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. The bayonets were finished with a high-quality nickel plating, with stag or bakelite grip plates and black painted scabbard. The choice of blade length was left to the purchaser, either the 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. Often they would also have a sword knot, or troddle, and the color would indicate the branch or rank.

Enlisted or NCO personnel were permitted to purchase K-98 dress bayonets with fancy etched blades. These etchings run the gamut from simple designs featuring the standard remembrance, Zur Erinnerung an meine Dienstzeit (In Memory of My Service Time), to very fancy, custom etched depictions, citing the individual's regiment, unit, and sometimes even his name. Many blade factories offered unique etch patterns. The etch work was often state of the art.

This lovely Heer (army) example is in very good condition, and has a nickel plated blade, as all dress bayonets do, however it also has a nickel plated scabbard as well! It has has a nice alloy hilt, with most of the Nickel Plating intact, though there is some light overall wear and bubbling oxidation, as shown. The mortise button and blade release are fully functional, and the red felt insert is present. The grip plates are lovely checkered black bakelite, and are in excellent condition. They are retained by solid nickel alloy rivets with dressed heads.

The blade on this example is nickel-plated, standard for dress bayonets, the plating is very well retained, showing just a few areas of plating loss and oxidation. There is some wear through on the tip area near the end of the fuller from wear due to the scabbard runner. It has correctly not been sharpened, and still retains its blunt factory edge. The leather blade buffer is in place, and is in very nice condition.

The etched panel itself has some lovely art deco designs, with the iconic German Oak Leaf and acorn motifs at the ends. In the center of the panel is a lovely German black letter type face inscription:

This translates to "In Memory of my time in service", which is a very common inscription for these dress bayonets.

The rear ricasso of the blade is stamped with the arched address marking of Arthur Evertz, Herstellung blanker Waffen (Manufacture of blank weapons) of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany:

A. EVERTZ
SOLINGEN

Per J. Anthony Carter's book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this firm was founded in 1925 by Arthur Evertz, brother-in-law of Paul Seilheimer, and was registered with Solingen authorities in 1938. They made a good number of edged weapons during the Third Reich era, including many "walking out" or dress bayonets.

The scabbard is straight throughout, without any major dents or other issues. The original nickel plating shows light oxidation over the surface, and has flaked off in a few areas, allowing the steel body to oxidize. These look to have been cleaned off at some point, leaving a peppery steel patina.

An very nice example of an German etched Long 98k dress bayonet by a rare maker, complete with scabbard and ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 9 3/4"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 14 5/8“
Crossguard: 2 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 10 1/2"