No8 BAYONET. A point to ponder

[Peter Laidler]

I need a bit of assistance from the forum flock regarding my No8 bayonet.

I have one. You know the sort. LOOKS like a No5 but with a smaller dia crosspiece. I was having a look at mine last week, alongside a No5 bayonet. I was surprised that the opening in the rear of the pommel seemed to be slightly smaller than the No5 bayonet

My No8 bayonet hole dia .344" (8.75mm) with the slot along the top .216" wide
My No5 bayonet hole dia .372" - 3/8" (9.43mm) and slot along the top: as above

Are they ALL like this. I ask because it's not as if you can test-fit a No8 on a No5 rifle or Sterling SMG

It does seem strange that the No5 and No8 bayonets would have different dia holes for the bayonet standard fitting. Maybe it was a mechanical safety feature so that a small dia pommel hole bayonet could not be fitted (?) to a No5 rifle or Sterling SMG with disastrous results caused by a bullet hitting the smaller dia crosspiece. Even though that while a No5 bayonet might be a very loose fit a SLEM rifle, a No8 bayonet would not clip nto a No5 rifle or Sterling SMG

Apart from that daft reason, I can see absolutely no reason why the pommel would need to be changed.

As a matter of interest, the catch and nut are also a slightly smaller dia, to match the geometry of the smaller bayonet standard opening.

Anyone else out there in forumland noticed this?

Information

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[johnn]

Hi Peter , just compared , measured , My No 5 and No 8 , both 1946 Poole , 372 and 372 so they are the same . Hope this is of help .
John

[Flying10uk]

I was surprised that the opening in the rear of the pommel seemed to be slightly smaller than the No5 bayonet

Could the end of the hole in the pommel have been closed up a little (.028") by the end of the bayonet, the pommel, having been used as a hammer, as soldiers do sometimes when they don't have an actual hammer?

One possibly needs to sit down before reviewing some of the prices currently being asked for No8 bayonets.

[Flying10uk]

No8 bayonets for sale. (Not a recommendation to buy, before everyone starts grabbing their wallets.)

War Department Militaria | Rare No 8 Experimental Bayonet

England: English No.8 Experimental bayonet by Poole (ABCN162-1)(K 35)(JN0)

[browningautorifle]

We had one doing the rounds here with a nere-do-well that came to me and asked what he had. I told him but it sort of bounced off. He later sold it to a friend of mine at a curio and it went into a collection. This was 20 years back when it only brought in a couple hundred CDN$ That price of 500-850GBP sounds about right actually. Comparative rarity...

[Peter Laidler]

I am totally lost for words...........

[browningautorifle]

Comparative rarity. Imagine if the old hands could sit up and see what their WW1 cocarocka is selling for now?

[skiprat]

I have seen two types of No8 pommel on internet images,
Ones with the thro. oil/clearance hole (as per the No5 bayonet) and ones without the hole! Would there have been two makers for such a limited number made?
obviously from the internet you can not get any indication of a difference in size,
I have seen some raw castings of the No5 pommels. with no machining carried out. they all have a small dimple cast in where the oil hole will be machined. ( both BSA. and HC marked)