M1905 bayonet
The M1905 Bayonet was one of the U.S. most widely used bayonet. It was used in both WW1 and WW2. It was originally designed to fit the M1903 Springfield Rifle. Early versions (up until 1918) of the M1905 bayonet had what is referred to as bright, bare metal blades. These were 16″ blades and which included a wooden had grip. After 1918-1922 the blades were Parkerized (phosphate anti-corrosive finish) and Blued and the grips were made from black walnut. From 1922-1939 production was halted. During World War 2 production resumed again. The new bayonets would be produced with bakelite (plastic) black or sometimes brown hand grips. These newer bayonets would sometimes be referred to as M1942, that being the year they were made, but in reality they were still M1905 bayonets with just a modification to the hand grips.In 1943, the War Department decided that they no longer wanted to use the 16″ bayonets, so production ceased. In its place would come what is referred to as the M1 bayonet. This new bayonet would essentially be the same overall design as the M1905, but only have a 10″ blade. In addition, most of the longer M1905 16″ blades in service would be ground down to 10″. These ground down M1905 Bayonets are often referred to as M1905E or M1905E1. The “Beak”, “Knife”, “Chisel” or “Bowie” modifications are most commonly referred to as the M1905E, while the “Spear Point” is most commonly referred to as the M1905E1. Both can be clearly identified by the fuller (blood groove) continuing through to the point of the blade. They are easily recognizable from their M1 bothers by the fact that the points are usually a “spear point” bayonet style like the original bayonet or a knife or chisel point style. The fuller or blood line that runs down the blade goes all the way to the point. What makes it really interesting is the “cut down” versions usually include the manufacture that made the modification. This means there could actually be 2 different manufacturer marks on the blade, even though in reality, only one manufacturer actually produced it. The second marking would be a manufacturer’s modification mark. This then makes collecting the M1905 bayonet so appealing to collectors.
The “first issue” production starting in 1942 included both blade point styles and usually can be identified by markings. The original markings on the ricasso (manufacturer’s initials, ordnance bomb proof, original production year, and serial number) were left intact. If the blade was cut down to from 16″ to 10″, the contractor doing the modification usually placed their marking on the upper tang between the grip panels. These were referred to as M1905E
The “second issue” production included only the “spear point” style, and can be identified by changes in the method of marking. A lot of the original markings were ground off and the ricasso (flat part of the blade near the handle) was restamped with the contractor doing the modification. Sometimes you will see the wording “MOD -” and then the contractors initials. These are also referred to as the M1905E1.
Near the end of 1943, the new designation of M1 was used and the bladed would then be produced with 10″ instead of 16″. After 1943, no date stamp would be added to the M1 bayonet.
By Tom Crandall on March 8, 2013
