Enfield Bayonet questions

cody c

cody c

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I've got a couple questions for the milsurp junkies, but essentially my questions come from a want for for a knife that could attach to a mk 3 front and not be so long and unusable for most practical applications vs. skewering enemies.

I should say, I have absolutely no intention of hacking up a milsurp bayonet, I'm only looking for available options, or possibly a broken piece that could be shaped, and yes I do know there is much more suitable hunting knives out there, big fan of my piranta for skinning actually.

So questions are:

What bayonets were interchangeable to what models, it looks like the jungle carbine no 5's will only fit on a no 5. will a mk 3 fit on a mk 4 and vise versa? is there other cheaper options that will fit on a mk 3 in a shorter format? What does a mk 3 bayonet knife cost these days? Any places to look for a broken mk3 bayonet?


Thanks, I hope my questions don't infuriate any of the purists in this section.

Cody.
 
You might be fine with a standard later pattern Indian bayonet for the No 1 Mk III. They are just a little longer than the No 5 (Jungle carbine) bayonet but still totally original. I would guess they are going for the $75 to $100 range now? I wouldn't suggest using any original bayonet for anything other than mounting on the rifle to make it look cool, though. If you want something for skinning, buy a skinning knife.
 
myenfield said:
You might be fine with a standard later pattern Indian bayonet for the No 1 Mk III. They are just a little longer than the No 5 (Jungle carbine) bayonet but still totally original. I would guess they are going for the $75 to $100 range now? I wouldn't suggest using any original bayonet for anything other than mounting on the rifle to make it look cool, though. If you want something for skinning, buy a skinning knife.
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Got a skinning knife. Thanks for the input, anywhere a fella may have luck finding one? Is there a different term for it to help me source one in internet searches? thanks!
 
Ebay has lots of Enfield bayos for sale. Do a search under "enfield" and "bayonet" and see what pops up. An Enfield bayo is totally wrong for skinning. You need a small, sharp blade with the proper curve and point which is easily controlled while skinning. If you want a good one for fleshing out the inside of a hide on a fleshing board, use a Ross bayo-a favourite of the fur trapping crowd.
 
Searching E-Bay, an evil, American, anti-firearm ownership empire, for 'Enfield' will also show you Pattern 13 and 17 rifles. Like Purple says, the last thing you'd want for skinning is a bayonet. They weren't made for that.
That shorter Indian bayonet runs $50 plus.
 
fella's, read the post, I use a piranta mostly, the bayonet will have nothing to do with skinning.

See pic below, mine is the same orange color, easier to find in the grass, and the replaceable disposable blades are especially nice if your wife works at the hospital:



Actually on a sidetrack, i thought it would be neat to make a draw knife for fleshing, I made this out of some leaf spring some steel welded to it and some of the left over zebra wood in the garage on a saturday, then I bought the book deerskin from buckskins and found out its totally the wrong shape. Ill probably try something better when I have time again.

 
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I ordered a Indian No 1. Mk. 3 Bayonet from here ht tp://www.thingsmilitary.com/bayonets/india-no.1-mkii-bayonet/
Costs 50$ (note the one I got was a Drill Purpose one, so it can be hit and miss).
 
Eaglelord17 said:
I ordered a Indian No 1. Mk. 3 Bayonet from here ht tp://www.thingsmilitary.com/bayonets/india-no.1-mkii-bayonet/
Costs 50$ (note the one I got was a Drill Purpose one, so it can be hit and miss).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, BTW, are the ones stamped RFI reproductions? I see some $70 jungle carbine bayonets on amazon.com and from what Ive heard they go for $200+ these days.
 
These are original. India cut down No. 1 Mk. 3 bayonets to a shorter length for there Ishapore 2A1's (a 7.62 Nato No. 1 Mk. 3) as in the 60's (when they were produced) they realized they didn't need such a long bayonet. RFI is Rifle Factory Ishapore (originally GRI, name changed when India became its own country), I believe they were all stamped RFI on them when they were cut down. Mine was a cut down 1942(or 1943 stampings are not that clear) GRI but it also has the RFI stamping on it. I don't know anything about the Jungle Carbine bayonets besides unless you know what to look for avoid them as they are faked often (like the Jungle carbine itself).
 
Eaglelord17 said:
These are original. India cut down No. 1 Mk. 3 bayonets to a shorter length for there Ishapore 2A1's (a 7.62 Nato No. 1 Mk. 3) as in the 60's (when they were produced) they realized they didn't need such a long bayonet. RFI is Rifle Factory Ishapore (originally GRI, name changed when India became its own country), I believe they were all stamped RFI on them when they were cut down. Mine was a cut down 1942(or 1943 stampings are not that clear) GRI but it also has the RFI stamping on it. I don't know anything about the Jungle Carbine bayonets besides unless you know what to look for avoid them as they are faked often (like the Jungle carbine itself).
Click to expand...

India did cut down some Pattern 1907 long bayonets, but the majority of what I have come across were made as short bayonets (Mk II, Mk II*, and Mk III if I recall correctly). Many will not have the RFI stamp as they were made in different plants. One of mine, for example, is marked MIL for Metal Industries, Lahore. Most of the short models don't have the "blood groove" on the blade either, and some have a squared off pommel.
 
Eaglelord17 said:
These are original. India cut down No. 1 Mk. 3 bayonets to a shorter length for there Ishapore 2A1's (a 7.62 Nato No. 1 Mk. 3) as in the 60's (when they were produced) they realized they didn't need such a long bayonet. RFI is Rifle Factory Ishapore (originally GRI, name changed when India became its own country), I believe they were all stamped RFI on them when they were cut down. Mine was a cut down 1942(or 1943 stampings are not that clear) GRI but it also has the RFI stamping on it. I don't know anything about the Jungle Carbine bayonets besides unless you know what to look for avoid them as they are faked often (like the Jungle carbine itself).
Click to expand...


Let's clarify that lest someone mistakes your meaning and thinks the factory was ever called GRI. It was Rifle Factory Ishapore before independence, too, but the pre-independence rifles were stamped with the cipher GRI because they were made during the reign of King George V or King George VI. GRI is the initials for George, Rex-Imperator, i.e. George, King-Emperor (King of Great Britain, Emperor of India.)
 
There are also the Patterns 1888/03 and the 1903.

If anybody chops one of those, I swear I will cry!

Beautiful pieces and SO very hard to find. Cost a ton of money and STILL underpriced when you consider rarity.
 
Thanks for the excellent photos, 5THBATT!

Lovely pieces.

I note with much drooling that you also have the 1907 original model ("Japanese Model") with the hooked quillion. I have one also, marked to the Rifle Brigade, but it looks like garbage compared to yours: appears to have been underground for an extended period.
 
TheTooner said:
Let's clarify that lest someone mistakes your meaning and thinks the factory was ever called GRI. It was Rifle Factory Ishapore before independence, too, but the pre-independence rifles were stamped with the cipher GRI because they were made during the reign of King George V or King George VI. GRI is the initials for George, Rex-Imperator, i.e. George, King-Emperor (King of Great Britain, Emperor of India.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry to all if the intent of my posting was unclear.
 
smellie said:
Thanks for the excellent photos, 5THBATT!

Lovely pieces.

I note with much drooling that you also have the 1907 original model ("Japanese Model") with the hooked quillion. I have one also, marked to the Rifle Brigade, but it looks like garbage compared to yours: appears to have been underground for an extended period.
Click to expand...

Smellie, i dont have that '07 anymore, swapped it for a full numbers matching 1901 MLE Mk1* with the guy i actually got the '07 from but i do still have my 1908 dated hookie.
That '07 (EFD '10) i was with the guy when he first picked it up, he was told by the seller it was picked up off a beach at Gallipoli by the guy that he got it from, he gave my mate the name of the guy & it checked out as someone who was at Gallipoli, so the story had some merit but at the end of the day just a story........
 
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