Original Item: Only One Item Available. This is a nice late WW2 issue Japanese Model 30 Arisaka rifle bayonet with straight cross guard and blade bearing arsenal markings indicating manufacture by Toyoda Jidoshoki Seisakusho (Toyoda Automatic Loom Works) under Nagoya Arsenal supervision. The bayonet comes complete with original steel scabbard. Condition of bayonet is very good, though the blade is only partially sharpened, typical of rushed late war production. There are some nicks on the edge, and a few small spots of rust, but otherwise this is a great example of a later war produced bayonet, but a maker that still exists today.

History of the Type 30 Bayonet-

The Type 30 bayonet (三十年式銃剣 sanjunen-shiki juken) was a bayonet designed for the Imperial Japanese Army to be used with the Arisaka Type 30 Rifle and was later used on the Type 38 and Type 99 rifles. Some 8.4 million were produced, and it remained in front-line use from the Russo-Japanese War to the end of World War II.

Type 30 Bayonet was a single-edged sword bayonet with a 400 millimetres (15.75 in) blade and an overall length of 514 millimetres (20.24 in) with a weight of approximately 700 grams. The Type 30 bayonet is also known as the "Pattern 1897 bayonet". Early Type 30 bayonets usually sported a hooked quillion guard that gave it a distinct look, but later models had a straight hand guard. This bayonet is of the Later War design, with a straight quillon, with the final style flat-sided rectangular pommel. The rivet-retained wooden grip is contoured and wraps around the tang, typical of later war bayonets. The blade is flat without fullers and blued, and the crossguard is straight but still contoured on the side, which makes this the second to last pattern made by Toyoda. Base of the bayonet is marked with serial number 21932.

The design was intended to give the average Japanese infantryman a long enough reach to piece the abdomen of a cavalryman. However, the design had a number of drawbacks, some caused by the poor quality of forgings used, which tended to rust quickly and not hold an edge, and to break when bent.

These bayonets were manufactured from 1897 to 1945 at a number of locations, including the Kokura Arsenal, Koishikawa Arsenal (Tokyo) and Nagoya Arsenal, as well as under contract by private manufacturers including Matsushita, Toyoda Automatic Loom and many others.