Garand Bayonet Help

[G-Man WC]

Are there any Garand bayonet collectors here that can assist me?
Can you tell me if there are any obvious things to look for to I.D. a real/after market bayonet?

Thanks -g

[M1A Rifleman]

I think it depends on which model bayo your looking at. If it is the M5/M5A1 from the 50's there are some things to note. For one, there are Korean, and Dutch models that are being marketed as US made. The markings on the blade will give these away. Back in the 80's there was a company that built a quantity of M5, M4, M6, & M 7 type bayonets and sold them as surplus, but the quality was poor.
Just about anything can be copied or fabricated now days, but one way to check for authenticity would be to look for the DAS acceptance stamp up near the guard, but I have not found a bayo with one of these. There are some site that contain some information bayonet manufactures which is useful (www.usmilitaryknives.com), (www.hostaonline.com), (armscollectors.com).

Manufactures include Milpar, Imperial, Union Fork & Hoe, American Fork & Hoe, and others. Good Luck.

[Iknownot]

You run less of a chance picking up a repro if you buy from a reputable collector. THere are a bunch of sellers that only deal in things like bayonets. You are obviously going to be spending more $ though.

I'd be very wary of buying something off ebay or the other online auction sights, if you are worried about picking up a repro. There are a bunch of fakes and repros being sold as actual correct bayonets.

One of the nicest sellers I found, with a very good selection and really good photographs up on their site was gundersonmilitaria.com.

At the very least, the site will give you a good idea of what the various makes can look like in various conditions.

As listed above, usmilitaryknives.com has a bunch of really great info on what the features of the various bayonets are and what to look out for in repros or fakes. The main issue with the site is it's organization. You have to do a lot of wading and flipping between articles to get all the info together.

Good luck in your search.