Fake Cruciform Bayonet on Ebay buy it now for $195

Here is a perfect example of what NOT to buy when it comes to cruciform bayonets. It is so obvious a fake with the screwdriver tip.

British WWII No. 4 Mark 1 Spike Cruciform Bayonet W/ Scabbard | eBay

Excellent, excellent example of a fabrication. One pic saves hundreds of dollars...

The blade is a funny shape as well. Unless its just an optical delusion.


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No fair. It was too easy for you to spot having the actual item at hand. I hope no one takes the bait.

I sent the seller a note, see if he pulls it.

I've looked at it too and........................ Apart from the obvious, it looks very short too. Could it have been an original Mk1 with the blade snapped off and then just doctored at the front end to become the abortion we're now seeing

Anything's possible. It does appear to be very short but he claims the blade is 8" long which is what it's supposed to be. Doesn't account for the length of the scabbard being so disproportional in comparison.

It has the dimple on the end which most fakers don't include and the grooves don't look bad other than looking crooked like others pointed out.

I got a reply this morning thanking me and that he would look into it but the listing is still up.

Here's a thing............. Has anyone ever wondered how Singer ground the blades of the cruciform Mk1? After all, if you grind the blade with single or gang grinders, you MUST support the tip and in any case, you're grinding a shaft that narrows in both the horizontal and vertical plane longitudinally! It gets worse, because when you do the reverse side, there's minimal support.

I have often pondered this and thought that it'd be a great student discussion during your production engineering phase. Just think of the jig fixtures for such a project. Any engineers out there have any ideas. What about you JMooore or Big Duke. No magnetic chucks then of course. It still baffles me.............................

I should think Singer used a milling cutter to do the shafts of the cruciform bayonets. One flute at a time, working rotationally and done before hardening. It wouldn't be as hard to do as all that. I don't think the jigs would be all that astounding. Lots of this was done by men who simply understood what had to be done. And a milling machine...run by overhead belts...

I'd thought of the rotating scenario too BAR but the format/cross section of the cruciform seems to negate that. I see what you mean about being done before hardening but the material is still tough and needs support. Interesting in a nerdy sort of way