Just recieved this bayonet in the post today which i won on ebay.
The ebay photos and description gave the impression it was in good used, but not abused condition. Well i opened it and was surprised to see it was much better, while not unissued, i'm sure it hardly saw much front line use, seems to show only 67 years of careless storage wear.
Details....
Bayonet "i" and 5197 b spine marked 41. Rifle release catch also marked 5197 b.
Hilt proofed with straight wing 218
Scabbard "i" over 41 and 5197 b. ball final proffed straight wing 218.
Overall condition is very good, blade unsharpened, scabbard and bayonet retain 95% of blueing with only some surface scratches. The scabbard does have three very, very light and straight dents. These can only just be felt when running a finger over them but look worse in the photos. Not sure what caused these as they are not impact dents, they are minutely pitted so maybe something was left on it and not cleaned for a long time. There is no other damage at all.
The beautiful cavalry frog also came with it and is as supple as it was in 1941, only light surface crazing, the back still retains a high gloss surface finish.
Overall i absolutely love this bayonet!
OK acording to the BCN charts Elite Diamant only made around 42586 in 1941 before stopping production, does anyone know what the company did after this?
I also can't remember seeing any "i" stamped bayonets shown on the forum before how hard are hard are they to find? Who else has any?
Lastly sorry about the quality of the pictures, but hope you enjoy them.
