Chrome plated L1A1 SLR bayonet

I recently noticed this L1A1 bayonet advertised for sale at a reduce price because the button/catch is missing. No mention was made, in the advert, that the blade is clearly chrome plated, indicating ceremonial use and I noticed the chrome from the vendor's pictures. I didn't have a ceremonial L1A1 SLR bayonet in my collection and because they don't turn up often I though that this would be a good purchase, even with no button/catch.

N.B. The condition seen here is how I have received it with no restoration or cleaning.

Are you SURE that is chromed? Looks like very poor quality chrome if it is! There was never an officially designated ceremonial bayonet so far as I recall. They were done on the whim of the OC - whom nobody would argue with anyway and the ones I saw were chromed at the local Base Workshop where they'd have been chromed properly, over copper or nickel all over. With black (or chrome) grips replaced. To be really honest, a tad brutal but frank, I think someones 'done' that. It would never got out of the blocks with a coat of grey primer and a quick blow-job with a can of Halfords aerosol gloss from a spray can

Peter, with my very limited I.T. skills they are not likely to be the best digital photos ever published on the Milserps Forum. In reality the chrome is a lot better than it looks from my pictures and after reading your post the grips do appear to have been chromed under the paint, which I hadn't noticed before. It does need cleaning up a certain amount and I'm not sure with the scabbard whether a "bare metal respray" will be the order of the day here, if I can't make it look reasonable.

I have a couple of these. Can't say for sure if the blade is chromed or nickle plated, but it is bright and shiny. The hilt is black and the press stud is bright. Somewhere I have a postcard that clearly shows the bayonet in use. I'll see if I can get some photos posted over the weekend.

We KNOW that they were definitely used when tarted up for ceremonials but it wasn't an approved thing. Talking of which, the MoD would not permit tyres on staff cars to be painted with that black tyre paint (that's tires to you colonials over there......!) for reasons best known to themselves. I had to make sets of wood grips for 12 of them but the bayonets themselves remained black/grey. But, being about 20 at the time and keen on my freedom and life generally, I wasn't too keen to tell the RSM to get a bit of a life and stop all the bullshixe just for some half-wit passing dignitary. So he and his precious Quarter Guard got his/their 12 shiny wood handled bayonets

You'll probably be able to find a catch hereabouts though... Ours for color party were chromed completely, it would be much harder and too finicky to just do part. We did the whole thing.

Here's a color party pic from 1982, I'm the much younger Sgt there in front of the colors...although the handles aren't as clear as they could be, you can see mine's not black at all.

We had many requests from the RSM, or Drill bloke, while at he Guards Depot to get their bayonets plated. ( We had many....Many... Royal visits ) We pointed out the regulations regarding NOT plating and they always excepted our point.
If you knew your job and knew the regulations even a Craftsman / Private could stand (politely) up to the RSM. They respected our trade/knowledge
( it was my best assignment )

BUT... the Royal Artillery...... They requested their whole rifles re painting and chrome plating bayonets, even for low level visits.
When the regulations were pointed out to them (50% of the whole rifle needs to be bare metal before re painting)
They would get out the spray paint and paint their own..

( SA 80 bayonets do not take chrome well. But they do polish up well .... No plating needed)

I spent 14 years of a 24 year career with the Artillery...........What did I do wrong?.....

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Originally Posted by skiprat

What did I do wrong?

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Nothing, once they find someone they like, they keep 'em...

Ok thanks Jim, I think that the grips are chromed under the black paint but not sure about whether the pommel is chromed as well?

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

to get a bit of a life and stop all the bullshixe just for some half-wit passing dignitary. So he and his precious Quarter Guard got his/their 12 shiny wood handled bayonets

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One of my Uncles was doing his National Service in the RAF, not long after the queen had come to the throne and for some reason an official visit was arranged to the RAF base where my Uncle was stationed. Everyone on camp was looking forward to the visit, my Uncle included, until shortly before the visit when my Uncle was told that he was not smart enough to meet the queen and therefore had to keep out of the way while the visit was in progress. Some of us in the family find this story slightly amusing especially since he still feels aggrieved about it to this day and does, on occasions, still mention it.

---------- Post added at 11:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 PM ----------

I have seen pictures of Royal Navy personnel on Ceremonial duty with SA80 rifles plus shiny bayonets and just assumed that they were chromed; I hadn't thought about the possibility of them being simply a highly polished base metal.

I hope not.!!!!!!
I was always small guns ....Never the big stuff !

But I have heard that a few times from our (REME) HQ. Many REME did not get on well with the Gunners .. way too much bull.#@it. even more than the Guards.

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Originally Posted by Flying10uk

not sure about whether the pommel is chromed as well?

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You'd have to strip it to be sure. Then as it's done already to some end...why not a refresh? Then it's perfect. Wait till your parts are complete.

---------- Post added at 03:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:44 PM ----------

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Originally Posted by skiprat

way too much bull.#@it.

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My brother was Arty, and told me all about the bull.#@it...even he considered it to be such.

Well gentlemen, it appears that my memory is not what it used to be. The blade is polished, not plated. But the press stud does appear to be plated.

Attachment 79342Attachment 79343Attachment 79344Attachment 79345Attachment 79346Attachment 79347

Retention catches were also polished as well as some blades. I know, I have done a 'Few' over the years in Service!........:D

The polished catch against the colour of the black grips, makes a pleasing contrast. & makes it stand out aesthetically as well.
Scabbard Frog Buttons were also polished bright to match. :thup:

My Own Personal SLR Bayonet had the Scabbard throat chromed as well. This saved Me from having to polish the brass! :lol:

Thinking on my feet but I would imagine that the mouthpiece spring would just tear any chrome plating on the blade to shreds

Does this "C" on the cross piece mean anything, does anyone happen to know, please? The only thing that I can think of is it standing for is Chrome?

Thanks for the information chaps.

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

the mouthpiece spring would just tear any chrome plating on the blade to shreds

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We had no scabbards, just those little short ones to keep the colors from catching on the blade point. The rest of the Bn just cleaned their bayonets and left them as was. The worst that happened was the RSM ordering us to spit shine the handles and scabbards with black boot polish like the rifle regts used to for the trooping.

I have one of these semi-official SLR parade bayonets. Picked up for a very reasonable price at Stoneleigh a few years ago. I initially thought it was all chromed, but a clean up (it had been halfheartedly repainted with black paint) revealed the scabbard had been chromed, but the bayonet itself had just been polished. There were still traces of the original finish lurking in nooks and crannies. It's since gone to live in a white plastic parade frog.

Found some pictures.
Attachment 79462Attachment 79463Attachment 79464
Faulty memory - the frog is buff leather. I do have a plastic one in the frog collection though.

If that was mine I'd strip it and get it bead blasted and through the phosphating tank as fast as I could. Where do these people come from and why on earth do they do it. Reminds me of an MG show many years ago where someone had cuyt a large section out of his MG Midget bonnet (the hood) and inserted (nicely done I should add - unlike this bayonet.....) a sheet of perspex/oroglass so you could see the shiny engine. Yep........ destroyed the original bonnet to show the engine off. But he could have just lifted the bonnet and showed the WHOLE engine off or better still, albeit a bit more work, detached the bonnet with quick release bolts for the duration of the show!

Or is it me?

It's not just you Peter.

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

Thinking on my feet but I would imagine that the mouthpiece spring would just tear any chrome plating on the blade to shreds

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Pete, it does eventually. But they STILL had it done! Hence Me POLISHING all of the blade's I did in Service!....

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[
Or is it me?[/QUOTE]

Who are Ya?...................:D

It would seem that we do things a little differently downunder. Well I assume anyway. Whilst I have the typical piece described previously here is one that appears to be a little different. Unfortunately I do not know of its history as it was in a collection that I purchased sometime back. In the gunshop that I work for we have a No4 rifle and No9 bayonet (in its chest) with the majority of the metal parts all chromed and from what I am led to believe this was down for the Queen's visit to Australia in the 1950s. How or why this piece that I have attached photos of was chromed is still a mystery. It is fully chromed along with the scabbard and is accompanied by its nylon frog and the similar nylon sling for the rifle (ends though still brass). Bayonet appears to have been chromed in two parts. Firstly the blade, crossguard, hilt and pommel are high gloss but the grips and rivits are of a matt finish with a wave pattern. The blade tip incorporates the small ball to protect the colours but it also has the small scabbard that does the same job. The original scabbard still fits even with the ball. I dont know how many times this bayonet has been in and out of the scabbard (several times by me) but there is no damaged to the chroming. Whilst I have not dismantled the scabbard to inspect the spring it does by look by torch light to be coated slightly in a whiteish material as comparded to a normal scabbard.

I believe that some, but not all, milling machine beds receive a thin layer of Chrome plating to provide resistance against wear. I would assume that very hard Chrome would only come off steel unduly quickly if it was incorrectly applied during the plating process.

The mouthpiece spring is fairly heavy duty spring steel and the punched-in retainer part is sheared inwards with razor sharp hard edges.

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Originally Posted by Peter Laidler

The mouthpiece spring is fairly heavy duty spring steel and the punched-in retainer part is sheared inwards with razor sharp hard edges.

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Is it enough to cut through the chrome though, Peter? I'm not say that you are wrong but the bayonet in post 1 is certainly chrome plated, obviously, I have no way of knowing when or who did this. I do know that chrome is added to some alloy steels because of it's hardness and toughness.

Have you ever scuffed the chromed bumper of a car..........

You have a point,Peter, and tankhunter probably have's it summed up correctly with:

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Originally Posted by tankhunter

Pete, it does eventually. But they STILL had it done!

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Chrome plating is often/sometimes poorly applied which does tend to give it a bad name; poorly applied chrome is, obviously, going to come off much more rapidly than chrome that is correctly applied.