British 1888 Pattern Mk I Rare First Type Bayonet
Unfullered spear pointed blade, wood scale grips with three brass rivets, one large and two small, and clearance hole. Steel pommel and hilt with short quillon and muzzle ring. Black leather 1903 Pattern Naval Mk III scabbard with steel throat piece, integral black leather frog stapled to the throat piece, internal steel chape piece with exposed oval ‘button’ tip.
The blade is stamped on one side of the ricasso with a broad arrow with ‘WD’, meaning War Department property, an ‘X’ which indicates that the blade passed a manufacturer’s bending test, and two R’s back to back, a mark meaning the bayonet was later deemed unfit for service. The spine of the blade has two crown inspection marks with ‘E’ for Enfield, and the exposed tang has a ‘P’ mark. One would expect markings on the other side of the ricasso, and there are some fragmentary marks to suggest these were once present but they appear to have been previously polished off.
The scabbard leather is stamped next to the seam with ‘EFD’, meaning manufactured at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, another broad arrow War Department mark, a crown acceptance stamp with ‘E’, the date ’05, meaning it was manufactured in 1905, and an ‘N’ indicating Royal Navy ownership. On the opposite side of the seam it is stamped with ‘7’. The throat piece of the scabbard is stamped next to the mouth on one side with the serial number ‘120’ and the number ‘8’.
The First Type was the initial design of the Mk 1 1888 Pattern bayonet, manufactured by Enfield from late 1889 to fit the Lee Metford rifle. The three rivets were found to not secure the grips very well, and made the grips more likely to split. The manufacturer Wilkinson proposed changes in December 1889 which were approved in February 1890. This new second type was still officially described as the Mk 1, but had two rivets to the grip instead of three. Because it was produced for less than a year the three-rivet first type is much rarer, around 25,000 being produced compared to more than 600,000 of the second type.
The scabbard it has been paired with is a later piece, one of several designed for the new 1903 Pattern bayonet. During 1905 Enfield was producing the new pattern and factory records indicate they also converted 3,000 1888 Pattern scabbards in stock to the new specification. The scabbard cannot therefore be the original but is not necessarily incorrect, as since the 1888 and 1903 Pattern bayonets shared the same blade their scabbards were fully interchangeable and permitted with each other in service: if this bayonet remained in use for some years, perhaps with the Royal Navy, it might have been given its current scabbard as a replacement for its original one.
The blade has a somewhat dulled finish, old polishing marks and a few spots of patination towards the tip. No nicks to its edge, the tip rounded by approx. 1mm. The wood grips have some handling wear leaving the brass rivets as high points. Some short hairline cracks to the wood next to two of the rivets on one side, difficult to see and not threatening to its integrity. The hilt, exposed tang and pommel are moderately patinated.
The leather scabbard body has surface abrasion giving it a rough texture but is strong with no losses to its stitching. Rust pitting to the exposed chape button, the visible section of the throat piece has only light patination. Some surface rubbing to the belt frog. Some stitching has been lost on the frog’s belt loop, but not enough to affect its integrity. A small, suspiciously rectangular patch of surface loss is visible to the reverse of the frog loop where I think a previous owner must have unwisely affixed an adhesive label. Please do not affix adhesive labels to antique leather – or to most antique surfaces, really.
