A couple items

[mark clausen]

I have been meaning to ask about.
First is a bayonet an old gentleman showed me after asking me to identify an old rifle he called me over to look at. The rifle was an old Swiss Veterlli. I took pics of the bayonet and apologise, I thought the scabbard was in the pics. Info on the bayonet would be appreciated.

The second is a shell casing that was always in my grandparents house. Grandad was a WW1 Vet and had this made for him by a German POW. It has France stamped in it and my grandad's last name also. Wondering about the info on the base of the casing. Thanks.

Thanks for any info. Mark.

 

[SDC]

The bayonet appears to be for a Gewehr 98, the standard German rifle through WW1, but I can't tell if it's been shortened or modified. The cartridge case is for a French 105mm Modele 1913 Schneider cannon, one of their larger field-guns; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_de_105_mle_1913_Schneider , and the headstamp shows it was made in France (other countries also used it).

 

[mapsjanhere]

That bayonet must have seen some later foreign service as evident by the odd adapter on the blade. Looks like instead of shortening the blade to fit into whatever scabbard they were using they manufactured adapters to allow the longer blade to sit snug in a shorter scabbard.

 

[James K]

That shell casing is an example of what in WWI was called "trench art", work done in the trenches by soldiers with time on their hands and nothing useful to do between moments of sheer terror and deadly action. It was sometimes imitated by others after the war, but usually on a smaller scale.

Jim

 

[Mk VII]

What's stuck on the blade is the scabbard mouthpiece, which has become detached either because the leather has rotted or someone removed the screw holding it in on the later steel replacements. Someone on one of the German forums can translate the unit property markings on the guard.

 

[mark clausen]

Thanks for the replys. I wish I had taken better pictures. They were last minute snapshots after an afternoon of talking with an old Danish carpenter, I am decended from an old danish carpenter, and we looked at old guns and old wood working tools and talked about old danish carpenters and what a tyrant my grandfather was and perhaps we drank a little aquavit. So I could have done a better job documenting the bayonet. And the scabbard. Perhaps I could slip by there and take better pictures.
Funny thing about the shell casing, my granddad's name is misspelled on it. You'd think that for two packs of cigaretts you'd get your name spelled right

 

[mapsjanhere]

The markings look like 2nd Guard Grenadier (Regiment) 1st (company) nr 214