Luftwaffe-Forestry Bayonet by Waffen-Loesche – D911
Although not all that common of a 3rd Reich edged weapon, the popularity of these Luft / Forestry bayonets is certainly right up there. So much so that when ever listed on a dealer’s website not too long ago, they were snapped up immediately. Here is a decent example in this offering.
Typical for these edged weapons, the grip plates are formed from thick slabs of antler which are nicely shaped and expertly fit to the spine of this bayonet. They perfectly match in color, and are all properly secured with the proper factory hardware. The obverse of the crossguard has the property stamp 720, which is all but covered with a dark patina which has formed over it. An excellent scabbard accompanies this bayonet. It remains straight, void of any hits, creases, splits, or surface oxidation. A fine period black enamel still remains fairly strong at 85%, conservatively speaking. At the top of the shell is the original brown leather hanger that this edged weapon came with, and appears to have been on it forever. And we finish up with the blade. It remains tight in the hilt fittings, full length, and void of any cutting edge chips. There is some surface scratching, and a tiny wiggle at the tip where it must have been used to lightly pry on something. Honestly it is not all that detracting, because the surface of this blade is quite nice where it approaches the crossguard and hilt. One side of the ricasso is stamped with the distributor name; Waffen – Loesche Berlin. While the other side bears the initials Ch. A.W. Some collectors believe that the manufacture of these desirable bayonets were produced by the Anton Wingen firm. Hence the A.W. initials mentioned. Lastly, the spine of this blade also has the stamped letter H, which is usually seen on these edged weapons. SOLD