Blued or Parkerized How can I tell the difference?

[Misfit 45]

Hi Folks,

I picked up a Model of 1905 bayonet dated 1908. It has been outfitted with WWII plastic grips. I wanted it to fit in my Detroit Gasket scabbard. It appears to be blued rather than parked. I searched bayonet points and found that some early 1905s that were used in France during WWI, were blued in France. No numbers are available. It appears that my bayonet was lightly sharpened and then blued (maybe). Some of the sharpened areas have rust blooms coming through the finish. Not sure how to tell if it is really blued or not other than the fact that it looks very smooth and blue. Then there is the question whether or not it was simply blued by someone recently. There is no smell of cold blue. With the grips off, you can see that the handle area is not particularly blue, but maybe only the blades were blued. Don't know. What's up with this thing? Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

 

[bheskett]

Yours is blued. Parkerized is the dull grey finish.

 

Bob

[hawkdriver]

And parking is typically rough. Run a microfiber towel down the blade, blue will be smooth, park will snag and drag.

[Misfit 45]

Thanks for the quick responses. The real question then, is why is it blued? Based on the bit of research I've done. The only time the older 1905s were blued was during WWI as a way to dull the bright finish of the original bayonet. I'm not sure a determination is possible given the possibility that my bayonet could have been bubba blued (although it is a fine job of bluing). Thanks again.

Marv

[hawkdriver]

Blueing is a simple process that many past gun owners have used to stop and prevent rusting. It is possible that it was service blued, no way of really telling.

[Jack's Son]

Hawks answer is the best. I've always explained it as a texture feeling vs a smooth feeling.

[Big Al]

As for the tang, the quality of bluing depends on how well the surface is polished before the process is performed. Since the tang is covered by the grips, there is no real need to polish that area.