WWII German Army dress bayonet -
The German Army was made part of the Wehrmacht in May 1935 with the passing of the "Law for the Reconstruction of
the National Defence Forces". Between 1935 and 1945 this force grew to consist of hundreds of divisions and thousands
of smaller supporting units. Between 1939 and 1945 close to 16 million served in the Army.
The design of the dress bayonet is very similar to its counterpart, the
combat bayonet . Of dove head pommel type. Black
plastic handles secured by two silver, metal rivets. Black painted scabbard. Complete with a leather frog
and portapee.
The blade is chromed and unsharpened. A blood groove covers most of its length.
The rifle lug nut groove has a green felt insert. This decorative piece indicated the type of service rendered
by the soldier. green is for infantry. Since the bayonet was not going to be attached to the rifle the felt
piece was kept in place at all times.
This page is a recognition and identification guide for German bayonets. Multiple
detailed photos of a specific sample are provided. Descriptions point out specific
points that should be noted.
One of the most commonly asked questions is "How much is my German bayonet worth?".
A price guide is included here to address this question. The value of the Nazi bayonets is
reviewed over a period of several years. A trend can be observed. The present worth
of the police sword in the collector's market is illustrated.
This service is provided free of charge to the visitor/enthusiast courtesy of
MilitaryItems.com,
a company dedicated
to the preservation of military history and to providing quality military antiques and
collectibles to museums, institutions and the general public.
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The portapee is of very high quality construction. The ball is of silver color. Tightly wooven. The ribbon
has silver, red and black threads combined with a leather base. The neck of the ball has a very nicely done
web pattern.
The bottom of the ball reveals the multi-colored pattern reflected in the ribbon.
The bayonet was manufactured by the E. Pack 7 Sohne company of Solingen. The logo was stamped at the base of the
blade. This is an earlier style logo, indicating that the bayonet was made in teh 1930's. The words
siegfried Waffen are written atop the logo.
The leather gasket can be seen at the base of the blade, This piece allowed the blade to be better seated when
placed inside the scabbard.
This photo shows a closeup view of how the portapee was attached to the leather frog. A closer view of the
flat metal rivet can also be seen.
The tightly placed checkered pattern of the plastic handle is also very visible in this view.
Many German edge weapons are currently
reproduced.
It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because
the quality of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with
the construction style and materials employed in the manufacturing of this item.
Attention to the details is critical in order to be able to determine the authenticity of
the collectible.
If you have an interest is seeing other edge weapons of the Third Reich, you can do so by going
to our
WWII German daggers and Swords
identification guide, Where we cover blades from the Heer (Army), Navy (Kriegsmarine), Air Force
(Luftwaffe) and other organizations.
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