The German model 1871/84 knife bayonet was a hugely influential break away from the earlier pattern sword bayonets. The M1871/84 was the first knife bayonet issued by a major army and set a trend that continues to the present day. The M1871/84 was also the design inspiration for numerous later bayonets such as the Spanish M1893, Chilean M1895, American M1892 and Venezuelan M1900 to name but a few.
The German M1871/84 bayonet is scarce today with a rarity rating of R3 (ratings go from R1 to R4). The model 1871/84 rifle was superseded in 1888 by the M1888 Commission Rifle curtailing the bayonets’ use by the German Army.
The 254mm single-edged blade has a flat spine above a long, deep fuller. The M1871/84 came in two blade profiles, one with a long fuller almost to the point, the second with a shorter fuller. This bayonet is the long fuller variant. The blade has a 45mm upper false edge and terminates in a spear point. The blade is in good condition, bright and clean with very mild speckles of tarnish.
The ricasso is stamped with the makers’ details; Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Co. Solingen. The obverse ricasso is blank.
The distinctive contoured wooden grip scales are in good condition and are fixed firmly in place by two domed rivets. The crosspiece and sharply beaked pommel are in good condition with mild speckled tarnish and the press-stud mechanism is in good working order. The crosspiece retains its muzzle ring. Many M1871/84 bayonets had their muzzle rings removed to better fit the M1888 rifle although use of the m1871/84 bayonet with the M1888 rifle was short-lived as it was considered too short.
The bayonet is complete with its black leather scabbard with blackened steel locket and chape. The M1871/84 scabbards’ locket and chape were usually polished steel. The blueing may have been done around 1910, the same time as the issuing of a general order to blacken the scabbards of swords.
The scabbard is in overall good condition and the bayonet sheathes and draws smoothly and is held firmly within.
This is a better than average example of the scarce German model 1871/84 knife bayonet. One of the most influential bayonets of the modern era.
