Long Indian L1 type bayonets.

**Peter Laidler** · 05-21-2025 06:38 AM

Right, stand by your beds..... Here's a question that has just come to light. Indian longer L1Ax type bayonets. Usually fitted with No5 type wood grips with the shorter spacing between the grip screw holes. So far, so good.

I have just encountered a bit of a tatty GRIPLESS one with the holes more widely spaced to take the steel UK icon

/Can/Aust type grips.
Anyone else got one?
Comments?

**Highly Recommended** · 05-21-2025 06:38 AM

A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered. Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping. In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail. I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!). CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping.

Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles.

Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons

Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components.

Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear.

Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.

**Flying10uk** · 05-21-2025 08:42 AM

I've got a stripped down Indian L1 long bayonet, bare blade, in my collection of No.5 style blades and it has 4 holes in the middle part of the tang, 2 of which were used to fit the original wood grips. I had assumed that the other 2 holes were for the option of fitting metal grips but I have not actually checked to see if they would align with the holes in metal grips. I think that others may have suggested that these 2 additional holes were purely for lightening purposes but I'm not sure that this has been proved or disproved.

I thought that one of these long Indian L1 bayonets with metal grips has been seen either here or elsewhere?

**Flying10uk** · 05-22-2025 09:16 PM

Here are some photos of the long Indian L1 blade against a British icon

No5 blade and a British L1A3 blade. Without actually measuring it the hole positions on the tang of my Indian L1 blade would appear to be the same as on the British No.5 blade, apart from the 2 pommel attachment holes, but are different to the L1A3 blade. The metal grips won't fit this Indian L1 blade because the hole centres don't quite align.