This Knife bayonet was adopted in 1924 by the Czechoslovakian army for use on the 8 mm Mauser VZ–24 and VZ-23 rifles. VZ–24 bayonets were essentially VZ-23 bayonets with their blades shortened by 100mm and were made by ÄŒeskoslovenská zbrojovka a.s., Brno.
Unmodified VZ-24 bayonets have a muzzle ring but when Czechoslovakia was overrun by the Germans in 1939, the German military modified large numbers of captured bayonets by removing the muzzle ring for use with their own Mauser rifles.
The 300mm blued blade has an inverted profile, the cutting edge being at the top when held or fitted to the rifle. The single-edged blade has a flat spine above a long, single fuller and tapers to a 50mm upper false edge. The blade terminates in a spear point and is in mint condition, retaining its original blued finish.
The ricasso is stamped with a small v over CSZ above S. The obverse ricasso is blank.
The crosspiece is un-altered and retains its muzzle ring. The blued crosspiece and pommel are in near mint condition and retain their original finish. The attachment mechanism is in perfect working order. The hardwood grip scales are in mint condition and are held securely in place by two screws.
The bayonet is complete with its blued steel scabbard which is in excellent, near mint condition and retains its original finish. The scabbard’s frog stud is stamped with a Z within a circle over the letter M within a squared C. The bayonet sheathes and draws smoothly and is held firmly within the scabbard.
This is an excellent, unissued and mint condition example of the Czech VZ-24 bayonet.
