Posted 12 years ago
Bootson
(72 items)
Well here is an old bayonet with "character". I don't know a lot about it except that it was issued to British troops before the turn of the last century.
this one has really been around the block. I don't know much about british military markings and customs so anything anyone can tell me is greatly appreciated. Were new markings used for different units it was issued to? for years it was inspected?
One side of the ricasso is a jumble of letters and numbers. .. some of the things I think I can make out are: VR - Crown over C7 over E - Crown over 63 over L - Crown over 82 over E - and 2 or 3 others like that that are only partially readable (98 E).
Also on that same area of the ricasso are '96, '99 '00, '04, 07, 10,
The other side ricasso has an < (arrow?) over WD, over a crown, over 66, over X.
The top edge of the blade, by the muzzle ring, is marked with a Crown over 53 over E (with another crown further back).
Just behind the muzzle ring on top of the tang it's marked WD.
On tang on the under side is a crown, over 13 (I think), over 11.
one side of the pommel is stamped 463.
I think there is supposed to be a release button protruding on the side of the pommel that may have been ground flat.
the blade has been shortened to 8". The overall length is 12 5/8".
Perhaps this was converted to a "fighting knife" or utility knife.
Thanks officialfuel, miKKoChristmas11 and chevy59
Thanks pwsest1944 & petey
Wow, that’s quite a cluster of markings! OK, here’s what I can decipher:
The VR under a very faint crown stands for Victoria Regina. Queen Victoria was the reigning monarch when this bayonet was made.
On the spine, you see a crown/53/E – the E stands for Enfield arsenal, and the crown/53 is an inspector’s mark. These inspections happened at various points during manufacturing, and so there are often multiple inspector’s marks on various areas of a bayonet – you seem to have more crown/number/E on the side that are additional inspection marks.
The X you see on the least marked side of the blade is the bend test mark – this blade was subjected to a bend test with the X on the outward side of the bend. The Arrow & WD is the War Department acceptance mark.
The numerals preceded by (‘) are issue and re-issue dates: 9 ’99 would be September 1899, ’01, ’04, etc. would be 1901, 1904, etc.
I speculate that 463 on the pommel may have been a “rack number” at the regiment’s arms room. I don’t recognize any regimental markings on this – although there might be in that hodge-podge of markings on the side.
Lastly, according to Janzen’s notebook on bayonets, a large number of Model 1888 bayonets like yours were converted into trench knives during WWI or possibly WWII.
Thanks for taking a look Chrisnp, you certainly answered a lot of my questions. I think it's interesting how long this old warhorse has been floating around. I will have to double check with the friend I got this from, but I think he said he got it from guy that brought it back from Viet Nam.
I am relieved that a scholarly connoisseur was able to read many of these marks. I had feared that you might have to call in a cryptographer to decipher that pile of marks. miKKo
Yes miKKoChristmas11, it is tough to make out, some marks are hard to see in the photo and some are totally worn away.
Thanks, trunkman
Just teasing. It's really an impressive group of marks - just so many of them, and many 'overstrikes'. I think that you photographed it very well, indeed. But enough. miKKo
Thanks AR8Jason
I see you got some more pocket knives posted.
Well if you ever experience a knife glut, you can pipe some up to the shortage at my house.
Thanks packrat-place
It would prolly take quite a bit of "Minnesota Antifreeze" to get you lubricated enough to satisfy my budgetary constraints.