K98 Dress Bayonet FAKE or REAL

[dsaundel]

Is this K98 robert klaas, solingen k98 dress bayonet fake or real? The blade looks too nice and there's play in the blade. The rivets don't look original to the bayonet.
Here is a link to better images

https://pin.it/6praSoq

https://pin.it/6MljCAw

https://pin.it/2DzqdJi

[Rogerbutthead]

Did you try the K98K forum on bayonets?

https://www.k98kforum.com/forums/bayonets-and-accessories.38/

[Spaffo]

Hard to tell from those pictures, but looks like s repo to me. The real ones have very good fit and finish, as well as better maker's mark.

[bohoki]

i got a puma one from my grandfather

[pitfighter]

Looks fine, however, if it's loose leave it alone. These are quite plentiful and not particularly valuable (comparatively speaking $75-150) - it is also missing it's leather washer.

Rivets, maker-mark and grips are all fine for this model.

Just type in "k98 dress bayonet Robert Klaas" to inspect others; hundreds of images of the makers mark, with the deep-bottom portion to the serif on the "+" symbol, that ripples the metal slightly. The scales pins/rivets and plastic checkering, oxidization to handle, etc., all easy enough to research.

good luck.

[dsaundel]

Thanks for the information

[highpower]

Sorry to say, but your pictures suck. They are too small to make out the fine details which is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to separating the better fakes from the real deal.

Nazi knives and medals have been replicated almost since the war ended 77 years ago. It's got to the point where even the fakes made in the '60's have real patina.

[dsaundel]

Here is a link to better images

https://pin.it/6praSoq

https://pin.it/6MljCAw

https://pin.it/2DzqdJi

[pitfighter]

Sorry to say, but your pictures suck. They are too small to make out the fine details which is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to separating the better fakes from the real deal.

Nazi knives and medals have been replicated almost since the war ended 77 years ago. It's got to the point where even the fakes made in the '60's have real patina.

I am writing this post from Eastern Europe right now.
And there are still fakes everywhere, there is a night market here with tables full of Cold War and WWII fakery.

I had spaghetti in the tourist district last night, and bought this Vostok Amphibian from a market stand.
I thought it looked like something from the Cold War, maybe a good prop.
Of course I find then out they're still being made and cost $100 on Ebay -
I paid about $17 for this, so, I'm not too worried.
The German medals were pretty well faked, I've just purged my collection of all of that stuff, real or fake, lately.



PS. OP, sorry to take a detour from your post, your dress bayonet is fine. As I wrote above, these dress bayonets don't fetch much on the collector market and they're easy to find in really good condition, as they were NEVER intended for combat use, or any use other than showing off. So my recommendation is to find a nicer example for your collection, and let that one go. Or one better, get yourself a nice K98 (S84/98 III) bayonet as they can still be found reasonably priced, but those are increasing in value and seem to continue to have collector interest.

[dsaundel]

Is there a reason why there's play in the blade? Was this supply issue and the quality went down?

[dsaundel]

does anyone know where I could find a K98 scabbard. For a reasonable price

[Dan_Eastvale]

I am writing this post from Eastern Europe right now.
And there are still fakes everywhere, there is a night market here with tables full of Cold War and WWII fakery.

I had spaghetti in the tourist district last night, and bought this Vostok Amphibian from a market stand.
I thought it looked like something from the Cold War, maybe a good prop.
Of course I find then out they're still being made and cost $100 on Ebay -
I paid about $17 for this, so, I'm not too worried.
The German medals were pretty well faked, I've just purged my collection of all of that stuff, real or fake, lately.



PS. OP, sorry to take a detour from your post, your dress bayonet is fine. As I wrote above, these dress bayonets don't fetch much on the collector market and they're easy to find in really good condition, as they were NEVER intended for combat use, or any use other than showing off. So my recommendation is to find a nicer example for your collection, and let that one go. Or one better, get yourself a nice K98 (S84/98 III) bayonet as they can still be found reasonably priced, but those are increasing in value and seem to continue to have collector interest.

[pitfighter]

Tourists.

The last thing the locals want to remember (if they're old enough) is Russian occupation.
There are reminders everywhere.

To the OP -

My first stop is usually Ebay - type search words: "K98 sheath" or "K98 scabbard"- there are seven up there at a cursory glance.
If you go the dealer route they may be a little cheaper, but you'll have to hunt for hours at your keyboard.
They will likely be bayonet-combat scabbards not dress scabbards.

[sbo80]

I've been doing a lot of bayonet collecting over the past couple years and the thing that has consistently surprised me is how many ebay sellers don't actually know what they really have (specifically) and won't take the time to. So they aren't as detailed in their listing, which means you miss it if you only search "K98 bayonet". They might only describe it as "German bayonet". Or maybe "Mauser bayonet". That makes searching more PITA since you have to know what you are looking at, but you also get less competition from other bidders. If you are lazy and only search K98 you will probably pay more. I've picked up two pieces recently where in both cases were poorly worded, and not a single other person put a bid in. One was a pretty good price, the other was a crazy low starting price. In both, I almost didn't even see them (the crazy one I only saw because I looked at a different auction that seller had and did the "other seller's auctions" thing).
For the specific one listed, unless it's a grossly cheap deal such that if it turns out fake you'd just throw it away, don't bother. For almost all bayonets there are too many out there to waste time or money on a busted, rusted piece. Be patient until a better one comes along.