British 1879 pattern Saw-backed sword bayonet for the Martini-Henry artillery carbine.
The 657mm blade is double-edged for the last 220mm and terminates in a spear point. The blade is in very good condition, clean and bright with only two areas of pale speckled tarnish on one side of the blade. The back of the blade has 20 pairs of offset saw teeth above a short fuller ending with a medial ridge towards the point. The saw teeth remain extremely sharp.
The ricasso bears the War Department stamp and broad arrow, a bend test cross and two Enfield inspection stamps. The obverse ricasso bears a worn crowned VR cipher and the manufacture date of July 1885. There is also a Birmingham re-issue stamp dated 1900, probably for service during the Anglo-Boer Wars. The spine is marked with an Enfield inspection stamp and an “R” reissue stamp. Interestingly, there is also a “W” stamp. I am unsure as to what this stamp means.
Despite the relatively short span of their official usage (1879-1900), these artillery sword bayonets saw intense service and were present in every British campaign during that period, from India, Afghanistan, Egypt, The Sudan, South Africa (Boer Wars) and China (Boxer Rebellion) to name but a few.
The steel D-guard is bright and clean with a pale age patina and is free of rust or pitting. The knurled leather grips are in good condition and the press-stud and external leaf spring mechanism work perfectly. The spine of the tang bears both Enfield and Birmingham inspection marks along with the letter M and some worn and illegible stamps. The front of the knuckle guard is stamped with the Roman numerals II., indicating that this sword bayonet had its muzzle ring diameter increased from 17.5mm to 18mm for use with the Martini-Henry rifle and the MkII artillery carbine. The middle of the cross-piece bears the number 645. The pommel bears the number 11.
The bayonet is complete with its original steel mounted black leather scabbard. The leather is in good condition and the stitching is intact and tight. The steel locket and chape have shallow pitting and tarnish and there is wear to the leather along the top of the chape. The throat of the scabbard is stamped with the date January 1900 and the number 157.
This is a good example of a scarce P1879 sword bayonet with stamps suggesting Boer War reissue.
