T Tacked Blades

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In 1874 the French again produced a bayonet whose style was to affect bayonet design for European blade manufacturers, used by fewer than the earlier Yataghan design there are still a significant number of bayonets using this distinctive blade style

The T Back is the ultimate for of the old socket tri-form bayonet. the T shape allows for a long, light but still strong bayonet. The mutually perpendicular legs make for a very stiff blade which is less likely to bend than a straight blade without the T

I hope in this page to provide a guide to the T-Back style blade the users and the various users of the style,, and provide information on the variations and the countries who have used them. Where possible I have used examples from my collection to illustrate the information, others have been illustrated by other collectors allowing me to use examples from their collections (and duly noted with thanks

I have not included re used bayonets unless they were modified,

country	date	details								length	blade	mrd
Belgium	c1868	A trial bayonet for an experimental Remington Nagant rolling block rifle. Uses the French Gras style blade but has a straight back hilt, with the pommel milled across the slot. Bayonet made and marked by Alex Coppel								648	526	16
Belgium	1882	For the 1882 Comblain, the bayonet has a straight hilt with a forward swept quillion and does not have a muzzle ring adjustment screw. The Scabbard has a distinctive oval frog stud. The bayonet is often referred to as the Garde Civic, which is a shortening of the official designation "Épée-baionette pour le Fusil Comblain des Corps Spéciaux de Garde Civique, Modèle 1883"								656	522	17.2
		Note straight hilt	Acceptance stamp	Quillion more open than that on the 1874
Belgium	1882	Identical to the above bayonet but without rifle mounts and with solid muzzle ring, thought to be a bandsman model								656	522	---
Belgium	1889	A possible trials blade for the 1889 Mauser, uses the T backed blade with a Mauser style hilt and a more curved quillion, similar to the more commonly found 1889 bayonets and the blade of the Comblain bayonet above								645	523	16
Belgium	1889	for the 1889 rifle and 1930 carbine. Mauser style hilt similar to the 1924 model. straight hilt, no muzzle ring adjuster and no quillion								571	450	17.5
Belgium	1889 shortened	The above bayonet with the blade shortened, for the 1889, 1935 and 1936 rifles								461	341	15.5
Belgium		Gras bayonet used by Belgium made by Alex Coppel and marked as such on the blade								645	523	16
Chile	1885	Kropatschek rifle bayonet . Modified by Steyr by modifying the cross guard to take a higher stepped muzzle ring to extend the ring to locking mechanism to fir the rifle.								645	523	16
		Stepped back muzzle ring	shaved pommel						Steyr makers marks
Chile	Police	The end of a Gras blade with a new cast brass hilt. there appears to be two versions of this one using a Gras blade and the other a new made blade, although there is some discussion on this point.

China	Fake	Large numbers of faked 1874's come out of China This one looks like a Peabody or Kropetschek. Like the Chassepot copies these seem to be based on German Ersatz models rather than the original blades, so maybe these are copies of blades supplied to China post WWI

China	Fake	Large numbers of faked 1874's come out of China this uses the Gras blade and a brass hilt seemingly based on the UK 1856
		Appears to be an original 1874 blade	UK 1856 style hilt with brass hilt rather than leather				Gras style cross guards
France	1874	Fits the Chassepot and the model 1874 Gras rifle. The most common of all of the T backed blades. Models are marked on the back edge with the arsenal name and the date (as per the 1866 Chassepots)								643	522	17.5

France	1874	The Gras modified by adding a screwed adaptor to the muzzle ring to allow the bayonet to be used as an earth for telegraphy use, blade is shortened and reshaped to make it more effective in penetrating hard ground

France	1874	Scolaire blade, a scaled down 1874 for cadet/children use, there are numerous variations with both stepped and un stepped hilts								470	375	18
France	1878	Made for the Kropatschek Navy rifle these use a blade and scabbard identical to the 1874 but have a crossguard without a muzzle ring adjustor and a straight lengthened hilt. Typically these will be found marked with a anchor mark on the crossguard								662	525	21
		Straight lengthened hilt					Unmarked blade spine
France	1878	Made for the Kropatschek rifle these use a blade crossguard and scabbard identical to the 1874 a straight lengthened hilt. Typically these will be found marked with a anchor mark on the crossguard- which typically means colonial issue								640	520	17.5
		Anchor mark on cross guard	flat hilt				Typically Steyr made
Germany	Ersatz	Modified Belgian 1882 Comblain, made by shortening the blade and scabbard. The rest of the bayonet was unmodified and would therefore not fit any German issued rifles and must have been used purely as a side arm probably by NCO's								415	280	17
Germany	Ersatz	Modified 1882 Comblain, the muzzle ring has been removed and the hilt slot lengthened and deepened to fit the Mauser rifle. The spring and press stud were also modified. These are usually marked DEUTSCHLAND on the hilt								653	520	--
Germany	Ersatz	A French 1874 blade mated to a new cast hilt and a cross guard modified to fit the 1888 and 1898 rifles. Used by the Landwehr and the Landstrum								646	522	19
Germany	Ersatz	1874 French blade fitted with a hilt similar to the German 71/84, issued to front line troops								655	522	--
			Distinctive 71/84 type hilt		Original makers marks				Modification to original tang
Germany	Ersatz	Shortened version of the above conversion								391	258	--
Germany	Ersatz	A 1874 modified by extending the tang and fitting new longer grips, the hilt is machined down straight and is made to fit the GEW88 rifle								653	523	17.5
Germany	Ersatz	1874 converted to fit the GEW 88 by machining down the original cross guard to leave just a spacer, and fitting another cross guard in front of this. The pommel is machined down as well.								643	513	17.5
Germany	Ersatz	French 1874 with pommel machined down and muzzle ring bored and thinned to fit the 88 rifle, the spring is shortened and fitted with a new locking piece, and the blade bent downwards about 80mm from the crossguard								643	523	23
Germany	Ersatz	French 1874 with modified press catch, a machined down muzzle ring and a shaved hilt. Marked DEUTSCHLAND								643	523	17.5
Germany	Ersatz	Greek 1903 converted to fit the 1898 rifle by fitting a straight backed Mauser style hilt, about 3000 of these were made and issued to Bavarian units								532	395
		New Mauser style hilt		Throat acceptance stamp
Germany	Ersatz	Romanian 1879 Martini bayonet modified by adding a bushed muzzle ring to allow it to mount on the 188 rifle								665	524
Germany	Ersatz	Converted Dutch 1895 Mannlicher with shortened blade and scabbard
				Sewn scabbard tip
Greece	1874	The Greek 1874 is similar to the French version but has a 2mm higher muzzle ring and the hilt is almost straight, with the brass pommel beign slightly below the wood grip level. All of these blades were made by Steyr and are so marked on the spine								640	520	18
Greece	1903	Identified as the 1874/03 these are standard Greek 1874's modified by changing the muzzle ring to one sitting higher above the hilt, by letting in a new section of metal into the original crossguard								641	520	14
Greece	1903	Same modifications as the above blade but with the quillion removed								641	520	14
Greece	1903	A shortened 1874 blade (shortened at the tang end the makers mark is now in the hilt area) fitted with a new straight hilt and crossguard to fit the 1903 rifle								515	402	14
Greece	1903	A new made bayonet has the hilt of the Austriaan 1895 with a T backed blade, made by Steyr this is the model converted by the Germans to the ersatz covered above after the Austrians and Germans went to war in 1914								512	400	13.5
Greece	1903	As above but made by the Italians, this is less common than the Austrian made model								512	400	13.5
		Italian makers mark
Holland	?	For an unknown rifle, the hilt is similar to the 1892 Remington carbine but fitted with a t backed blade like the 1895 Mannlicher								620	501	14.3
Holland	1895	Swept forward quillion (removed after 1900 and new made bayonets after this didn't have them) and distinctive pommel shape, made by HEMBRUG, OEWG for the carbines 3 and4								607	483	14.5
		Different scabbards indicate end user this is for Fortress Artillery, Engineers and Torpedo men (canal units)		Distinctive pommel shape				2nd Pattern without quillion
Holland	1895	Swept forward quillion ((removed after 1900 and new made bayonets after this didn't have them) ) and distinctive pommel shape, made by HEMBRUG, OEWG, Alex Coppel, and Weisberg Kirschbaum and Co for the carbines 3 and4								480	360	14.5
		2nd Pattern without Quillion
Holland	1895	Shortened and blunt version of the 1st pattern, 2nd pattern and Naval pattern possibly made for training purposes								375	254	14
Holland	1895	Originally the Dutch navy used the above pattern 1895, however in 1902 they changed to a model with removable grips held by a single large oval bolt and washer with no quillion..								480	360	14.5
Indonesia	1895	Shortened 1895 with local made wooden scabbard, probably used by locals fighting the Dutch for freedom, after WWII
		Pattern 1 with intact quillion
Ireland		French 1874 modified to fit the Italian Vertelli rifle, this is a previously undocumented conversion and the identification is based on weapons usage and the location from which the blade was bought. this has been plated but shows signs of regular mounting on a rifle
						Modified slot has slope to fit Vertelli mount
Ireland		A French 1874 modified to fit the GEW 88 rifle by modifying the spring and locking catch, these were made for the UVF in Northern Ireland
		Modified pommel	Modified spring
Papal State	1879	For the Peabody rifle, has a straight hilt like the Kropetschek but 4mm longer, made by Steyr identical to Romanian Peabody but for markings								664	523	18
Romania	1879	For the Peabody rifle, has a straight hilt like the Kropetschek but 4mm longer, made by Steyr								664	523	18
		Long straight hilt				Rumanian markings
Russia	1889	For the Nagant rifle similar to Peabody and Kropetschek except for using an internal coli spring and a less curved quillion								564	452	15
Russia	1874	Standard French 1874 with Russian acceptance marks and no French serials
Switzerland		Experimental bayonet for the Saurer-Stamm rifle, has low mounted muzzle ring and conventional hilt profile with fine curved quillion								516	401	14.9
Switzerland		Experimental bayonet for the Saurer-Stamm rifle, has low mounted muzzle ring and conventional hilt profile with fine curved quillion similar to the above but with slightly different dimensions								526	400	19
UK	?	A shortened 1874, fitted in modified scabbard with oval frog stud (material has been removed from both ends of scabbad), the muzzle ring has been modified and replaced to give a a full non adjustable ring. there are several minor variations of this								433	310	11.6
		Frog stud and muzzle ring changes

UK	?	Another shortened and modified 1874 usually described as a Home Guard WWII conversion
		Muzzle ring modification	nice scabbard shortening
UK		Pritchard bayonet for Webley Mk6 revolver, uses the end of a Gras bayonet on a brass or steel (very rare) hilt built to fit the Webly and lock onto the hinge and sight.								345	210

Unknown		Originally bought as a Kropetschek, closer examination showed this to not be the case, there being several minor variations from that bayonet. Neither is it a Peabody again for minor variations. It is possibly a variation of the Russian Remington Nagant with an external spring but I have not confirmed this yet. Maybe the muzzle rign diameter will give the clue - 18 not 17.5										18
		Straight nilt and no muzzle ring adjustor
				Compared with Kropetschek (lower)		Different slot configuration		lower muzzle ring and adjustor