Original German WWII Fireman's Short Dress Bayonet by K. Negele of Tübingen with Scabbard and Frog

Original Item: Only One Available. The K-98 dress bayonet was a dress version of the combat style, and was worn by enlisted and NCO personnel for dress and parade occasions. This also included civic organizations such as Police and Feuerschutzpolizei (Fire Protection Police) units. The bayonets were finished with a high-quality nickel plating, with often custom grip plates and black enamel painted scabbards. The choice of blade length was left to the purchaser, being a nickel-plated short (20cm) or long (25cm) version. There was usually a red or green colored felt insert in the rifle slot and the bayonet was suspended from a black or brown leather frog. Some had a functional bayonet latch, while it was ornamental on some, and others had no latch at all. This example has none at all.

This Fireman's Bayonet is in very good condition throughout, and is the 7 7/8-inch blade "short" version, which we do not often see. It comes complete with its original black enameled scabbard and black leather frog. The nickel plating on the alloy hit is bright throughout and remains over 95% intact, with just some very minor wear and light oxidation around the bottom edges. It has the typical "S" shape crossguard used on the Fireman issue bayonet. The grip plates are the checkered black Bakelite type, in excellent condition and retained by nickel-plated steel rivets with dressed obverse heads.

The blade is an excellent example, and is the "knife" style blade we sometimes see on the short dress bayonets. It has an upper 1/4" length false edge and much thinner fuller than seen on the standard blades. The nickel plating is almost completely retained, with just some runner wear and light scratching keeping it from being perfect. As is correct it has not had any sharpening, though there are a few tiny dents on the edge, and on the tip. The original leather blade buffer is still present against the crossguard.

The ricasso on this bayonet is marked with retailer K. Negele / Tübingen, a known marking seen on these bayonets, and a company that was founded in 1912 as a sports and military outfitter. They most likely purchased completed unmarked bayonets, and stamped them with their address marking before sale.

The steel scabbard is straight and dent free throughout, and is in very good condition. The original black enamel finish is retained at over 95%, showing just a bit of chipping and wear. We can still see the steel grain through the finish, so there is no evidence it was refinished. It is held in a very nice black leather dress frog, which has had the finish wear overall, so it looks a bit brown now. The leather is a bit stiff, but the stitching is fully intact, and it shows only light damage from use.

A nice, complete example here in really great shape, ready to display!

Specifications:-
Blade Length: 7 5/8"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 12 1/2“
Crossguard: 2 7/8”
Scabbard Length: 9” + frog