Phrobis III M-9

K

KnifeBomber

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I know some of you guys have to be smart on Bayonet trivia, so here goes. I have a Phrobis III M-9 Bayonet that is marked "M-9 Phrobis III USA Pat Pend" on the left side of the blade, with no marking on the reverse. The sheath is a Bianchi International Universal Military Holster that also has the Phrobis Porpoise mark under the canvas webbing that conceals the sharpening stone. From what little info I had, I discovered that the Buck made version said Phrobis on the left and Buck on the right. I also read that Buck made every Phrobis bayonet out there. So, my question is why doesn't mine say Buck? Can anyone tell me about my M-9? What are these things worth, and do people really want them? The blade has hardly been used. It still has oil on it from the sheath. The handle has some dings in it, and the canvas and sheath show weathering and fading. As long as I can remember owning this thing, it has only been tossed from one box or bag into another. If I recall correctly, I think it is pre-Desert Storm. My dad gave it to me sometime around then. Kinda hazy on it. Hell, I just unearthed it again after several years of not knowing where it was. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Ryan,
heres the story on the PHROBIS III... Phrobis was the creator of the M9 but sub-contracted them out to buck knives.Buck did make all M9's up till they were outbid by Lan-cay in 1997 or about then, however Buck was stamping there name on the reverse side until they were told to stop doing so. It is my belief that only the first 1200 knives had the dual markings on both sides of the blade.
 
KnifeBomber: Not to sure if you've gone through past threads here about the M-9. But a fellow Buck forumite created a site not to long ago, great stuff to go by http://www.quarterbore.com/knives/index.html

Also, I recall coming across an article that Phrobis had some of their M-9's manufactured by Marto of Spain. Which also manufactured the short lived SEAL Combat Utility Knife (CUK). There was also a similar knife marketed by Marksman(?) that had 3 different interchangable guards for Survival, Hunting and Diving ( http://www.militaryknives.org/phrobis-1.html ). I come to understand that all 3 Marto made blades were not too popular with end users.

Krizzard, out.

"...Whoever kills with the sword must be killed by the sword... "
- The New Testament, Revelation 13:10
 
I checked out the links you posted before I started this thread to no avail. I know that this was a US Issue knife not a foreign made one as evidenced by the USA stamping. The Pat Pending stamp would lead me to believe that it is an earlier make.
 
Hi Guys,

I'll try to condense a books worth of info into as short a space as possible: Phrobis III developed the M9 bayonet and hired Buck as a subcontractor to manufacture them. All the US military contract Phrobis bayonets were made by Buck. Concurrently, Buck was manufacturing bayonets for sale on the commercial market. The military contract pieces were only marked on the left side of the blade. The very first 1200 were marked M9 / PHROBIS III / USA>. The ">" mark did not conform with the technical standards set up in the contract, and was removed once this was discovered. A little over 1000 pieces had already been delivered to the military. The remaining pieces were numbered (1-166) and split between Buck and Phrobis. Buck sold theirs to Collectors Club members, Phrobis made a nice presentation plaque and sold theirs. This bayonet has come to be known as the "chevron" M9. Following this the marking was the same, less the chevron. Shortly there after the PAT. PEND. was added. These three marking changes all occurred in 1987. The commercial pieces all had markings on both sides of the blade; Phrobis on the left and Buck on the right up until 1990 (I think) when they are only marked with Buck info on the left side.
 
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