Eickhorn M7

[Paul M]

This came my way and I am having hard time finding any information on blade stamped M7 with the Eickhorn logo.

The story with this piece is that its a prototype and this piece was one of 3 that were brought back from Germany.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks, Paul

[Paul M]

More pics

 

[Misfit 45]

Hi,

Don't know if it is a prototype. Eickhorn had contracts with Haiti, Indonesian and Thailand. Eickhorn made Colt marked blades with two lines and the Made in W.Germany marked blade as well. They also made commercial versions in the 1980s from left over inventory. I learned all this this from Bill Humes. I have not seen one with only the squirrel mark. Nice fine. Half guards are not very easy to find.

Marv

[SKIPH]

Marv is on top of it! Back in the 80s Eickhorn was selling these in all their ads. The Eickhorn squirrel is cool. SKIP

[Paul M]

Thank you for your input. Even though Eickhorn has produced many of these over the years, no one has seen one with only the Eickhorn logo?

If so, could this could lend credence to the prototype theory?

Paul

[sactroop]

I don't know the answer to your question. Eickhorn does have something of a rocky history. They've been on the upswing ,mostly, recently. The use of just the squirrel mark may help identify the time frame that this piece was made.

[porterkids]

I do not know what this piece is but I find it very interesting. Some observations that lead me to believe that it is an early or pre-production piece. The blade has a full tang and the pommel is welded to the tang. Grips are secured by screws and nuts. The standard Eickhorn bayonets have a one piece grip that is pressed onto a short blade tang and have a threaded sleeve cast into the back end of the grip for the pommel screw. The cross guard appears to be thicker than standard. The finish is not what is used on most of the standard Eickhorn bayonets for the past 20-25 years. They have used a process resulting in a dark black or red color on the blade.

 

I have an early M7L that has the same hilt assembly, but with a standard cross guard. It is pictured in Jim Maddox's book.

 

If I saw this for sale I would definitely buy it.

[remman]

Since there seems to be a renewed interest in M7 bayonets I went through my collection and found three pieces made by Eickhorn with the short guard. All three are identical to the one under discussion in that they have welded pommels and crossguards, solid tangs and 2 piece grips secured by screws and nuts. The first is totally unmarked except for the standard U.S. M7 on the crossguard. The second has the 2-line Colt marking on the blade and the third has the 2-line Colt marking on the blade with Made in W. Germany in a semi-circle around the barrel ring. Although I do not currently have one I am sure there is a version with the 3-line marking. Cannot say I've seen the squirrel mark on an M7 but it is on the Eickhorn Stoner bayonets.