Tores Tuesday, an SG1871 bayonet with an unusual scabbard. Help needed.
A bit of a mystery item this time. Not the bayonet, it is quite the standard type, but the scabbard. I will elaborate, but first a little bit about the SG1871.
This bayonet, originally made for the Mauser Infantry rifle model 1871, hence the designation SG 1871 (Seitengewehr 1871 = bayonet1871), was made in huge numbers. It should not be scarce today, but it is. A long serving bayonet indeed.
When the Germans first repeating rifle was designed, the Mauser IG71/84, based on the IG1871, but now with a tubular magazine in the stock, the bayonet mount was the same and the 1871 bayonet was still used.
Then along came the Gewehr 88, still the same bayonet lug, so the bayonet was used for that rifle too, and used in huge numbers in WWI, until enough Mauser Gewehr 98 and bayonets had been made to replace them, which did not happen until mid-war. These still saw service behind the lines.
However, because of the dire need for brass, these bayonets were collected and melted down to make driving bands and fuses for artillery shells. So, the most common bayonet there was became somewhat scarce.
So, what is my question here? Well, in the pictures you see three different types of scabbards. The bottom one and the one in the middle are standard Prussian bayonet scabbards, one with a ball finial on the drag, one without. Both have the standard chape with the prong for a bayonet frog with a hole in the front.
The top one is the mystery one. It has a very different chape with a slit in the front for securing the scabbard in a frog with a leather tab. Well, if you look at the Bavarian with the bayonet in his belt, you will see the Bavarian variant of the scabbard, with a brass bar and a leather tab and buckle to secure it. However, what we see in the picture is very different from the chape on my scabbard, and having seen and handled standard Bavarian scabbards, I am certain that this is not one of those.
So, what is this? The drag has an imperial inspection stamp, so that is clearly original. The scabbard fits the bayonet. So, is it an unusual Bavarian variant? A variant from a smaller kingdom or fiefdom? Or, has it simply been missing a chape, and someone just stuck a spare chape that fits on it? I have no idea, your guess is as good as mine.
If anyone can solve this small mystery I’d be very grateful.
