Original Japanese Late WWII Arisaka Type 30 Last Ditch Bayonet with Wood Scabbard and Rubberized Canvas Frog by Toyoda Automatic Loom

Original Item: Only One Item Available. This is a nice untouched late WW2 "last ditch" issue Japanese Model 30 Arisaka rifle bayonet with straight cross guard and blade bearing arsenal markings indicating manufacture by Toyoda Jidoshoki Seisakusho (Toyoda Automatic Loom Works) under Nagoya Arsenal supervision. This bayonet is of the Later War design, with a straight quillon, with the final style flat-sided rectangular pommel. The rivet-retained wooden grip is not contoured around the tang. The blade is flat without fullers and blued, and the crossguard is straight but still contoured on the side, which makes this the second-to-last pattern made at Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. Base of the bayonet is marked with serial number 10889(?). There is heavy oxidation to the hilt.

The bayonet comes complete with a metal fitted wooden "last ditch" scabbard, made from two pieces of wood bound with string wrappings with cracking present. Condition of bayonet is good, though the blade is only partially sharpened, typical of rushed late war production. There are no nicks in the blade, and it appears to have not really been used but there is minor pitting scattered throughout. Last ditch bayonets in this condition are extremely rare, as most were discarded, and the wooden scabbards are much less resilient than the steel ones. 

The rubberized canvas frog is entirely stiff, but the securing strap has not broken, very rare to see. A very nice service-used bayonet, ready for further research and display.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 15 3/4"
Blade Style: Single Edge Bayonet
Overall length: 20 1/8“
Crossguard: 3 3/4”
Scabbard Length: 16 1/4"

History of the Type 30 Bayonet-
The Type 30 bayonet (三十年式銃剣 sanjunen-shiki juken) was a bayonet designed for the Imperial Japanese Army to be used with the Arisaka Type 30 Rifle and was later used on the Type 38 and Type 99 rifles. Some 8.4 million were produced, and it remained in front-line use from the Russo-Japanese War to the end of World War II.

Type 30 Bayonet was a single-edged sword bayonet with a 400 millimetres (15.75 in) blade and an overall length of 514 millimetres (20.24 in) with a weight of approximately 700 grams. The Type 30 bayonet is also known as the "Pattern 1897 bayonet". Early Type 30 bayonets usually sported a hooked quillion guard that gave it a distinct look, but later models had a straight hand guard. The design was intended to give the average Japanese infantryman a long enough reach to piece the abdomen of a cavalryman. However, the design had a number of drawbacks, some caused by the poor quality of forgings used, which tended to rust quickly and not hold an edge, and to break when bent.

These bayonets were manufactured from 1897 to 1945 at a number of locations, including the Kokura Arsenal, Koishikawa Arsenal (Tokyo) and Nagoya Arsenal, as well as under contract by private manufacturers including Matsushita, Toyoda Automatic Loom and many others, including Jinsen Arsenal in Occupied Korea.