Clayton Posted September 18, 2014 Share #1 Posted September 18, 2014 Gents; We have a WWI P17 bayonet but the muzzle ring on the crossguard has been removed at some point in time. Can anyone tell us when and why these muzzle rings were removed? Any help is greatly appreciated. Best regards to all, Clay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted September 18, 2014 Share #2 Posted September 18, 2014 Not a clue. Bayonet Points has no mention. I don't think it would work very well on a rifle. I'd like to know also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka bar Posted September 18, 2014 Share #3 Posted September 18, 2014 It may have been done to convert it to a fighting knife... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted September 18, 2014 I'm a very elderly man and some time over the last 50 years, I've seen other bayonets like this. I believe the removal of the muzzle rings was arsenal done but I don't know why or when and who ended up using an altered bayonet like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka bar Posted September 18, 2014 Share #5 Posted September 18, 2014 Hi Clayton... You may have missed my above post sir... Quite often the muzzle ring was removed to convert it into a fighting knife... The US made Enfield bayonet looked really good when converted... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted September 18, 2014 What's unusual is that this bayonet still has its full length blade. The blade is still approximately 17 inches in length. Would that be normal for a bayonet to be modified for use as a fighting knife? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka bar Posted September 18, 2014 Share #7 Posted September 18, 2014 What's unusual is that this bayonet still has its full length blade. The blade is still approximately 17 inches in length. Would that be normal for a bayonet to be modified for use as a fighting knife? It does make it impractical doesn't it? They usually had the blades shortened. Perhaps it never had its conversion completed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted September 20, 2014 One fellow member has emailed me and suggested this bayonet was used during the second world war by British Home Guard as a side arm. Can anyone confirm this suggestion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitter2k1 Posted September 20, 2014 Share #9 Posted September 20, 2014 One fellow member has emailed me and suggested this bayonet was used during the second world war by British Home Guard as a side arm. Can anyone confirm this suggestion?I would think if that were the case, it would have some sort of British acceptance marks. Also it's more likely they would of had a P1913 instead of the M1917 (virtually identical) if they even used them as side arms as suggested. I wonder if this was a civilian modification to make a bayonet into a sword or "homemade" machete. However, it was most likely being modified into a fighting knife of sorts. I've seen a couple of shrotened M1917 bayonets floating around with the original scabbards that had been shortened as well. Maybe they just never finished the job with this one. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share #10 Posted September 20, 2014 We thought perhaps photos of the blade's proofmarks might help in the identification of this unusual edged weapon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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