M9 Phrobis III Buck 188> Bayonet. Having a hard time identifying.

S

stackone

Joined
Mar 11, 2024
Messages
6
Hello all, I made my first post over in another forum and they recommended that I also post here.
I have an M9 Phrobis III Buck 188> bayonet with a green handle and black blade. I also have the green Phrobis dolphin sheath.
One side says:
M9
PHROBIS III
U.S.A.
Pat. Pend
and the other says:
BUCK
188
U.S.A.>
I have not been able to find much info on this black blade version. I've seen it with all of these markings mentioned but in the traditional silver blade, but not in black and with the green handle. Is this version something rare? Any help is appreciated!

https://imgur.com/eJ1cAhL
https://imgur.com/JWfedv7
https://imgur.com/dnQ3xX8
 
pjsjr said:
This site has a lot of information...
Click to expand...

Very true, except... it's for the 184 Buckmaster, not the 188 Bayo. Give this one a try: https://m9bayonet.com

Looking back through the Buck catalogs, the 188 was introduced in the 1987 catalog (silver/grey blade only), then in the 1988 catalog the option for the black (parkerized) blade appeared. While yours has the 1987 > date code, it wasn't available until the 1988 catalog. The "duplicate markings" PHROBIS/BUCK was dropped in 1989.

According to the M9Bayonet.com website, Concurrently to the manufacture of the Military Contract M9 Bayonets, Buck was also manufacturing M9 bayonets for the commercial market. The commercial bayonets were almost identical to the military bayonet in that the left ricasso of the commercial M9 bayonet had the same markings (Phrobis) as the military model, but in addition it had Buck's name and model number on the right ricasso. This carried through the length of the military contract that ended in 1989.

So... I'd say it something unique.
 
caquino said:
Very true, except... it's for the 184 Buckmaster, not the 188 Bayo. Give this one a try: https://m9bayonet.com

Looking back through the Buck catalogs, the 188 was introduced in the 1987 catalog (silver/grey blade only), then in the 1988 catalog the option for the black (parkerized) blade appeared. While yours has the 1987 > date code, it wasn't available until the 1988 catalog. The "duplicate markings" PHROBIS/BUCK was dropped in 1989.

According to the M9Bayonet.com website, Concurrently to the manufacture of the Military Contract M9 Bayonets, Buck was also manufacturing M9 bayonets for the commercial market. The commercial bayonets were almost identical to the military bayonet in that the left ricasso of the commercial M9 bayonet had the same markings (Phrobis) as the military model, but in addition it had Buck's name and model number on the right ricasso. This carried through the length of the military contract that ended in 1989.

So... I'd say it something unique.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the info caquino! The 188 > marking, plus the black version, plus the pat pend. line have me confused. It belonged to a Command Sergeant Major who commanded the 475th during desert storm. From my understanding that was a quartermaster detachment. So, perhaps this is a less common version that the CSM received?
 
stackone said:
Thanks so much for the info caquino! The 188 > marking, plus the black version, plus the pat pend. line have me confused. It belonged to a Command Sergeant Major who commanded the 475th during desert storm. From my understanding that was a quartermaster detachment. So, perhaps this is a less common version that the CSM received?
Click to expand...
It's not unheard of for units to use some of their funding dollars to buy commercial items for the command. I've seen units buy Gerbers, Leathermans, and quality sunglasses like Oakleys and Wiley-X for their members. Often they will buy something that has an NSN or a commercial item that is nearly identical to an issued item. I've seen companies file for an NSN for items that were never issued on contract just so units could purchase them directly for their guys.

I've also seen Marines buy the commercial equivalent of an issued piece of gear because they really liked it and wanted their own that they could keep and take care of instead of returning it and drawing another every time they PCS'ed. I've also seen Marines buy the commercial equivalent of a piece of gear that they lost, and turn it in when it was time to turn in their gear, so they wouldn't have to confess to losing something and going through that paperwork/hand-slapping drill. All sorts of possibilities.
 
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