Workshop journals

            Today's post discusses the restoration of the Swiss bayonet model 1889 (originally called Dolchbajonett Mod. 1889) and briefly about its history. It was a standard infantry bayonet for the infantry straight-pull repeating rifle of the Schmidt-Rubin 1889 system. Bayonets shared their serial number with the weapon to which they were assigned, so production took place at the same time as the rifles. Production was provided by the Waffenfabrik Bern and Waffenfabrik Neuhausen. The presented example bears the serial number 206762, when looking at the serial number tables with the production dates, it is possible to determine the years of production for this one to be 1896, which was the penultimate year of production for rifles and first model bayonets with a total of 12,500 pieces that year (with serial numbers in the range 195501-208000)      During service, it was found that this model did not hold firmly enough in the scabard a...

       During my visit to Coburg Castle this year (2024) , I came across a very interesting set of objects in the exhibition, it was a tableau with restored rifles, at that moment I said to myself "this is exactly the thing for me". Upon closer examination, I was, let's say, surprised not by the quality of the restoration work, but by the approach that seemed very unorthodox to me, let's take a look. Before we move on to the topic of unorthodox restoration itself, I will mention that the cocks of these flintlock weapons are permanently cocked on the first rise/safety bar, something that in my opinion should not be done in an long term exhibition, especially in such a prestigious institution with an extensive collection, but that is my opinion.      The restoration work itself, although unorthodox, is still interesting. When we look at the exhibit itself, apart from the cocked hammer, highly polished surface and beautiful markings, the restoration work ...

      One of the very interesting disciplines of restoration is the reconstruction of wire wrap on the hilt. The form can be simple, consisting of one piece of wire that is twisted and then braided onto the handle, the next level is two wires, each twisted in the opposite direction to the other (which is the case of today's demonstration). Braids can also be more complex, having a structure consisting of multiple types of wires of different materials or profiles, such wrappings can be found on the masterpieces of ancient masters.     Following pictures were taken at Coburg castle in 2024, they are shown as examples of the different wire wrapping styles before we get to restoring one. Here, the use of two opposing braids next to each other that are overlaid by other braid. This is an example of a very complex basket/textile looking wrapping.  Next example shows the importance of well prepared underlayer of the handle to achieve a desired look. In this case w...