Caveat Emp...t..o..r...SARCO "1907 British SMLE Bayonet & Scabbard"

Their email ad sent me to their website, which stated (and still does as of this posting):

"1907 British SMLE Bayonet & Scabbard

Item Number BAY348
$69.95

Nice late manufacture, WW1 style British bayonet for the #1 MK3 Enfield rifle, 2A Rifle in .308, and Lanchester SMG. Steel with wood handles and period markings. Includes leather scabbard."

Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk. III: CHECK, got one.

1907 British SMLE Bayonet & Scabbard: CHECK, don't got one.

"Nice late manufacture:" CHECK, cool!

$70 ($90 delivered to where I live): CHECK, sounds good.

CAVEAT EMP...T..O...R!

Item arrived in today's mail. Looks good; in really good shape. Looks like I lucked out!

Not so fast, grasshopper.

The blade edge is unfinished; in fact it's about 3/32" wide where the sharp edge ought to be. DING DING DING went the alarm bells (finally). Even an unissued bayonet should have the cutting edge sharpened! Did they sell me a repro?

Contacted SARCO to ask whether "Nice late manufacture" is some sort of code for "reproduction." Yep, they replied (quickly), it's a repro.

You experienced guys stopped at the $70 price and said, "Are you an idiot--where can you find an original 1907 for $70 unless it's been beaten into a ploughshare?"

That's fine, but I'm no expert in WW I bayonets and the website listing explicitly states "Nice late manufacture," so it didn't occur to me SARCO would be representing a repro as original. I've bought a LOT of stuff from SARCO over the years and everything's always been original, except in a couple of cases they specifically identified as repro and I was willing to buy.

$90 lesson learned. Caveat Emptor.

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Originally Posted by tj214

$90 lesson learned.

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Please don't believe you're the only one to have stepped in sh#t at some time. We've all had our share of skruffy deals. That's how you get here.

I just bought a 13Pdr 9Ctwt projectile and it was VERY expensive...but now I have it and the case to go with. A hard to find combo. I wouldn't have had to do it if I didn't buy the case first...

There have been some really bad deals too.

LMAO about buying the case first! Who among us hasn't done the same thing (and usually more than once...)?

Like having to buy a rifle because you found an interesting bayonet. I bought the case because it was a scarce variation and I was pretty sure I knew where the projectile was. Unfortunately the projectile was far more than I would have liked. But now I have it so...

I can concur with what Jim says cases come before the projectile as they are more plentiful than the actual projectiles, when the ridgey didge projectiles do become on the market they can cost a very pretty penny.

In my motley collection (Pic) just a snippet that need projectiles;

5 " Naval shell from our Swan destroyer class no chance of getting an original, others in need, 75mm French QF WWI, 18 Pdr WWI, various German WWI cases, 105mm TK H.E for my brass Leopard 1 case, 75mm USA Naval case, 106mm Recoilless H.E (I have a complete HEAT round), Charlie Guts ache HEAT, 75mm Saladin, 75mm M116 Pack Howitzer and so on.

It can run into 0000's believe me they are flogging deloused M36's here for 500-700 AUD, 88mm Tiger round complete was $4K

It probably would have been helpful for them to specifically state it's a repro but the photos pretty much identify it as such along with the low price. They haven't been under $100 in ten years.

Interestingly....many of their items are marked reproduction or new production...but not this.
Be sure to leave a review and share your information.....

A issued bayonet should not have a cutting edge on it. They purposely were made without a cutting edge. If you find one with a cutting edge, odds are it was done post service and it significantly drops the value of the bayonet.

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Originally Posted by Eaglelord17

They purposely were made without a cutting edge.

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Yes, the front four inches would be sharpened before sending overseas...and the false edge, just a half inch.

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

Like having to buy a rifle because you found an interesting bayonet.

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When I was 13 a friend of my father gifted me a Japanese mid war Type 30 bayonet because he had no children and he knew I was interested in military things. It was my first bayonet. 55 years later my wife got me an excellent Model 99 Arisaka rifle. Good things comes to he who waits.
BEAR