Welcome
To My M1 Bayonet Page.
This is a page that I have made up after finding
the information below about the US M1 bayonet, the reason for this page is the
bayonet as shown at the bottom of the picture below. This is the longer M1 bayonet, but it has been cut down to the length of the shorter
one above it.
The information and pictures below (italic text) came from the 5th
Rangers website and many thanks to Mike for his kind permission to use
the images below.
Bayonet, M1 and Bayonet M1905 E1 History
The M1 Bayonet was the standard short bayonet for the
M1
Garand and M1903/1903A3
rifles during WWII.
Introduced in March 1943 it featured a fuller that stopped short of the tip;
unlike the shortened models. The release button was located at the base of the
guard; opposite the muzzle loop. The scabbard was the plastic M7.
Bottom of the photo right is the M1905 E1
bayonet. These were made from existing M1905 or M1942 16" bayonets. They were
ground down to the standard 10" length with the tip on center. The fuller runs
the full length of the blade. While the M1905 and M1942 16" bayonets continued
to see use during WWII in un-cut form; the M1 and M1905 E1 bayonets were the
standard issue after the spring of 1943
Further US army WW2 knives information can be
found here.
Below are two more images I found and thanks
to Carl at old-smithy.info I
was able to use them in this page for information. Both are of the cut down
bayonet, but the one below left is interesting, as it has an offset grind on it
rather than the central point as in the other picture.
Bayonet
details from Ed at
Inert-Ord.net.
The cut-down one on the left above ("offset
grind") is often referred to as a "Bowie Point", the other the "Spear Point".
The Bowie (M1905E1) is usually done to the M1905, as the nomenclature implies.
The spear point is usually done to the WWII "M1942" bayonets. Seems the reason
for the difference is strength. If you try to do a spear point on the M1905, you
end up with the fuller running to the tip. the offset grind keeps the tip thick.
Both cut-downs match the 10" length of the M1 Bayonet.
There is also a cut-down scabbard that goes
with the cut down bayonet. The outward difference is a distinctive crimped metal
mouth piece.
DML Bayonet Shortening
Method One (The harder and more
awkward)
Above are pictures of the longer DML bayonet and
scabbard compared to the shorter one next to it. The main reason for this
article is that I have 4 of the longer bayonets in my spares box, that I have
not been able to use with my figures. Until I saw the item on the website above,
about how the longer bayonet was cut down to the shorter one.
So I wondered if I could cut these model bayonets
down myself, as it would save me time searching around trying to buy the pre
made shorter one. So I got my ruler out and did some measuring of both items,
and I came up with the following dimensions:
1/6th Bayonet Dimensions
Long Bayonet Overall Length is 65mm - Long bayonet
scabbard Overall Length is 67mm
Short Bayonet Overall Length is 42mm - Short
bayonet scabbard Overall Length is 44mm
So to make the shorter bayonet out of the longer
one, I have to remove 23mm out of both the knife and the scabbard.
The knife is fairly easy to do as I have 65mm
minus 23mm = 42mm, it is the scabbard that will be the problem as I have to
decide just where to make the first cut, to allow me to remove the 23mm piece.
1/6th Bayonet Cutting
The picture above left show the cuts made in the
scabbard, I am sure I took out a 21mm section and as usual with me I cut too
little out, and I had to take out the extra little bit from the bottom of the
scabbard.
The picture above left shows the bayonet shortened
by 21mm. The picture also shows the shorter bayonet sharpened to a point and
re-painted with Gunmetal paint. Also in the picture, is the scabbard glued
back together for this I used Humbrol Liquid Poly, as I have been using this for
my models for years and it actually melts the plastic back
together to seal the joint.
Once it has completely set I will sand the joint
smooth and then re-paint it with an olive drab
enamel paint.
The picture above right, shows the altered
bayonet and scabbard after re-painting. The top one is the original one's as
supplied by DML, the lower one's are the altered parts. The scabbard is slightly longer than I wanted, but
this will not be noticeable when it is on the figure. Another thing I have just
found out by trial and error, is with rubbing a pencil point over the bayonet
blade, as it leaves a nice shine on it when it is rubbed with a soft cloth.
Method Two (The easier one)
This way of shortening the bayonet came about,
after I thought about how I am going to make the fighting knife as shown below.
I now wish I had used this method myself, rather than the awkward one above, as
it is a lot easier to do the shortening this way. As looking at the bayonet
scabbards, the recess between the top and bottom parts are not really that
important.
All this method involves is lining up the parts as
above, making some pencil marks as shown. And then just cutting both the
scabbard and the bayonet down to size. Once you have the scabbard measured out, just
cut off the top part and glue it back again onto the shorter bottom part.
The picture above right shows the long bayonet
after being cut down and sharpened, plus note the way that the blood groove now
extends all the way to the tip.
Another Bayonet Conversion
Another interesting item I noticed on the 5th
Rangers website, was another use made of the M1 bayonet, this is shown in the
picture on the right. Where the standard bayonet was cut down even further, to
make a fighting knife. This particular knife conversion seems to a custom job,
so if I was to make one I would use another fighting knife to get a rough
measurement for cutting down a long bayonet.
This looks to be an easier conversion for the
scabbard, as it does not have the recess between the top and bottom parts. So I
could just cut off the top half, measure and cut down the bottom half and then
glue them back together again.
The modified "M1" fighting knife was nothing more
than a cut down M1, M1942, or M1905 E1 bayonet with a re-ground tip. The locking
latch was removed from the grip and the guard was ground down. The muzzle loop
was also ground off and the scabbard shortened to the length of the blade.
Typical length was around 5" but since these were mostly custom jobs it may
vary. The particular model shown here had its origins as a M1905 16" bayonet and
still bears the 1908 mfg date.
With this bayonet conversion it was mainly a case
of measuring the fighting knife blade length, by placing it on top of the
scabbard making sure the point is not right at the bottom. And then making a
pencil mark where the hilt of the knife is and then cutting at that mark. Then
cutting off the top of the scabbard where the belt clip fits, and then glueing
this back together with the shorter bottom half.
The bayonet can be measured by placing the
fighting knife on top, making sure that the hilts are level. Make a pencil mark
where the point ends as above right, then cutting the long bayonet blade down to
the fighting knife length.
In the picture above right, I just have to sharpened the blade to a point and
removed the clip on the side of the handle. Also I have cut off the eye for the
connection to the rifle and rounded the handle off to make it smooth.
Above are the finished knives the top one is the
fighting knife, the middle one is the cut down bayonet and at the bottom is the
original long bayonet as made by DML.
I have also found a very interesting post by
1stlooey
at the Sixth Army forum, where he has repainted the DML bayonets. He has done
some very nice work repainting them to represent the
Parkerised effects on the
blades as shown below left. Also how he has repainted the scabbard, to lose that
bright green plastic look.
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