Terry,
I think I'm wondering the same thing that you are. I have never seen a late trademarked Eickhorn bayonet that was etched myself. But I�m not a specialist collector either, and could have very easily have missed recognizing one for what it was. It they don�t exist, then I think that there is a fair chance that even though the etched Eickhorns we have seen use the 1935 to 1941 trademark, that does not mean that they were made for all of those years. And with that kind of scenario there could be an earlier cutoff date somewhere in-between those two dates.
As another part of the �timeline� puzzle something else that occurred to me is that senior grade NCO�s from the German Army and Luftwaffe would not have carried dress bayonets because they were entitled (because of their rank) to carry officer�s model swords. Nor would have junior grade NCO�s and EM Luftwaffe personnel who had flight status. The corresponding government issue dress weapons for the Luftwaffe are not dated, but the officer�s model swords for the senior grade German Army NCO�s have dates. The last date that comes to mind for them is 1938. Which suggests to me a de-emphasis for dress weapons at least as far as the Army was concerned because the Army was not shrinking but rapidly growing larger.
PS: How would you describe the finish on the bayonet that you posted?
Regards, FP
