No 4 Mk II & 9 bayonet opinions?

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Attachment 34476
I purchased these as a group with the thought of selecting a few of the best and trading off the duplicates. Looks like the Singers are the odd trade fodder. Any opinions of those more educated than I would be appreciated.

1 x FF&S chromed
2 x Longbranch
4 x Singer
1 x Baird Enginering
1 x No 9 Poole 1949

Information

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[Aragorn243]

That chromed one looks nasty. I thought it was one of the drop forged late war ones when I first looked at it.

[gsimmons]

The chrome and the Bairds are MkII*. The singers are MkII's.

[gew8805]

Definitely keep the Baird Engineering made MkII*. The Baird-made bayonet is scarce, the others are common..

"FF&S" is not the name of the maker of the chromed bayonet. FF&S (Fred Fisher & Sons) forged the socket and they supplied them to several makers. The maker's name will probably be visible under the chrome.

For an accurate online tutorial on the N0.4 bayonet see:

Britain - No. 4 Spike Bayonet

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The chrome and the Bairds are MkII*. The singers are MkII's.

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No * on either one the chrome one has no M II probably chromed over. The Baird is well marked. Would they still be * based on the maker?

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:32 AM ----------

That chromed one looks nasty. I thought it was one of the drop forged late war ones when I first looked at it.

The chrome is warn in spots.

[gsimmons]

What makes it a MkII* is the blade and socket were two separate pieces rather than one piece like the MkI and II.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

What makes it a MkII* is the blade and socket were two separate pieces rather than one piece like the MkI and II.


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I have them here and you are correct two piece. Can the No 4 Bayonets be disassembled? A couple are pretty rough and I thought I might have a go at restoring one.
Thanks for expanding my knowledge as happens each time I visit here.

[gsimmons]

No, they weren't ever meant to come apart. It was a manufacturing expedient.

[A square 10]

they just kept loooking to make them cheaper and faster , by the time they got to the mkIII they were welding the bits together for the sockets , very crude ,