Possible Austrian Bayonet - Need Help

[1SGTPrez]

Hello Everyone!

New guy here. I was trying to research about the origins of this bayonet I received from my father. He said he had found it in a garbage can in New York City. I believe it is Austrian made as it bears the OE over the WG. I'm not very sure what the symbol is or what exact type of bayonet it is. I appreciate any help. Hopefully I post the pics up correctly.

[4thGordons]

Looks like an Austrian made M1895 bayonet to me but there are other similar variants.

Experts will be alomg shortly to confirm or deny.

Chris

EDIT

THIS SITE MIGHT HELP

[Garron]

It was made in Austria (denoted by OE over WG) but used by the Czechs, the circular marking in the 1st picture is a known Czech stamp. I can't remember what it stands for but I think its a post war stamp.

Gaz

[Richie B]

Definitely looks like an M1895 as the cutting edge faces upwards when fixed on a rifle.

The markings are Czech - S/Lion/2 indicates the division based at Plzen/Pilsen.

The "18" may well be the date which would make it from very early in the history of Czechoslovakia.

The serial numbers on the cross-guard are probably even later - Bulgarian I think.

A well travelled bayonet !

[1SGTPrez]

Thank you guys so much. I knew it was Austrian made and I thought it was Czech used, based on the many sites I looked at this morning. And to think, someone threw this out in the 80's!

Definitely looks like an M1895 as the cutting edge faces upwards when fixed on a rifle.

The markings are Czech - S/Lion/2 indicates the division based at Plzen/Pilsen.

The "18" may well be the date which would make it from very early in the history of Czechoslovakia.

The serial numbers on the cross-guard are probably even later - Bulgarian I think.

A well travelled bayonet !

That's a lion? But interesting. I guess it was well traveled after all. Now, I just wonder who it belonged to......ahh the history in artifacts we find.

On another note.......my grandfather had passed away a couple of weeks ago and he has a lot of WWII items he has never shown anyone. Amongst some of the things, my grandmother let me take two Nazi armbands, due to me teaching a unit on the Holocaust.

He also has a pair of German WWI officer binoculars. They are brass from what I remember, a little damage to the eye pieces, but still functions. I will be heading up possibly this weekend or next week to help my grandmother out. She wants my brother (who currently serves) and I to have his memorabilia from the war. I swear his house is a museum and there is so much history and we just keep discovering more. I have pictures of the armbands if you guys want to see them- one is from a POW camp he liberated.....interesting story with what I found......very interesting.

[shippingsteel]

It was made in Austria (denoted by OE over WG) but used by the Czechs, the circular marking in the 1st picture is a known Czech stamp. I can't remember what it stands for but I think its a post war stamp.

The symbol shown on the ricasso is commonly referred to as the 'Yin & Yang' marking but from the Old-Smithy website it states the "mark is actually the mark for (ZP in circle for) Zbrojovka Praga" - a Czech maker "located in Prague, they reworked blades in the period 1920 to 21 using bayonets from other companies."

The bayonet was originally made by OEWG in Austria, and the thick heavy rivets together with the serial numbers stamped on blade and crossguard are all indications of postwar reworking and use by other countries. Czechoslovakia would obviously have been one of these initially, but it could have seen further use elsewhere later on. I think the MRD (ring measurements) may be helpful to establish exactly where.?

Cheers, S>S

[1SGTPrez]

Thanks shippingsteel. Very helpful!

[1SGTPrez]

So before I had found this forum, I had found this guy and emailed him. This was his response:

Hi Nick,

Your bayonet is an Austrian M1895, for use with the 8 mm. Austrian Mannlicher M1895 rifles and carbines. This example was manufactured by Steyr in Austria, and reworked in Czechoslovakia following the First World War.

The manufacturer’s mark are the initials “OE” over “WG”, which identifies the firm Oesterreichsche Waffenfabrik-Gesellschaft (in English, Austrian State Weapons Manufacturing Company). This firm is still in business today, known by the tradename, Steyr, after the city in which the firm is located.

The figural marking on the opposite ricasso is the intertwined letters ZP in a circle. This identfies Zbrojovka Praga (Prague Armory). Established in 1918, Zbrojovka Praga was the first of several factories that went on to comprise the famous Czech Brno arms production organization that is still making firearms today. Before beginning domestic arms production in 1922, the Czech factories reworked Austrian Mannlicher rifles and bayonets. Your bayonet would have been one of their reworks, likely done in the 1919-21 period.

Perhaps it is just the angle of view, but the scabbard may actually be for the Austrian M1888 bayonet. If the scabbard seems to be wider than necessary for the M1895 blade, it is a M1888 scabbard.

<br clear="all">Best Regards,

Ralph E. Cobb

www.worldbayonets.com

98k Bayonet Collector's Network (BCN) Member

NRA Life Endowment Member

C & R 03 FFL

[shippingsteel]

He's a good man with a very useful website for collectors - it was good of him to offer his time to help.

PS. Interesting that the ZP factory was the forebear of the Brno firm. I just love shooting Brno rifles, still my favourite weapon after many years of use.

Cheers, S>S

[trajan]

Perhaps it is just the angle of view, but the scabbard may actually be for the Austrian M1888 bayonet. If the scabbard seems to be wider than necessary for the M1895 blade, it is a M1888 scabbard.

<br clear="all">Best Regards, Ralph E. Cobb

www.worldbayonets.com [/quote]

Well, you now have the facts on your bayonet - my only addition being that I had been led to believe that the large rivets and the serial number split between them was an indication of a Bulgarian rework! But, if this has the 'ying-yang', then yes, more likely a Czech rework.

Did you check the scabbard fitting as suggested by Cobb as in the quote above? Are there any marks on the scabbard? E.g., is there an 'S' followed by a lion, followed by a number? Or an 'OE/WG'?

Trajan