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My first bayonet! Now . . . what is it? :)


stratasfan
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Here it is. Got this with my USN knife, so these are my first military blades! This one I know is . . . a bayonet! Other than that . . . would love to be enlightened. Era, make, who was issued it, what was it used for, etc.

 

What is the sheath made of? Under the paint loss, it looks like wood. But, then, I had no idea that the USN sheath was plastic. so, hoping some blade experts can help me out! Any thoughts at all are welcome! Also, if I need to take any other pics, just tell me, as I didn't know what to show exactly.

 

This thing has a cool little button that keep the blade in the sheath. Also, is that wire to hook to a special belt?

 

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It is an M1 Garand bayonet. The scabbard is Danish but it looks like the bayonet itself is US made WWII. I am not a pro on these whatsoever, so I am sure there are others that can tell you more about it.

 

-Ski

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As above....it's a WW2 US manufactured (Union Fork& Hoe) M1 rifle bayonet in a post war Danish scabbard. These were imported probably 20 years ago. If you want a correct 10" WW2 GI scabbard, they're available. Probably $40-$60 depending on condition.

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U.F.H = Union Fork & Hoe (Manufacturer)

 

Oh, that's cool! I think that company was in Columbus!

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As above....it's a WW2 US manufactured (Union Fork& Hoe) M1 rifle bayonet in a post war Danish scabbard. These were imported probably 20 years ago. If you want a correct 10" WW2 GI scabbard, they're available. Probably $40-$60 depending on condition.

 

Do US scabbards look similar? This one looks like it is wood under the paint.

 

What would you say the value is for this bayonet with the Danish scabbard? And what do you think would be the value of this bayonet with a US scabbard? Just wondering!

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A US scabbard will look very similar it will be made of a plastic material and marked with a flaming bomb with U.S. inside it. Called the M7 scabbard. I see them go with the US scabbard anywhere from $75-$125 so may be less with your scabbard, don’t know much about the danish ones.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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stratasfan- Nice find! Nice US M1 bayonet. The others gave you great info on your find. You now have two WW2 era edged weapons. Thanks for showing! SKIP

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Are there any marks on the other side of the blade of the bayo? Through sometime in 1942, the standard US bayo had a 16” blade. The 10” blade started in 42 or 43, with an order going out to cut the earlier ones down to 10”.

 

Scabbards were cut down too. So when looking at a scabbard, there are two V notches where green meets metal if the scabbard was built as a 10” and those V notches are missing if it was cut down from 16”. If that doesn’t make sense, Pm and I’ll try to illustrate it better

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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There should not normally be marks on the other side of the blade, as this was made as a short 10" M1 bayonet and not as a 16" bayonet later shortened to 10", as is obvious from the fullers that end well before the tip.

 

@stratasfan: The late Gary Cunninghams Bayo Points are interesting reading material http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/bayonet_points.htm

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The wire hook on the scabbard reverse connects to the lower grommets on USGI rifle ammo belts and pistol belts of the era. It will also connect to USGI rucksacks, haversacks, USMC 782 packs, etc.

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Comparison pics.... above is a 10" bayonet like yours on a 42 date Remington '03 type rifle, but this is a 16" cutdown, UFH 1942 date (note "blood groove" runs through end of blade. Below is an unaltered 16" UFH on an M1 rifle 1943 date.

 

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Ohhhhhh . . . I am thrilled with the Danish scabbard! It is real wood under the paint, and I have a question . . .

 

Is there a way I can remove the rest of the remaining olive drab paint from the scabbard? Danish scabbards are wooden with a plain metal top, and I would LOVE to be able to rid it of the bit of remaining paint! So, wondering if anyone has ever refininshed a scabbard, as even if you wanted to repaint this one, you'd have to remove the previous paint so there wouldn't be lumps.

 

Danish wood items are a weakness of mine! :) Besides . . .the wooden scabbards look ever so much nicer than the painted one, IMO! ;)

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As to the gun . . . sadly . . . a rifle wouldn't be my first choice. We used to have black powder rifles, and Dad and I used to do a fair bit of shooting (I love target shooting and am a fair shot) until I learned that you have to buy black powder guns depending on your personal dominance. I shoot lefty (southpaw for baseball fans) and we had righty guns, which can cause injury if anything goes wrong, when you are crossing over the hammer side. So . . . in the end, I had to quit and we ended up selling them, as Dad didn't do it alone. If I could choose a gun to do target shooting with, it would be a handgun. I enjoy them the most!

 

I don't think a 10" bayonet on a handgun would get me far . . . -grin-

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Ohhhhhh . . . I am thrilled with the Danish scabbard! It is real wood under the paint, and I have a question . . .

 

Is there a way I can remove the rest of the remaining olive drab paint from the scabbard? Danish scabbards are wooden with a plain metal top, and I would LOVE to be able to rid it of the bit of remaining paint! So, wondering if anyone has ever refininshed a scabbard, as even if you wanted to repaint this one, you'd have to remove the previous paint so there wouldn't be lumps.

 

Danish wood items are a weakness of mine! :) Besides . . .the wooden scabbards look ever so much nicer than the painted one, IMO! ;)

After 41 years of collecting bayonets I would in general advise against attempts to restore a bayonet. I guess we've all done that in our early years and I think most of us regret it afterwards. It does not add value and to the experienced eye it is in most cases very obvious the item has been tampered with.

 

Conserve the item and leave the paint on the scabbard as it is, would be my advise.

 

The scabbard body is not wood, but some thermohardening plastic (resin). The wood grain pattern is common on European copies of US scabbards of the 1950's. You will find this wood pattern on Danish, Norwegian and Dutch scabbards. I suspect these were manufactured in Germany, possibly by Hörster.

 

Conserve your M1 bayonet with its scabbard as it is. It is an example of a US WW2 bayonet supplied under some US foreign military aid program to Denmark after W2. Somehow the US M7 scabbard got lost or damaged and it was replaced by the Danes with a European made M7 scabbard.

 

If you like a clean woodgrain scabbard then I suggest you keep your eyes open for a Dutch M4 bayonet with a woodgrain M8 scabbard, made by Hörster.

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That bayonet looks to be in amazing shape. I agree with Kilian that you should not do anything with the scabbard. Even foreign M7 style scabbards in good condition can be hard and expensive to find.

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IMHO, since you have an idea about the possible loss of interest from the collector community in the sheath in question, and the fact that it does belong to you, I'd say do what you think best. IMHO, orange based paint stripper would be my choice for removing the existing finish. I"d tape off anything that I didn't want the stuff on and follow the makers directions. I'm assuming you already have a good idea on how you want to refinish it.

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Thanks to all for the help! I've decided, after some thought, to actually trade or sell this on to someone else. Mom finds it disturbing, and I am not so attached or needing it for a display that I wish to keep it around. So, thanks for all the help! If anyone is interested, let me know! :)

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  • 3 weeks later...
Papas-Toybox

Any specific seaman's knife you're looking for? Lots of options out there. Otherwise how much you want for the bayo and sheath? I'll also pay shipping. The USMC Knife is the standard Kabar with leather sheath. I don't have any extras of those.

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