501stGeronimo Posted January 17, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 17, 2013 Picked this up today, the bayonet shows wear even though the photos makes the bayonet look new. Has serial # on it and stamps on the sheath. U.S. stamp is visible on the blade and 1899 stamped on the reverse of the blade. Has a single rivet which is what threw me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misfit 45 Posted January 17, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 17, 2013 That is fantastic! Never have I seen one like it! Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSchlagan Posted January 17, 2013 Share #3 Posted January 17, 2013 Yes, that is something else! Those highly unusual index marks look like they may be Cyrillic. Also, most M1 bayonets that I have seen, that went to Greece on lend/lease, came back with serial numbers on the hilt; just as your Krag shows. It's Greek to me. Regards, Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted January 18, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 18, 2013 Don, I can see why you would think that the character on the lower left of the image would be Cyrillic (I am Greek by the way so I know a thing or two about such matters). But upon closer examination, it is actually a sideways '2' that has been struck over with a punch of some kind. The others are a mystery to me. They just appear to be lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSchlagan Posted January 18, 2013 Share #5 Posted January 18, 2013 A-1, Good catch; I hadn't noticed the 'bottom' line of the "2". That over-struck index stamp appears to be the same character as the one above it, to left of the "8". Additionally, they appear to be done with the same stamp: meaning that it was an 'integral stamp', rather than done with a chisel. And then there is that short-"E" looking character. All definitely appear as index-struck, to me, besides. Very unusual set of stamps. Also note that a different set of stamps were used on the scabbard, as compared to those on the guard. The whole bayonet is quite puzzling... 1) Re-arsenalled? [Who knows where...] 2) Wire-wheeled condition of blade indicates grips may have replaced because they were 'rotted-off'. Shop done? But WHY drill an 'extra' hole in the center of the tang rather than re-use existing. [And even the 'less-hardened-than-blade' tang will ruin a HSS drill bit.] That [where normally would be a] 'washer' on grip where peened, appears more as a specialized splined nut. 501stGeronimo: Do both grip panels the look the same, as far as hardware? 3) I do not recall seeing a Krag bayonet with a S/N on the guard. I have at least one that is stamped with rack numbers on the grip panels, and have seen several with various arms-room stampings; however, only on the grips. Quite interesting. Regards, Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunbarrel Posted January 18, 2013 Share #6 Posted January 18, 2013 We need Bayonetman... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
501stGeronimo Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted January 18, 2013 Yeah the both of the grip panels look as though they have been on since they were manufactured in 1899. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayonetman Posted January 18, 2013 Share #8 Posted January 18, 2013 I have never seen one with a single rivet such as this specimen. I have seen 2 or three others with numbers on the guard, I believe they were added by another country. They go too high to have been matched to the rifle as Krags did not go that high. They MIGHT have been added at a military school or other organization that had Model 1903 rifles as it was not unknown for the Model 1892 bayonet to have been used on the Model 1903 rifle. Here is one from my collection years ago: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunbarrel Posted January 19, 2013 Share #9 Posted January 19, 2013 Thanks, Gary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted February 12, 2013 Share #10 Posted February 12, 2013 I think I have figured out the grips. I think they were made from shortened M1905 bayonet grips. The placement of the screw hole seems to be identical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKIPH Posted February 12, 2013 Share #11 Posted February 12, 2013 Way cool! SKIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porterkids Posted February 15, 2013 Share #12 Posted February 15, 2013 Ah, I was waiting for this to show up somewhere. I was the #2 bidder ;-) I have one of these that I think is identical. I was hoping to get this one to do a close up comparison of the two. I've had mine for several years but have yet to identify it. I brought it to the Society of American Bayonet Collectors annual meeting last year hoping to get some new information on it but no one that I spoke with knew what it was. The fact that there are now two identical examples leads me to believe that it is not something that was just done in someone's garage. I might add that the grips are not retained by a rivet but a slotted screw and a knurled pressed in nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KABAR2 Posted February 15, 2013 Share #13 Posted February 15, 2013 That would explain why the washer has ridges like the threaded bushing in 1905 grips.... how about a photo of the other grip? looks more like a screw than a rivet.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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