SA80 Bayonets etc

[Flying10uk]

Has there ever been a such thing as an SA80 ceremonial bayonet with perhaps a polished and/or chrome plated blade? I have seen the various ceremonial scabbards (3 different types that I am aware of) but I have never seen a ceremonial version of the actual bayonet. It would seem logical to me that if you have a ceremonial scabbard that you would have a ceremonial bayonet to go with it or is the standard day to day bayonet used with the ceremonial scabbard?

Also is there a Desert DPM coloured SA80 bayonet frog in existence or do our troops make do with a green or green DPM version when wearing Desert DPM clothing and kit? I have never seen this item for sale on the surplus market only the green versions. Perhaps there is some stupid new regulation that any surplus Frogs have to be destroyed as they are weapon related???

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

I never heard of a ceremonial bayonet as such being available from Ordnance..., nor a ceremonial scabbard. But whatever bull shine the CO wishes to undertake with the stock he has under his control is up to him. If he wants to chrome a percentage and gloss paint the usually matt black plastic scabbards well, it'd be a stupid Armourer - and one with a dead-certain promotion-less future who would suggest to him that it wasn't as per the EMER standard. I have been told to do just such a thing and guess what............? Yep, I just got on with it. 12 sets of wooden grips for the quarter guard L1A1 rifle bayonets

3 types? Are you talking of scabbards or the frogs? There are several variations of the scabbards from various contractors. Generally speaking it's the additional crap that's fixed to the scabbards that differentiates them

[Flying10uk]

Ceremonial scabbards or that's what they were sold to me as. I have a white leather, a white nylon and a shiny black plastic examples. I'm sorry that I'm notable to post pictures of them at the moment. These scabbards don't require Frogs.

[Peter Laidler]

Yes, recognise the 'scabbards' you mean now.

[Flying10uk]

Peter, do you know if there is a Desert coloured DPM frog for the standard SA80 bayonet scabbard, please? I have never seen one offered for sale but surely they must exist? The only examples that I have ever seen are the green and the green DPM examples made by Remploy Ltd. Also you mentioned in a post a few years ago that there may be an entirely new bayonet being designed for the SA80 rifle; did anything ever come of it do you know? Thank-you.

[Peter Laidler]

Never heard any more of the proposed new bayonet. I think it was because of - or due to the fact that with the SA80 type variables in the new sections, there was only one rifle per section that would take the original bayonet! The rest were adapted to take the rest of the stuff and the swirl type flash eliminator that nobody really understood the dynamics of! I don't think that there was a need for a desert cammo frog because it was part of the desert cammo kit worn across the chest macho style. But stand to be corrected here of course

[Brit plumber]

From my experience, we had white nylon webbed sheathes for the bayonet, I wouldn't call it a scabbard as we know it. They had a brass throat and brass rivets, a complete PITA to polish.

I've seen desert scabbard sleeves but they were all private purchase. When in Iraq our Bayonets stayed in the corimechs along with the rest of the rubbish we were supposed to have with us!