Hello guys
I recently bought a (real WW2 ?) M1 Garand Bayonet made by AFH, and when I inspected it, I noticed that there was a "S"-like symbol beneath the flaming bomb. 
What does this symbol mean and is this something special as I haven't seen it on any other scabbard?

There are also other markings :
- UC or VC ?  on the locking mechanism beneath the grips

- A on the top of the knife

If you are referring to the S on the scabbard, it’s actually a stylized DG. The company was Detroit Gasket. 

7 minutes ago, Kornfield said:

If you are referring to the S on the scabbard, it’s actually a stylized DG. The company was Detroit Gasket. 

Thanks @Kornfield I  was indeed talking about the scabbard and does this increase the value of the scabbard or was this a frequent practice ?
 

Yes, there is a slight premium paid for a Detroit Gasket scabbard.  The bonus in this case is that your scabbard has been cut down from the 16in length.  That's not too common since it was discovered that these scabbards tend to be brittle which led to breakage during the cut-down process. So finding a cut down Detroit Gasket scabbard is rare. 

The Detroit Gasket company did not make nearly as many scabbards as Beckwith.  The type of fiber glass used did not hold the paint very well.  That's why you see many of them with the paint chipped away.  As you can see, the scabbard is a brown color rather than the yellow/green color of the Beckwith scabbards.

 

The marking on the release lever is UC which stands for Utica Cutlery which supplied these for several, if not all, of the other M1905 companies of WWII. 

 

The "H" on the pommel is a common mark which some have said stands for "heat treatment" , however, that has never been fully confirmed.

 

And yes, your bayonet is absolutely a WWII bayonet.

Marv

 

On 6/20/2025 at 3:57 PM, Misfit 45 said:

Yes, there is a slight premium paid for a Detroit Gasket scabbard.  The bonus in this case is that your scabbard has been cut down from the 16in length.  That's not too common since it was discovered that these scabbards tend to be brittle which led to breakage during the cut-down process. So finding a cut down Detroit Gasket scabbard is rare. 

The Detroit Gasket company did not make nearly as many scabbards as Beckwith.  The type of fiber glass used did not hold the paint very well.  That's why you see many of them with the paint chipped away.  As you can see, the scabbard is a brown color rather than the yellow/green color of the Beckwith scabbards.

 

The marking on the release lever is UC which stands for Utica Cutlery which supplied these for several, if not all, of the other M1905 companies of WWII. 

 

The "H" on the pommel is a common mark which some have said stands for "heat treatment" , however, that has never been fully confirmed.

 

And yes, your bayonet is absolutely a WWII bayonet.

Marv

 

Thanks for the detailed information, it's so cool to know the history behind such items, thanks!

HI,

 

DGMCO shortened, a rare and beautiful find.
I have one M7 DGMCO but a new sheath has been added.

As mentioned previously, the "lazy s" marking is a combination of a D and a G if you look at it sideways. I've got a few of them pictured in a thread a little farther down titled Detroit Gasket cut down scabbards. I've kept an eye out and found some examples both crimped and reused tabs on the throat. The early cut downs had tabs break when reusing, so they started crimping the throats on. 

The proper way to see the DG is with a mirror.  The logo is inverted.

Marv