VarkDriver Posted December 11, 2014 Share #1 Posted December 11, 2014 I picked up this collection today. I'm new to collecting bayonets and initially I was just looking to get a representative example to show with my USAF Model 604 M16 (AR15 really - has civilian lower receiver and is now semi-only, the rest of the parts are true 604). Now that I've had a chance to see what I bought (all 4 for $100 total), I guess I am now a bayonet collector! What I got are: Bayonets: One of each - BOC, ONTARIO, and GEN CUT. All are very good to excellent condition, except the GEN CUT has been sharpened correctly (very little of the sharpening shows and the bayonet is very sharp!). Scabbards/Sheaths: One of each - U.S.M8, USM8A1, and M10. The M8 is built as an A1 by B.M.CO. and has a Victory Plastics marking of VP over 44 and under the guard is stamped B 2/8 N. It's in VG to excellent condition. The A1 is marked P W A (the wide markings) and is in good condition. The M10 is in well used condition and has the following molded-in numbers/letters on the front: 19204 ASSY 8448476 over MFG 74846 . Now, to get the most-likely Vietnam War set I think I need to use the BOC bayonet in either M8 or M8A1 scabbards - correct? I'll post some more pictures when I get a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M7bayonet Posted December 11, 2014 Share #2 Posted December 11, 2014 Nice bayonets (of course I am prejudice towards M7s). A BOC with a USM8A1 scabbard would be a definite Vietnam match up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M7bayonet Posted December 11, 2014 Share #3 Posted December 11, 2014 A MILPAR m7 in a USM8 or USM8A1 scabbard would be an excellent Vietnam War match up also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarkDriver Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted December 11, 2014 Nice bayonets (of course I am prejudice towards M7s). A BOC with a USM8A1 scabbard would be a definite Vietnam match up. Thanks! That's the way I have them right now. I should be able to post better pictures of the bayonets (along with this one on my rifle) later this week or weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarkDriver Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted December 11, 2014 A MILPAR m7 in a USM8 or USM8A1 scabbard would be an excellent Vietnam War match up also Maybe I'll find a MILPAR one of these days!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayonetman Posted December 11, 2014 Share #6 Posted December 11, 2014 If you want the best Vietnam match, the scabbard should be a M8A1 by PWH (1965-1968), or TWB (1969-1970) or VIZ(1969-1970). Your M10 was made by (or contracted for, not sure if Imperial made the scabbards or subcontracted for them with their CAGE number on it) Imperial so you need an Imperial M7 to go in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarkDriver Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted December 11, 2014 If you want the best Vietnam match, the scabbard should be a M8A1 by PWH (1965-1968), or TWB (1969-1970) or VIZ(1969-1970). Your M10 was made by (or contracted for, not sure if Imperial made the scabbards or subcontracted for them with their CAGE number on it) Imperial so you need an Imperial M7 to go in it. I just reread my original post and found I put in a typo... The M8A1 I picked up is a PWH (wide spacing) and NOT a PWA... duh on me. So what I have is a BOC M7 in a PWH M8A1 for my Nam era "M16" rifle. Thanks everyone for responding, especially for the information provided. I've ordered the Cunningham bayonet book so I'll learn more about these. I also have another M7 bayonet & scabbard put away that my dad gave me several years ago. When I dig that one out I'll add it to my "burgeoning" collection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M7bayonet Posted December 11, 2014 Share #8 Posted December 11, 2014 Just to make you aware.....there are at least 130 different varieties of M7 bayonets out there. And most were fairly cheap 10 years ago. I was picking up surplus military M7s for $5.00 or less. Now they are becoming collectibles and the prices are only going to go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarkDriver Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted December 11, 2014 Just to make you aware.....there are at least 130 different varieties of M7 bayonets out there. And most were fairly cheap 10 years ago. I was picking up surplus military M7s for $5.00 or less. Now they are becoming collectibles and the prices are only going to go up. Yeah, I know. I'm mainly interested in the VN war era stuff. I like to have a representative sample of things that I can look at and remember the things I've read about (and sometimes experienced). I'm probably more a collector of books than militaria! Every time I get an interest in something, I have to get the books to read up on whatever it is. Then I just take my time in finding the items at decent prices - like this bunch of M7s. Three different nice ones with three different scabbards (and a buggered-up WW2 German bayonet) for $100 is hard to beat, and hard to pass up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactroop Posted December 11, 2014 Share #10 Posted December 11, 2014 A suggestion for the Vietnam time period would be to do some studying on the MILPAR M7's before purchasing. Gary, (bayonet man), included some good information on the uniqueness of their blade manufacturing. You might want to contact him via PM to see if he still has any of the CD's he's made up with the most recent information on U.S. bayonets. Just the sections on the M7's and the M8/M8A1 sheaths alone is worth the cost. Remember that after MILPAR got out of the blade making business they sold off their remaining stock. A lot of bayonets got assembled and sold on the commercial market with somebody else's blades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarkDriver Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted December 12, 2014 A suggestion for the Vietnam time period would be to do some studying on the MILPAR M7's before purchasing. Gary, (bayonet man), included some good information on the uniqueness of their blade manufacturing. You might want to contact him via PM to see if he still has any of the CD's he's made up with the most recent information on U.S. bayonets. Just the sections on the M7's and the M8/M8A1 sheaths alone is worth the cost. Remember that after MILPAR got out of the blade making business they sold off their remaining stock. A lot of bayonets got assembled and sold on the commercial market with somebody else's blades. Cool. I'll look into that CD! I think I saw it listed in the For Sale Forum... Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M7bayonet Posted December 12, 2014 Share #12 Posted December 12, 2014 As a cautionary note.....MILPAR, BOC, CONETTA and IMPERIAL, all makers of Vietnam war M7s, produced commercial and put together M7s when they were going out of business. IMPERIAL went so far as to use hand gribs produced by the Candian company and producer of the C7 bayonet NELLA. The only Vietnam war M7 producer that I have never found a commercial version of was FZR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarkDriver Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share #13 Posted December 12, 2014 As a cautionary note.....MILPAR, BOC, CONETTA and IMPERIAL, all makers of Vietnam war M7s, produced commercial and put together M7s when they were going out of business. IMPERIAL went so far as to use hand gribs produced by the Candian company and producer of the C7 bayonet NELLA. The only Vietnam war M7 producer that I have never found a commercial version of was FZR. More good info - Thanks again! Any easy way to tell them from real ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dohboy01 Posted April 19, 2015 Share #14 Posted April 19, 2015 Im interested in the cd from bayonetman/ gary.... Any suggestions on where to find it? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankerman Posted April 19, 2015 Share #15 Posted April 19, 2015 Contact GARY, bayonetman , and purchase from him if he still has some. CD is worth every penny and a must for collectors. Gary is an excellent person to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactroop Posted April 19, 2015 Share #16 Posted April 19, 2015 Go up this thread to post #6 that bayonetman made. Place your cursor on top of the name where it appears in the upper left corner. This will open a menu with some info on bayonetman. There's a bullet there to send him a message. That should get you started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dohboy01 Posted May 8, 2015 Share #17 Posted May 8, 2015 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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