Original Item: Only One Item Available. This is a very rare late WW2 "last ditch" issue Japanese Model 30 Arisaka rifle bayonet with straight cross guard, bearing the arsenal markings of Toyoda Jidoshoki Seisakusho (Toyoda Automatic Loom Works) under Nagoya Arsenal supervision. This company would later become Toyota Motor Corporation. The bayonet comes complete with a wooden "last ditch" scabbard, made from two pieces of wood glued together, fit with metal at the throat and chape, with string wrapped in between. This scabbard has a very rare "Square Tip" on the end, something we have only had once before.

Condition of the bayonet is very good, though the blade is relatively thick, and has a crude 30 degree grind to both sides of the edge. There are no nicks in the blade, and it appears to have not really been used. Last ditch bayonets in this condition are extremely rare, as most were discarded, and they were generally not well made and broke often.

The scabbard is in very good shape, which is rare due to how delicate the wooden scabbards are. There is some oxidation on the throat and bottom fittings, but the wooden body is still fully intact, with complete string wrapping. Definitely the best example of a square tip that we have seen!

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 millimeters (15.75 in) blade and an overall length of 514 millimeters (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 quillon guard that gave it a distinct look, but later models had a straight hand guard. This bayonet is of the Late War design, with a straight quillon, with a rectangular pommel. The rivet-retained wooden grips are the contoured wrap-around type. The blade is flat without fullers and blued, and the crossguard is straight but still contoured on the side. This configuration matches the second to last type manufactured by Toyoda. The bottom of the pommel is marked with a faded serial number, which we unfortunately cannot read.

The design of the bayonet was originally 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. Towards the end of the war, production was so rushed that markings could be left off.