Old bayonet sticks in the scabbard..

[Phaethon]

I have a Russian capture VZ-24 bayonet that's really damn hard to pull out of the scabbard. It's really kind of frustrating, since I'm sure it isn't supposed to be this way, or else a lot of infantrymen in WWII ripped their frogs off their belts trying to fix their bayonets to their rifles.

I'm really not sure what the problem is. I cleaned the scabbard and blade with a degreaser and even subjected the former to baking in the oven for a bit. I then oiled up the blade and tried it again but it's still sticking. I see that inside the scabbard there are two metal lips that grab the blade and keep it held in there which I'm guessing must be the culprit; does anyone know how I might loosen these?

Why were these even overly tight to begin with?

 

[hso]

http://www.old-smithy.info/bayonets/CZECH_VZ24.htm

Since it is an all metal scabbard look for any evidence of "pinching" of any part of the blade.

One way to do this is use a cheap paint marker pen that is easily wiped off with alcohol. Cover the blade and then look for rub marks when you draw the blade. It may surprise you to find some other point is grabbing.

 

[hso]

http://www.old-smithy.info/bayonets/CZECH_VZ24.htm

Since it is an all metal scabbard look for any evidence of "pinching" of any part of the blade.

One way to do this is use a cheap paint marker pen that is easily wiped off with alcohol. Cover the blade and then look for rub marks when you draw the blade. It may surprise you to find some other point is grabbing.

 

[Phaethon]

Provided that I find another grabbing point in the scabbard, or the culprit is those main two lips that I can barely see when looking in with a flashlight, how might I go about loosening them up?

 

[hso]

Find the problem first so we're not guessing.