Gentlemen,

I thought I'd show a new addition to the stable, this one arrived Friday evening & was a stunner right out of the bubblewrap. I would have bought this one even if the condition wasn't as super as it is but when the light hits a super mint blade, it's just a thing of beauty.

Many of us have seen these pieces before, albeit sparingly. The maker, Ernst Scharf, Kober & Co., Frankfurt, is a very uncommon mark. It might even be considered "rare", particularly because Scharf/Kober did not mark many edged weapons. Fisher's Quick Reference lists them as a manufacturer of razor blades. Anthony Carter's maker mark book lists them as a manufacturer of hair cutting machines although Carter mentions that the mark has been observed on a fire bayonet.

In my collecting experience, I can't quibble with Mr. Carter. The only blade I've observed their mark has been 3R Feuerwehr bayonets. And with that said, I'd say they didn't mark many fire bayonets. By my count, I've observed a total of 7 of these pieces in 10 years of looking. Although Scharf/Kober had several maker marks, the one that has appeared on the bayonets has been the oval mark showing a pelican feeding her young at the nest.

As you can see from the picture, the crossguard has a wonderful elongated crossguard, gently sloping out further on either end. This feature is almost exclusively seen on Eickhorn produced pieces. The pommel is also classic Eick. Of the 7 I've seen, I've owned 4 of them. All those were early Eickhorn production showing only the highest quality parts & standards. The fit of everything is exceptional as is the overall weight of the piece. If you've ever held a later production 3R fire bayonet, you know they can be made with really lightweight stuff. These pieces are very well made & you can get spoiled easily handling an early Eick.

For most of us who collect dress bayonets, it doesn't get much better than having a really well conditioned piece by a rare maker. Why are there so few Scharf/Kober pieces? By all accounts, the company was a small cottage company & presumably the contract for fire bayonets was small as well. Scharf/Kober may have subcontracted the job to Eickhorn who certainly produced their share of dress bayonets.

Rare marks marks can bring relatively big bucks, especially in today's market, to so called "type" collectors. But how can you one up a nicely conditioned piece by a rare maker? With a unit mark, that's how. This is a stamping of "BSW 36" on the reverse pommel.

We know many wartime factories had their own fire detachments stationed within the factories, presumably for the purpose of fighting fires either caused in house or as a result of Allied bombings. Helmet collectors can attest to similar findings as occasionally we will find a 3R Feuerwehr helmet adorned with a famous company's logo. Volswagen, BMW, Henckel, Messerschmidt, the list goes on.

BSW or Berliner Suhl Waffenfabrik was a weapons manufacturing firm. It's a good bet BSW had such an in house fire company which would be the only reason for this logo on such a bayonet.

As I mentioned, I've seen 7 of these pieces, 6 of which were "BSW" marked. Besides this piece #36, I also own #25. I know Terry Kissinger ownes #65 & another short model who's number escapes me at the moment. Unit marked collector extrodinaire Steve C. owns # 10.

These pieces have lots of nice little features to tweak the attention & interest of the collector. Notice the bakelite grip plates, these pieces have a subtle difference from the type you see everyday. the diamonds are stretched out so that they're longer. They're also slightly lighter in color than the usual coal black. This feature is another nice tidbit from early production.

A real nice feature of these "BSW" marked pieces, if you're lucky enough to find one, is that they originally came with similarly unit marked frogs.

There's so many types & variations of daggers & bayonets out there, I certainly didn't need another of something I already have. But there you have it, it wound up coming home with me. I also found it cool that these pieces were probably on a rack somewhere very close to one another, now they're together again. Another point regarding unit marked pieces. Many of us see unit markings & think they could have been done last year or 70 years ago. One thing these Scharf/Kober pieces have that the fakers haven't been able to duplicate aside from the stampings, superlative quality. Just a lot of features to make it a worthwhile purchase.

We see unit marked police bayonets all the time, a unit marked fire piece is certainly something rarely seen. I suggest if you see one of these pieces in your travels, you snap it up.

Here's a shot of my original BSW.

Thanks for sharing the excellent informantion and fantastic new peice for you collection.

Outstanding! Thanks for showing these Billy. The company marked FW Faschinenmesser and KS98 bayonets are rarely encountered.

George

Wow,

what a beauty! I do remember seing this stunning piece int he inventory of one of the dealers and was seriously considering a purchase until I saw the status... sold! Great to see it's in your hands.

JAN

Billy:

That is just fantastic. What great condition.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

John

Phew that ticks all the boxes.

Before I delved into daggers I had collected bayonets, nothing in that condition though. Most I swapped as my new interest blossomed. I look at this and wonder where my collection would have taken me if I had continued.

Great looking bayonet, congrat�s !

Thank�s, for showing !

BSW: "Berlin-Suhler Waffenfabrik" (Mauser).

BTW: Bayonets, ("Faschinen-Messer"), of the Feuerl�sch-Polizei / Feuerschutz-Polizei, are great looking sidearm�s,(in my collection there�s a sawback, maker: Lauterjung & Co. Tiger-Stahlwaren u. Waffenfabrik, Solingen).

Sometimes you just have to post, it's beautiful, Billy, many congratulations on adding this supreme example to your collection.

Gary

Gentlemen,

Many thanks for the kind words. There's no real ornate details to these pieces as there are with fire official daggers or even the very attractive Polizei bayonets. But I think some of their beauty is in their simplicity. Finding one of these pieces was a very lucky thing for me since I saw Terry's first one, I knew I had to have such a piece. Finding two was just unexpected to say the least. The only reason I think why these pieces have held up so well is that they were made that well.

Its number 4, nice pick up Billy, is yours a short model? I have always wondered how many short bladed they had. One would assume at least 4. I can't figure why they stamped them two different ways.

Billy, really nice piece which screams quality and scarcity. Great background info which kind of brings it to life. I may not see one while searching but I'll know what it is if I do.

Terry,

Thanks man, you really started something with these pieces. I never thought I'd have the luck to find one let alone two of them. This one is #36, my first one is #25. I sold Steve C. #10 which was a long model. The other one I sold to Arnold was a Kober but it wasn't "BSW" marked.

I've seen a total of 7 Kobers. You have 2, Steve C has 1, Arnold has 1, I have 2 that are shown in this thread. The other one was sold by Craig Gottlieb 2 years ago, it was # 100. I don't know who bought it but it wasn't cheap. That one was marked similar to yours.

Barry,

You're most right, I know what you'll so if you see one as well. The only problem with a thread like this, while it increases the appreciation of these pieces, it also increases the interested parties! So be it

Billy,

Thanks for sharing your wonderful find with all of us, truly outstanding!

Bill

Billy, beautiful new piece, and thanks for the compliments. The one I'll search for in the future is one with a matching frog.

Enjoyed the additional information on these They are quite interesting in themselves. I may have to look for a short one. Maybe with a little time this weekend I'll add a pic of mine.

Steve.

Thanks Willi, you're too kind. It's always a pleasure to show such a piece & a great feeling when others can appreciate the simple beauty of such a bayonet.

Stevie,

We'll find you one with a frog, don't worry. A short one as well but you'll have to fend for yourself with that task

Hi Billy,

A great piece to have in the collection,not to say two of them.Thanks for the detailed explanation in this thread.Learned alot from it.

All the best,Jeremy

Jeremy,

Happy to help. I've found the whole process to be a wonderful learning experience & a lot of fun in the meantime.

Together again.

Side by side view. It's quite a treat to have a pair of these nice pieces but I'd really love to add a short model like Terry's.

Nice I was waiting for that number 25. They sure look better next to each other, reunited. I can't wait for the day I get my hands on one of these myself.

JAN

You never know, I might sell mine.

Kober bayonets were very well made, and they seem to have held up very well. Here are a couple Peter M�ller, Gummersbach marked with M18, and M11 stamped on the obverse blade. I have a friend that has a firemans bayonet w/no TM and stamped ??M (can't remenber the number. I haven't been able to figure out what the M stands for. Any thoughts?

Terry,

That short Kober just gets me right there. The Peter M�ller pieces aren't too bad either. No idea on what the "M" stands for but I presume it was for a small town's name. There's probably only a few hundred choices, right?