...and I had thought did exactly that when I sold the Argentine Modelo 1891bayonet that came with my Chileno Mauser. I really had no use for it and figured it was not the correct bayonet for the Mauser and sold it at a garage sale. It was only after I sold it that I got to thinking about it; shame on me for being The Great Procrastinator occasionally even when it comes to thinking!
The more I thought about that bayonet and the more I wondered why the Argentine crest had been ground off of it - the more I became convinced that it may have been a captured blade and then put into use by the Chilean armed forces on their Mausers. Of course it would fit the rifle, both Argentina and Chilean militaries were equipped with Mausers (not the same models but apparently close enough to fit the same bayonets). A little more thought and I figured it may also have been part of a contracted shipment of bayonets originally made for Argentina but then for some reason intentionally diverted to Chile by the manufacturer. No matter what I came up with as the possible reason a Chileno Mauser had an Argentine bayonet attached to it - all I could think was that maybe it belonged there and I had screwed up by breaking up the pair.
So, I started looking around on the end-all-be-all when it comes to doing quick research - the Internet. I found some site or forum wherein the author claimed that I was indeed correct, they had been seized during combat between Chile and Argentina. I searched the Internet, found one for sale at less than the price for which I had sold mine, and ordered it figuring it was meant to be paired with my rifle. It arrived today - as nice looking as the first one.
I got a bit more curious about it today and tried to find the site or forum where I had read these were seized bayonets. I could not find it. What I did find though was a site that seems to have more, better detailed, better organized and what was probably correct information about these bayonets: WorldBayonets.com - specifically this page about Argentine bayonets. If you read it and compare it to why I thought the crest was ground off, you will see, I was evidently wrong. It was not because these bayonets were captured by the Chilean military from Argentine forces - nor that a shipment first destined to Argentina was rerouted to Chile. In other words, the site where I saw the info saying they had been seized in combat was also full of balderdash even though the author seemed to come off intelligently and as someone knowledgeable on the subject. The apparent reason the crests had been ground off was much more benign - it was because when these blades were exported to the USA as surplus in the 1950s and 1960s, the Argentine government required that their seal be ground off (and note that WorldBayonets makes reference to Colin Webster the author who wrote a book about them while the other guy referenced no one). There went my hopes, that it actually belonged with the Chileno Mauser, over the cliff to the wave battered rocks below. Anyway, I'd sure like to find one with the seal intact - might be worth quite a bit more.
So, what is the correct bayonet for my Chileno Mauser. It is the Chileno Modelo 1895 bayonet; most of them were made by Weyersberg-Kirschbaum (source) - the same company that made the Argentine bayonets (source). I am going to search out one of them and in the meantime I can adorn my Chileno Mauser with the Argentine bayonet just for the heck of it.
So if you thought I was going to say I was an idiot for selling the first one - no I was not even though I should have done more checking before getting rid of it. After all, what I made on it paid for about 40% of what I had paid for it and the Mauser nd the rifle is worth way more than he remaining 60%. What I did though that was really stupid was ordering the second one based on my idea that it belonged paired with the Chileno Mauser and may have been a captured bayonet and then believing what I had wanted to believe about it after to brief a check. I really should have done additional research on these bayonets and I would have found out it was not correct for the Chileno Mauser and thus did not need to order it.
How did it wind up on the Chileno Mauser - who in Hades knows! My uneducated guess is that they were abundant when the Chileno Mausers were imported and because they fit them - dealers snapped them into place to make the rifles more appealing. Like I said though, that is just my guess - don't go quoting me as some sort of expert on them.
Back to my stupidity for a moment - sometimes even being stupid has its unexpected rewards. I sold my original Argentine bayonet for about $110. I had had it for sale at $125 but lowered the price in a package deal to someone buying numerous items from me and it worked out to that amount when sold. I purchased the new one for $90.03. That is just .03 cents under what will be a $20 profit if I sell the new one for the same price. A profit would be a nice reward. Since these usually sell for quite a bit higher than the price I paid for the second one, even somewhat more than what for what I sold the first one, I probably will have no difficulty selling it and reaping that profit if I decide to do so. So even though I should not have bought the second one without further checking to see if it belonged paired with my Chileno Mauser - I may have made out by buying it. That is, I may have made out, if I decide to sell this one too. It may wind up as a wall hanger for awhile before I do that.
When it comes right down to it, the end result was not bad at all considering everything - even my stupidity.
All the best,
Glenn B
The more I thought about that bayonet and the more I wondered why the Argentine crest had been ground off of it - the more I became convinced that it may have been a captured blade and then put into use by the Chilean armed forces on their Mausers. Of course it would fit the rifle, both Argentina and Chilean militaries were equipped with Mausers (not the same models but apparently close enough to fit the same bayonets). A little more thought and I figured it may also have been part of a contracted shipment of bayonets originally made for Argentina but then for some reason intentionally diverted to Chile by the manufacturer. No matter what I came up with as the possible reason a Chileno Mauser had an Argentine bayonet attached to it - all I could think was that maybe it belonged there and I had screwed up by breaking up the pair.
So, I started looking around on the end-all-be-all when it comes to doing quick research - the Internet. I found some site or forum wherein the author claimed that I was indeed correct, they had been seized during combat between Chile and Argentina. I searched the Internet, found one for sale at less than the price for which I had sold mine, and ordered it figuring it was meant to be paired with my rifle. It arrived today - as nice looking as the first one.
 |
| Like with the first one, this second one has matching serial numbers on the blade and on the scabbard. |
So, what is the correct bayonet for my Chileno Mauser. It is the Chileno Modelo 1895 bayonet; most of them were made by Weyersberg-Kirschbaum (source) - the same company that made the Argentine bayonets (source). I am going to search out one of them and in the meantime I can adorn my Chileno Mauser with the Argentine bayonet just for the heck of it.
So if you thought I was going to say I was an idiot for selling the first one - no I was not even though I should have done more checking before getting rid of it. After all, what I made on it paid for about 40% of what I had paid for it and the Mauser nd the rifle is worth way more than he remaining 60%. What I did though that was really stupid was ordering the second one based on my idea that it belonged paired with the Chileno Mauser and may have been a captured bayonet and then believing what I had wanted to believe about it after to brief a check. I really should have done additional research on these bayonets and I would have found out it was not correct for the Chileno Mauser and thus did not need to order it.
How did it wind up on the Chileno Mauser - who in Hades knows! My uneducated guess is that they were abundant when the Chileno Mausers were imported and because they fit them - dealers snapped them into place to make the rifles more appealing. Like I said though, that is just my guess - don't go quoting me as some sort of expert on them.
Back to my stupidity for a moment - sometimes even being stupid has its unexpected rewards. I sold my original Argentine bayonet for about $110. I had had it for sale at $125 but lowered the price in a package deal to someone buying numerous items from me and it worked out to that amount when sold. I purchased the new one for $90.03. That is just .03 cents under what will be a $20 profit if I sell the new one for the same price. A profit would be a nice reward. Since these usually sell for quite a bit higher than the price I paid for the second one, even somewhat more than what for what I sold the first one, I probably will have no difficulty selling it and reaping that profit if I decide to do so. So even though I should not have bought the second one without further checking to see if it belonged paired with my Chileno Mauser - I may have made out by buying it. That is, I may have made out, if I decide to sell this one too. It may wind up as a wall hanger for awhile before I do that.
When it comes right down to it, the end result was not bad at all considering everything - even my stupidity.
All the best,
Glenn B
