You mean there were actually polished C7 bayonet blades for parade duties ? I distinctly remember my cousin's graduation parade at the RMC (the last time I saw her IIRC) and it looked to me like the bayonets on their rifles had some sort of chromed "sleeve" put over them .... I never did see her that day, or ever again for that matter to ask her, but I could distintively see that "something wasn't right" in the bayos and to this day (from barely 10 feet away, if that) and assumed that they were the regular variety with a fancy shiny sleeve put over them to make them look good ...
New Cdn Bayonet?
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Infanteer90
CGN Regular
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- Where you all want to be... Alberta
The bayonets are made by (and maker marked) Eickhorn, Germany. You will notice that even the Diemaco (now Colt Canada) marked bayonet is also marked Eickhorn. Carl Eickhorn has a long history of producing quality blades and I would be surprised if these bayonets are not made to the highest standard. But of course people will complain about them as they do about all new kit for one reason or another... you can never please everyone.
The "shiny sleeve" is actually a cutoff piece of a scabbard painted with silver paint. I have also seen one where it was just the last couple of inches of a scabbard (very stupid looking). This was prompted by an RMC cadet stabbing himself through the hand while doing drill. Fortunately this "safety nazi" thing seems to have only lasted a couple of years
Infanteer90
CGN Regular
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- Where you all want to be... Alberta
These "sleeves" are also used by the armed guards on colour parties so that the bayonets don't damage the flags should they come into contact with each other while flapping in the wind.
While I've always heard good things about Eickhorn this bayonet is lacking. I don't doubt the quality of the blade itself, but rather the design. The plastic handle is molded around a partial tang, not a full one. When we first got these back in '04 we ran the bayonet course in Quantico, VA and proceeded to break a large quantity of them. If they had been full tang than most of them probably would have survived, but they all broke after the tang ended, with no metal left to support the remainder of the handle.
FYI, we also had to have each and every barrel checked by the techs because a number of them were visibly bent. A lot more were replaced after being checked over.
Having said all of that, this bayonet is a more useful tool than the old M7 design. The blade is sharp and it works decent as a field knife, the wire cutter is a nice touch, but the attachment method to the vest basically means that you'll never use it since the sheath is not easily removed or replaced.
If these had a full tang, and if the sheath was easily removable from the frog, than you'd probably have a winner. But from what I've seen, it's no surprise that the Marines rejected it in trials.
Infanteer90
CGN Regular
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- Where you all want to be... Alberta
Yes, it is unfortunate that they don't have full tangs. I have to wonder how other bayonets would have compared considering they were being stressed enough that the rifle barrels were being bent? Bayonets are really only designed for stabbing and slashing stresses so if barrels were being bent I wonder what they were doing.... I don't recall teaching any prying or torquing movements to the recruits in battle school. That being said, many of the old C7 bayonets were broke on the bayonet course in Wainwright.
Pictures of the variations C7 bayonets manufactured by Nella.
[Some one mentioned that the FN C1 bayonets were tough.
There is a little known fact that there are two kinds of FN C1 Bayonets.
Manufactured for a short time were bayonets with a wide fuller or blood groove.
In my collection the FN bayonets for the C1 are a number of CA 1957 marked on the blade. Bayonets marked on the Crosspiece or Cross Guard 150-3900 C1. The 1958 & 1959 bayonets Just have C1 marked on the Cross piece.
CRAP! ANOTHER COOL COLLECTION PHASE HAS BEGUN...
I remember doing bayonet drill against wooden pallets. One of the bayonets broke and another one got stuck in so tight that when the pallent was laid flat on the ground the rifle stood vertical at a 90 degree angle to the pallet. After much effort on the part of the section commander and the recruit whose rifle it was, they managed to lever it back and forth enough to pop it free.
