My dad, a WWII vet, brought back several bayonets.
The German Mauser ones were of little value, and he and my older brothers ruined them by throwing them at trees and using them as pry-tools, etc. Back in the early 1950s, a well-used German bayonet wasn't valuable. They were cheap and plentiful at any Army-Navy store, or you could mail-order them for a buck or two each.
BUT, THERE WERE A FEW OF THESE OTHER BAYONETS.
They didn't get abused. They got stored, occasionally taken out to show people, but not thrown, not used to chop firewood, not taken on hiking and camping trips etc.
I'd always heard it called a Mauser bayonet, but a quick Google search tells me NO, it's got to be an Italian bayonet, made for either a submachinegun or a Carcano rifle (I'm not sure which, or maybe it fits both?)
What's special about this bayonet is that the blade folds into the handle, and if you leave the bayonet mounted on the gun when you fold it, you've just shortened your gun's overall length by something like 4 inches.
Another thing I think is odd about this is how narrow the opening is for the gun's muzzle to stick through. It's only 13mm diameter-- just a hair over half an inch.
The OAL of this knife bayonet is 11.5 inches.
See pics on next post. I gotta get the smartphone out, rather than my desktop PC.
Markings:
On the metal tang on the back of the grip, it has the letters "PS" in a circle, or maybe a slight oval rather than a perfect circle. Then the serial number, which looks like a prefix number "1" slightly lower and with extra spacing between it and the rest of the SN, which is "5504." Then comes the letters "AT" (all capitals, just like the "PS" was too) in an oval.
Does anybody know the history of this bayonet?
Who made it, and when? Which factory or plant?
Any idea of the value? It's not for sale, but I just want to know for insurance purposes.
The German Mauser ones were of little value, and he and my older brothers ruined them by throwing them at trees and using them as pry-tools, etc. Back in the early 1950s, a well-used German bayonet wasn't valuable. They were cheap and plentiful at any Army-Navy store, or you could mail-order them for a buck or two each.
BUT, THERE WERE A FEW OF THESE OTHER BAYONETS.
They didn't get abused. They got stored, occasionally taken out to show people, but not thrown, not used to chop firewood, not taken on hiking and camping trips etc.
I'd always heard it called a Mauser bayonet, but a quick Google search tells me NO, it's got to be an Italian bayonet, made for either a submachinegun or a Carcano rifle (I'm not sure which, or maybe it fits both?)
What's special about this bayonet is that the blade folds into the handle, and if you leave the bayonet mounted on the gun when you fold it, you've just shortened your gun's overall length by something like 4 inches.
Another thing I think is odd about this is how narrow the opening is for the gun's muzzle to stick through. It's only 13mm diameter-- just a hair over half an inch.
The OAL of this knife bayonet is 11.5 inches.
See pics on next post. I gotta get the smartphone out, rather than my desktop PC.
Markings:
On the metal tang on the back of the grip, it has the letters "PS" in a circle, or maybe a slight oval rather than a perfect circle. Then the serial number, which looks like a prefix number "1" slightly lower and with extra spacing between it and the rest of the SN, which is "5504." Then comes the letters "AT" (all capitals, just like the "PS" was too) in an oval.
Does anybody know the history of this bayonet?
Who made it, and when? Which factory or plant?
Any idea of the value? It's not for sale, but I just want to know for insurance purposes.
