trajan Posted 5 August , 2012 Share Posted 5 August , 2012 I have been looking for one of these for ages to help complete my Turkish bayonet collection and finally I hit gold today! OK, so I paid more than I would have wanted to but I managed to get it down from the original price by 20%. The scabbard is stiff, has a bend mark and a split seam towards the chape, and it has also shrunk by 1 cm., but I'm happy with that, not the least because the bayonet itself is in excellent nick! Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 5 August , 2012 Share Posted 5 August , 2012 Well done Trajan - and surprisingly the condition is really not that bad for Turkey.!! (Just make sure you don't mention what you had to pay for it.!) Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 5 August , 2012 Author Share Posted 5 August , 2012 ...surprisingly the condition is really not that bad for Turkey.!! (Just make sure you don't mention what you had to pay for it.!) ... Thanks S>S - this is only the second one I have seen over here and by Turkish standards it is in tip-top condition! As for cost, well, given its condition and a scabbard to boot, I got it for below the going rate on UK / USA e-bay and various militaria sites as monitored over the past year, but even so, I will have to be slightly economical with the truth with the other half when she gets round to asking... Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 5 August , 2012 Share Posted 5 August , 2012 ... this is only the second one I have seen over here and by Turkish standards it is in tip-top condition! As for cost, well, given its condition and a scabbard to boot, I got it for below the going rate on UK / USA e-bay and various militaria sites as monitored over the past year, but even so, I will have to be slightly economical with the truth with the other half when she gets round to asking... Then perhaps I shouldn't mention that the WKC made M1903 versions are currently the most commonly seen markings on Turkish bayonets according to my survey ... But of some consolation is that includes the cut-down 'turked' versions as well - the uncut bayonets are certainly less common than that - but still they are running at 21%. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 5 August , 2012 Share Posted 5 August , 2012 Nice work Trajan - very nice bayonet. Was this from the antiques market that you visit on a regular basis? J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 5 August , 2012 Author Share Posted 5 August , 2012 Thanks Jscott - Yes, this was at the monthly antika pazar. Having explained the markings to the vendor I was then able to get down to business! As mentioned earlier, I have only ever seen two of these for sale in Turkey (well, three, if you include one with a snapped blade) in the year or so I have been seriously collecting, and so I was VERY glad to get this. All that's needed now for the pre-WWI Turkish collection is a regular 1874 Peabody yataghan to go with my two shortened versions. Incidentally, apropos S>S above, I have never yet seen a shortened 1903 here - and only one shortened ersatz for that matter! All the "1930's" style shortened Turked bayonets seem to have left the country... By contrast examples of the regular Gras, Lebel, W/fabrik Mauser 98-05's and the more common ersatz types turn up reasonably often... Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscott Posted 5 August , 2012 Share Posted 5 August , 2012 Well good work and Im glad you finally found it. I posted my 1903 a while back but its sadly lacking a scabbard - so you've done very well to find yours in such good condition. Such an aesthetically pleasing bayonet too. As an aside - is there a particular reason you are focusing on pre-WW1 Turkish bayonets? And is the 1874 peabody a tough one to source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 6 August , 2012 Author Share Posted 6 August , 2012 ...I posted my 1903 a while back ... Such an aesthetically pleasing bayonet too. ... is there a particular reason you are focusing on pre-WW1 Turkish bayonets? And is the 1874 peabody a tough one to source? Yes, I remember yours - also a Weyesburg if I recall? And yes, they are nice looking pieces! As for focussing on Turkish pre WW1 bayonets, well, my main aim - like many others - is to get a representative collection of all those used in WW1, but I thought it would be nice to get the full series of Turkish and UK ones as well. Bayonet availability here is a bit of a joke, though. So, for example, I have seen a fair few regular Peabody 1874's on international e-bay and the like, but I have yet to see one on sale over here - neither the local e-bay or the market. As I indicated earlier, it is clearly a lot easier to get most Turkish bayonet types from the EU, UK or USA than it is to find them here, but under Turkish Customs law it is illegal to import 'knives, including camping knives' and so also bayonets, and so I have to source my collection entirely locally... Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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