Misfit 45 Posted October 26, 2014 Share #1 Posted October 26, 2014 Hi Folks, I bought this Utica M4 bayonet some time ago and recently noticed an anomaly that bothers me. Right in front of the cross guard, the blade appears to have been deeply sharpened as if it were refurbished. New blades usually have their true edges nearly level with the thick part of the untouched part of the blade ahead of the cross guard. See pictures. Could this simply be a slip of the grinding wheel, or do you think there might be some nefarious attempt to deceive? I welcome your input. Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKIPH Posted October 26, 2014 Share #2 Posted October 26, 2014 Marv- Is that black paint on the guard in the top pic. It may have been ground and painted black for storage at war's end. The handle looks good from the little seen. Do you have a full length picture? That's usually a better indicator of a resharpening. SKIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayonetman Posted October 26, 2014 Share #3 Posted October 26, 2014 As Skip says I would like overall view, closeup of the latch plate, and if you got it in the box a photo of the label. A standard method of preparing for storage after use was to reparkerize the blade (the blade was suspended into the solution) and the guard and latch plate were painted with a black paint. It is at least possible that this one had the blade resharpened prior to rebuild. The quick key is the paint on the guard and plate, and if the grip shows any signs of use/issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misfit 45 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted October 27, 2014 Here's some more pics. Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misfit 45 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted October 27, 2014 ...and some more pics Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misfit 45 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted October 27, 2014 one more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarheeltim Posted October 27, 2014 Share #7 Posted October 27, 2014 Looks good to me! Hope you got a good deal on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKIPH Posted October 27, 2014 Share #8 Posted October 27, 2014 Marv-By all I see, it looks like a NOS Utica M4, in the box. Just must be the grind, or the cosmoline creating an illusion. I can't tell. But thanks for showing. It just doesn't seem logical to put a used, reground M4, into a box w/ a new, mint scabbard. I'd say it's fine. Unless the M4 is not a Utica. SKIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camillus Posted October 27, 2014 Share #9 Posted October 27, 2014 nice knife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted October 27, 2014 Share #10 Posted October 27, 2014 I agree Looks like its just a spot or area where it rubbed on something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misfit 45 Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted October 28, 2014 Thanks Folks, Definitely a Utica. Thanks for the input. I usually look for that area just ahead of the cross guard for excess grinding. Now I'll have to be a little more forgiving if everything else looks good. Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayonetman Posted October 28, 2014 Share #12 Posted October 28, 2014 Nice set from the first Utica contract. I agree that it was probably just a grinding error at the factory that was not considered bad enough to reject it in wartime when they were a high priority item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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