Below are my NCO Variants, I thought you might like to see 'em. A great website for these bayonets too. http://www.old-smithy.info/bayonets/Austrian%201895.htm Regards, Lance The 1886, 1888 and 1890 bayonets were mounted to the side (rather than under) the muzzle, and Austrian bayonet instruction included rotating the rifle 90 degrees when using the bayonet, which turned the blade to the "up" position. The bayonet position was moved to under the muzzle with introduction of M95 rifles and bayonets, but the "blade up" method of bayonet fighting was retained. Cheers, Old Prohaska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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