Hi guys,
I acquired this at a gunshow over the weekend. I usually don't pick up dress pieces but this one was in exceptionally nice condition. The bayonet is without a maker but has a retailer that I'm not familiar with. Has anyone ever seen anything edged from Paul Gerstmann? I remember being told that a dress bayonet without a maker's mark indicated that the piece was a "factory second". True?

Len

Len,

Very nice piece, never seen this particular distributors mark before. The story I've heard for unmarked pieces being seconds pertained to blades that were completely unmarked. Most distributor marked blades are not dual marked by the manufacturer so I can only presume that's the way the distributors bought them but anything's possible. This particular hilt looks like an Eickhorn product. Thanks for showing it.

Len

Super bayonet. That's a new one to me. Its not a second but a distributor mark. Here is a map showing where Hirschberg is located.

Len very nice bayonet with great pictures thank you for shareing it with us Paul

Thanks for the comments fellas. I found a 1939 business directory for the town of Hirschberg that lists a Paul Gerstmann as a "kaufmann" or businessman/dealer/merchandiser.

Hi Len , long shot this i know but , is there a mention of J.H.W.-E. ? in that directory ? , few of us have been looking for a while on this one!!! , Nice Feuerwehr by the way

Nice one for sure. The plating and scabbard condition is pristine. Such pieces are getting harder and harder to find.

JAN

Very nice condition fire bayonet. Don't see too many like this at the gun shows.

Joe

Len,

I agree with all the gentlemen who've commented previously,
a wonderful find for your collection. When we get to see examples like yours, it does the heart good ...

As a quick aside ... I know most of these boys who've given opinions so far, and they're pretty tough customers when it comes to dissecting and grading German edged-weapons. You've got a resounding "thumbs-up" from a very tough crew.

Congratulations, and thanks for the fine photos.

Best!

Bill W.

Gertsmann is one distributor that is not listed in my edition of Fisher.

And, many distributor marked bayonets do not have maker marks on them at all. I would guess that this would be at the preference of the distributor who would want to keep their future purchase options open and not tie themsleves to any one manufacturer.

This great example just goes to show that, even today, we are finding new things that we never suspected existed.

Congratulations. And, I am sure that a couple of maker mark collectors have already sent you PMs about this bayonet.

John

John

Glad you brought this post to the top, I had forgot about it. It is a great piece, I've never seen this dist. before.

Thanks for the kind comments guys. Every once in a while something this nice turns up. It sat for two days at a local gun show primarily because the seller had placed a very high number on it. By the end of the second day he was amenable to taking quite a bit less. Now to find an equally nice knot for it.

Just found this sword listed on one of the German auction sites, I think Billy G thought the hilt of the bayonet resembled an Eickhorn product,seems they did get there products from Eickhorn.

Gary

No question, Eick was the big boy on the block. Wow, 2 Gerstman marks in such a short time.