History

The German Wehrmacht was composed of three main branches, the Heer (Army), the Kriegsmarine (Navy), and the Luftwaffe (Air Force). The Heer and the Kriegsmarine had a long history of edged weapons dating back to the late 19th century, while the Luftwaffe did not.

One of the Wehrmacht’s wartime regulations stated that all personnel were required to be armed when they were in uniform and not in a secure building. Acceptable sidearms included pistols, rifles, bayonets and other edged weapons.

The KS-98 Dress Bayonet could be worn by all Wehrmacht personnel outside of regular duty hours, and only in conjunction with the walking-out dress. Technically, the KS-98 was not classified as a bayonet because it could not be attached to a rifle.

The handle of the dress bayonet is made up of the pommel, the grip, and the crossguard. The pommel and crossguard tend to be made from nickel-plated or silvered non-ferrous white metal. The pommel has the form of a blunted beak. The grips on the early bayonets are composed of wooden plates, but the later grips were generally made from bakelite or other plastics. These bakelite grips tend to feature a checkered pattern, while the plastic grips were generally mold-made with downward spiraling grooves. The colour of the bakelite and plastic grips vary, including different shades of brown, black, and red.

The blade is generally composed of nickel-plated steel, and the majority of the blade has a single-edge, with only a small section at the tip of the blade is double-edged. These blades were not officially manufactured with a sawback, but for extra cost, one could be added.

The length of the blade differs depending on the wearer’s rank group. For Non-Commissioned Officers and Officers the blade measures approximately 200mm, they are also known as short bladed. For Enlisted Men (EMs) the blade measures approximately 250mm, and they are also known as long bladed (Seitengewehre).

For an additional cost, various decorative designs could be etched onto the bayonet blades. The common blade designs include personalized designs, generic motives, regimental designs, and inscriptions. The pommel and crossguard may also be decorated with etched designs. The most common inscription is “ZUR ERINNERUNG AN MEINE DIENSTZEIT,” which translates to “in memory of my time of service”. For Luftwaffe bayonets, a common element of the blade decoration was a Luftwaffe pattern national emblem surrounded by a wreath.

The scabbard could be manufactured with steel with black enamel paint, as seen with the 84/98 bayonets, but there are also rare examples that were composed of leather with metal fittings. The steel scabbards have a button for attaching the frog.

The frog for Luftwaffe bayonets is made from brown leather and attached to the personnel’s belt.

The short bayonets could be worn with a portepee secured around the grip or the frog.

This bayonet may feature a variety of marks, including manufacturer marks, manufacturer codes, property marks, and legitimacy marks. These marks are most often acid etched into the reverse ricasso, but they are also examples featured on the pommel or crossguard.

The KS-98 bayonet was available for purchase from many manufacturers. The bayonets produced from 1935-1940, may feature manufacturer marks which include the name of the company, an image, and the date. From 1940 onward, lower case letter codes replaced the full-fledged manufacturer marks. This may have been done to protect the manufacturing sites from attack.

Legal marks may also be featured on these bayonets, including “Ges. Gesch.”, which means the dagger was protected by law, “D.R.P.”, which means the dagger was made with a patented design, or “D.R.G.M.”, which means the dagger was composed with the utility design. These marks may also be found on the reverse of the leather frog.

The wearer’s name could also be added to the blade for extra cost.