Extremely rare Wilkinson made 1879 pattern Saw-backed sword bayonet for the Martini-Henry artillery carbine Mk1. In 1890, the Wilkinson Sword factory was given a contract to produce just 2000 of these sword bayonets. The remaining production of 66,483 were made by the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) Enfield.
The 655mm blade is double-edged for the last 220mm and terminates in a spear point. The blade is in excellent condition, clean and bright with only a few small patches of tarnish and marks from use.
The spine 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 Wilkinson inspection stamp. The obverse ricasso bears the crowned VR cipher and the manufacture date of October 1893. There are a number of issue and inspection stamps. The first being from Wilkinson, followed by an 1896 Birmingham refurbishment mark, a 1904 Birmingham stamp and lastly a 1907 Enfield stamp.
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 great condition and the press-stud and external leaf spring mechanism work perfectly. The pommel bears the numeral 3. The spine of the grip also bears a Birmingham inspection mark and letters.
The bayonet is complete with its original black leather and steel mounted scabbard. The leather is in excellent condition and bears the British War Department arrow. There is a small amount of silver paint on the scabbard. In some photos the paint looks like a crease in the leather. The stitching is intact and tight. The steel frog stud bears the War Department arrow.
This rare sword bayonet, one of only 2000 made by the Wilkinson factory, is in fantastic condition.
