u/ThirteenthFinger

British P1859 Mk. II Naval Cutlass bayonet.

Lucked out with this one years ago. This example was produced by Carl Klonne, a maker who produced about 1000 or so.

It has BTSA mark as well as a government crown stamp on the blade spine (partially legible, but should be a 'Crown|B' mark). So it is not a commercial example, but rather one used by the British military.

An absolute beast and the longest bayonet I own (Yes, there are a few longer ones out there!).

Nice example I couldn't pass up. Was on my list for my WW1 collection. Needs a quick clean up on the blade. Slight pitting on the pommel. Other than that it's fantastic. Really solid bayonet now that I've gotten ahold of it. Simple and great design for the time.

Hi all. I am a bayonet collector and the main mod over at r/Bayonets. Thought I'd share a couple sword bayonets & bayonet conversions I have.

This example was once a Swedish M1770 sword and was converted in 1820 to fix to the last Swedish flintlock rifle; The M1815-20. Unfortunately, it is missing the locking ring to keep it fixed.

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Here is info from Per Holmback's website, Holmback.se (The best known collector/source for Scandinavian bayonet information) I have edited it slightly for spelling mistakes and typos.

"This is a very heavy sword bayonet with a brass hilt and leather covered wooden grips. The blade is double-edged and manufactured from shortened 1770s cavalery pallasches.

"Two variations has been observed; based on cavallery pallasch m/1773 and m/1778. There are slight differences on the blade."

(I am not sure which variation I have. I think from the M1773? Maybe someone can help who knows Swedish swords?)

"August 31st 1820 800 riflemen rifles with bayonet was ordered for Jämtlands riflemen corps ("fältjägarkår"). In 1821 it was decided that Värmlands riflemen corps ("fältjägarkår") should be issued with new rifles with a cutlass mounted as bayonet. ("nya studsare med apterade huggare som bajonetter").

These weapons were received in 1822 and after they were tested, they were stored in Karlstad army depot.

In 1855 some rifles were modified for percussion, and the rifles with sword bayonets were issued to the southern customs district (for the coastal guard).

The modification was performed by the armoury of Christianstad."

I will keep this on the shorter side and answer any questions should anyone have any.

From my collection of rare training & fencing bayonets, what we have here is a representation of the evolution of U.S. Marine training bayonets from 2001 to 2006.

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In the first photo:

[Top left 3] - 2001 Prototype M9 'Butter Knife' trainer, Aluminum Bladed, w/ M9 style hilt [1 of 30, 35 including other 5 Steel bladed examples]

- Early Prototype 'Butter Knife' M9 trainers [2 of >50]

Steel blade cores covered with hard rubber. OKC-3S style hilts, marked with 'OKC' and Marine Globe Anchor logo on opposite grip sides. These came in blue and black rubber covers, approx 25 of each were produced. The black covers were found to be a tougher material than the blue covering. These were produced c. 2002-04.

[Top Right 3]

- 2nd Prototype OKC-3T [1 of 30*].

Produced in early 2004. The scabbard was cut in half and permanently attached to a marked blank blade with no edge or sawback.

Note: The 1st prototype was simply the same, but without a 'scabbard cover', so to speak. It was simply a marked unfinished blade wirh no edge or sawback.

- 3rd Prototype OKC-3T [2 of 25]

Produced in late 2004, these have hard rubber light tan blades (no color used) and are simply marked 'The Ontario Knife Company | Trainer'.

There are two different variations here. One has an M7/OKC3S style crossguard and the other with the thicker M9 style crossguard.

Additionally, the variant with the M9 crossguard has an electro pencil mark on the right ricasso, 'UHT' which stands for 'UnHardened Tang'. This is a sub variant meant to test for flexibility.

Note: I've also seen one of these with the blade profile upsidedown. It is possible this was a third variation or that single one was assembled that way as a test.

[Bottom 2]

- Early OKC-3T w/ Light Blue blade

These were produced around 2005 and the Marines asked for the blue color to be changed to a specific pigment; A darker blue which was a traditionally used color. The quantity produced is unknown to me.

- OKC-3T - Final product

This is what Marines of the Afghanistan and Iraq war will remember training with. It was finally accepted around 2006. It was the standard training bayonet and, I am only assuming, still is today.

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All information is sourced from Homer Brett letters specific to each bayonet. Homer Brett was involved in advising and producing special Marine bayonets such as training, drill bayonets for drill teams, and a handful of other projects. His letters are often seen with prototype and experimental OKC-3S bayonets.

Second bayonet i just purchased this weekend.....

M1874 Gras...St. Etienne August 1877...no scabbard?...is it boring?..hmm....but wait...what's that in the tang? And in the mortise?

Tula mark! Russian used M1874 from WW1! Needs a bit of care but itll clean up well.

While I've read some 450k were shipped to Russia, I never see these for some reason. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough?

I'm sure u/GrasCollector can answer that? How uncommon are these? Why dont we see a ton of them? Glad i didnt buy that one on ebay a few months back. Patience pays off...or rather..saves on.

Cant even wait until it arrives to post the photos.

In lack of having purchased any bayonets since March or so? i recently looked over a few of my main search sites for a decent deal on something im truly interested in.

Luckily, I ran across 2 pieces on a fellow SABC members website, EBayonet.com.

*Info:* The first item is a British contract Irish issued No. 9 bayonet. Skinnerton says that the No. 9 with serial letter prefix PF was created for the Irish. This particular one was made in 1953 as you can see by the matching markings in great condition.

Personally, when it comes to commonwealth bayonets i usually stop at the P1907. I purchased this in thirst of Irish bayonets.

Now, i know u/GrasCollector has an Irish M1874 amongst many other variants...but I've got a cool surprise for him next post! The other item I picked up. I wont spoil the fun lol

*Canadian Ross Mk. II bayonet conversion*

Muzzle ring and small quillon removed, blade reshaped very nicely, with an original scabbard converted to fit.

I have provided several photos which show some of the remaining original markings on the knife itself; approval marks on the top of the grip tang [Pic. 6], original 'patent' marking [Pic. 4], and Canadian 'Out of Service' mark [Pic. 5].

The last photo shows the original scabbard markings still in perfectly legible condition.

On the top half; 1916, R.C.I., (Canadian gov't mark). On the bottom; Mk. II

These are knives fairly common converted bayonets that were sold post-war commercially to civilians. It was sold as a 'hunting bayonet'. Even being fairly common, it can be fairly difficult to find one in fine condition.

This is one such example that is still in excellent condition. That said, I have seen at least one with better blade shape work.

These knives are beasts. Seems like they are fairly popular these days, as I see them sell quite often. This particular example belonged to my paternal grandfather who served on the Alaskan front during WW2.

I found an article at the top of my search comparing the 225Q with the earlier KaBar. Interesting read if anyone wants to check it out. Some say they were possibly meant for Quartermasters, which I've heard before. However, my grandfather was a Pvt. and an army infantryman as far as I know. There could be many reasons he had this though.

Either way, the 225Q is a really great example of a nice fighting knife IMO, if not a bit heavy.

The United States M1918 Mk. 1 Trench knife was supposed to be used during WW1. However, because it was made nearer to the end of the war, many did not see service. However, they ended up seeing more service during WW2.

Given to me as a birthday present years back. It's in so-so condition, but I enjoy it this way. You can see part of the guard was ground flat on one side. This was done by U.S. paratroops during ww2. It wouldn't dig into their hip when in its' scabbard. I do not have an original scabbard, unfortunately.

I am not an expert in fighting knives. I am mainly a bayonet collector. This means I do have a few fighting knives and bayonets converted into trench knives. If I have any information wrong, please feel free to correct me!

YOU get a frog!..and YOU get a frog!..and YOU get a frog!!