Original Excellent U.S. WWII M1 Garand 10 inch Bayonet by American Fork & Hoe with Rare CAB Grips & M7 Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition U.S. M1 bayonet with a 10 inch blade for the M1 Garand Rifle, complete with the correct WWII Issue M7 scabbard. They show very little sign of use, and look to possibly unissued, with all condition issues due to age and storage wear.

This bayonet is essentially the same as the earlier M1905 / M1942 bayonet, but with a 10 inch blade instead of 16 inches. In 1943, the U.S. Army made the decision to shorten the M1905 bayonet’s blade to 10 inches (25.4 cm) and as many of the M1905 and M1942 bayonets were recalled, their blades were cut down to size, and were reissued. These shortened M1905 bayonets were re-designated as M1905E1.

The U.S. Army also introduced a new purpose-made shorter M1 bayonet which was designed to be used with the M1 Garand rifle. The M1 bayonet’s blade is 10 inches (25.4 cm) long and the handle is 4 inches (10.1 cm) long. Like this example, they are easily identified by the blade fuller, which on a cut-down version runs to the edge of the blade. The shorter fuller indicates this is definitely a purpose-made M1 10 inch bayonet.

These shorter bayonets functioned well in the European theater, where in the rare bayonet-actions of the time they were matched up against the 9​ 3⁄4 inch long blade of the German S84/98 III bayonet fitted on the Karabiner 98k rifle. However, in the Pacific theater, the Japanese used the much longer, 15.75 inches (40.0 cm), bladed Type 30 sword bayonet on the already very long Arisaka rifle, which caused many American troops to retain the longer, unmodified M1905 bayonet.

This example is in fantastic shape, with just a bit of wear and oxidation from age and storage. The blade ricasso is marked with maker A. F. H. (American Fork & Hoe of Geneva, Ohio) above U.S. around the Ordnance flaming bomb. Below this is the manufacture date but as per the pattern of AFH, it is not visible due to the crossguard. The original phosphate finish on the blade of this example is almost completely retained, and the original factory sharpening is fully retained and still quite sharp, showing just one small dent. The blade, crossguard, and pommel really don’t show any signs of use, just some oxidation and patination from age.

The red grips present on this example are actually somewhat rare. The bayonet doesn’t have the standard black plastic grips, instead they are made of Cellulose Acetate Butyrate, commonly called CAB. In use, it was found that this material was softened by the solvents used to remove grease in the field. As it had been found that there were sufficient supplies of the black Bakelite material, the use of CAB was discontinued in April 1943. The red grips were almost exclusively used by American Fork and Hoe (AFH), and usually are only seen on the longer M1905 Bayonets, However it looks like some left over stock was used by AFH for this short bayonet. They are the early pattern without a metal reinforcement, and the right grip is marked B147061 next to a sideways 7 on the inside.

The original M7 scabbard is marked U.S. on the parkerized steel throat over the “Flaming Bomb”, and is in good condition. The VP marking on the underside of the metal throat lip indicates manufacture by Victory Plastics, who produced a variety of thermoplastic impregnated cotton fabric scabbards during the war. The scabbard body has no cracks or major chips, and looks to have a late or post war refinished body. There is just a bit of wear through to the original finish, and no sign of major damage.

An excellent 10” M1 Garand bayonet with scabbard by American Fork & Hoe with rare CAB grips, complete with scabbard! Ready to display or fit on your Garand Rifle.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 10″
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Overall length: 14 1/2“
Crossguard: 3 1/2”
Scabbard Length: 11 1/4″