Model 1938 folding knife bayonet to fit the M1938 Mannlicher Carcano service rifle.
£295 SOLD
A rare Model 1938 folding knife bayonet to fit the M1938 Mannlicher Carcano service rifle (6.5mm and 7.35mm versions). Hilt with muzzle ring to the front has locking release catch to the rear right to allow the bayonet to be removed from the rifle and one to the front left to allow the blade to be folded away while fixed to the rifle. Screw retained wooden grip scales with issue number to the top of the hilt 0 7361 next to a small manufacturers inspection mark. Fullered single edged blued blade with locking mechanism to the rear is pulled forward after the locking button on the hilt is depressed and can then be folded back to sit under the forend of the rifle when not in use. In its issue blued steel scabbard with belt loop, as issued with the fixed blade bayonets after the realisation that the fold away feature was not in any way practical in daily use, let alone in combat. Those remaining folding bayonets left in service being issued with a scabbard and carried on the soldiers belt in the normal fashion. While it may have seemed a good idea on paper in action the first model folding bayonets were awkward to fold and extend, weak at the axis pin, did not lock in the folded position and when folded did not protect the tip leaving a sharp point for the user to injure themselves or their companions. These folding models saw wide use with Italian units during the desert campaign in the early stages of WW2 but were soon replaced by a more practical and useable fixed blade version of similar pattern making these early or Mk1 variants very scarce today, with many probably being thrown away by their frustrated users. In military used condition with good working folding blade and working release catches, wooden grip scales with some cracks and chips to both sides in a nice issue scabbard with much blue finish remaining. A scarce early war Italian issue bayonet not often seen on the market.
