M1 bayonets 1943 dated

[Misfit 45]

I finally got my dated 1943 collection together. It wasn't until several years ago that I learned from Gary Cunningham that these uncut dated M1s even existed. Prior to that I only knew of dated OLs. General consensus concludes that when the new M1s were being produced, these four companies used the old dies that were from the 1905/42 bayonets until they wore out. The new dies for the M1s did not have dates. UFH even used left over unfinished long bayonet blanks to make new M1s. AFH is the only company, it seems, that did not use their old dies for the new M1s. Thanks again, Gary.

Marv

[SKIPH]

Nice collection of dated M1s. I have yet to buy one. I distract really easy at militaria shows. But, they are on my wish list that I physically carry to every show on a "Post-It". You have motivated me. Thanks for showing! SKIP

[Elton]

Are these hard to find or do you just have to look a little closer? If a person was not paying attention they could be overlooked.

[Misfit 45]

I would have to say they are fairly hard to find. They are definitely easy to overlook, especially since virtually all the cut downs are dated.

Marv

[cgutierrez]

Could you tell me which you found the hardest to find? TIA

 

CG

[Misfit 45]

The easiest one to find is the UFH dated, made with a long blank. They seem to be fairly common. The OL dated, is the most scarce, but it was the first one I found. The most difficult for me to find was the dated UC. The dated PAL was found at a gun show and I traded three good bayonets for it. Not a good trade for me, except for the fact that I had them for a long time and did not pay nearly as much as they were worth at the time of the trade.

Marv

[Pudgy (V)]

How rare is a 16 inch OL 1943 dated bayonet? I would think they would have quit producing these to gear up for the 10 inch bayonets. Plus most of the 16 inch ones got cut down.

[Misfit 45]

As far as I know, the order to cut down the 16 in. bayonets came in March 1943 and took a month or so to gear up. That means that the manufacturers had the first three months of 1943 to produce the long blades. You OL 1943 is a good one. Hang on to it.

Marv

[Pudgy (V)]

I tried finding some production numbers for the long OL 1943 blades and can't find anything. I was hoping someone would know. I saw somewhere that there were 4000-5000 of the OL 1943 short blades produced. I haven't really seen many OL 1943 long blades, I'm sure there weren't many produced, and those that did, most probably got cut down before they left the manufacturer.

[hyrax222]

The modified M1905s have many configurations. You may find square fullers, round fullers, spear points, bowie points, dated, undated (with or without room for the date), transitionals,

false edge , no false edge, misc. or mismatched scales, the possibiities are near endless.

 

The last time I purchased a M1905 for under $100 was ...never and I have been collecting them since 1982.

[hyrax222]

I tried finding some production numbers for the long OL 1943 blades and can't find anything. I was hoping someone would know. I saw somewhere that there were 4000-5000 of the OL 1943 short blades produced. I haven't really seen many OL 1943 long blades, I'm sure there weren't many produced, and those that did, most probably got cut down before they left the manufacturer.

If you remember where you found the production figuures, please post!