Enfield number 5 Mk 1 Bayonet help

[Aragorn243]

Sarco is selling repros for $39 in their ads. That's what I picked up at the gun show on Saturday but they only wanted $20 for it there. I'm very pleased with it after working on it a bit and it will do until I can find an original that I can afford.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Need a few other Sarco bits for other projects. Why not?

[Aragorn243]

Here are some photos of the Sarco repro, this is after I worked on it for a bit. What you can expect new is a fully blued blade. I sanded that off. The grooves in the fuller edges are a bit rough, I filed those out. The ring did not quite fit the suppressor, needed sanded out just a tiny bit. The round groove did not quite fit the bayonet lug. It went on, just not far enough. That I drilled out with I believe a 3/8ths inch bit. Then it fit perfectly. It's not loose, it's very tight. Has to be tapped with your hand to get it off. The barrel ring was out of round on the outside, not the inside, just the outside. That I ground off. The screws and nuts were sanded down when they sanded the handle so they need some serious work to get the rounded edges off. I got most of it off, but not all, I still need to work on them a bit, they need ground flat. I stripped the original finish off the handle, sanded it a bit and put two coats of linseed oil on it. It does not have the oil hole. I cold blued the parts of the fuller that I ground off.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Nice work. I would let one of those keep my No5s company until the real thing appears.

[LesterH]

Suggestion. I have three No5 bayonets 1945-1985+/-. The Sterling which is the newest is the worst/ too tight fit on my Sterling SMG. Close examination of the other two No5s reveals a bit of gentle sanding and filing. These are a much better fit. It might be the case you has to fettle the bayonet to your rifle, However I have never had this problem with 1907, No4,No7,No9 or SLR bayonets. While you have the tools out drill the oil hole in the pommel. Will not look too fake then!
Scabbard looks good. Any makers marks?

[Aragorn243]

No makers marks that I can see. I had the scabbard apart, there are three parts, the brass cap, which fits inside the double spring piece which is brazed in two places. Seemed kind of odd to me, figured it would be cheaper to have it all one stamped piece of metal folded around on itself. I'm thinking about drilling the oil hole but I'm not trying to pass it off as the real thing. There is a hole in the tip of the scabbard for drainage.

[Peter Laidler]

In the standard UK made scabbards, the mouthpiece spring is a one piece pressing rolled around to the curvature of the scabbard. If you want a new UK Military spec spring and mouthpiece, just ask.

The crosspiece looks tooooo thin..., painfully thin! Or is it just the angle of the photo.

70,000 of those bayonets were earmarked for War Reserve along with the L2 SMG's. Alas they were chopped along with the guns

[Aragorn243]

I have a diagram of the mouthpiece spring, this definitely is not it. The cross guard might be thinner than the real deal but not by too much. I compared it to photos and while that isn't precise by any means, it might be a 32nd of an inch, 16th max. The way they polished it, they rounded the edges a bit.

It isn't the real deal but aside from the lousy finish, the quality of the basic bayonet isn't bad. The steel seems to be good, not soft, it doesn't polish or file easily. I have not been able to get the handguards off. I think they may have glued them on there in addition to the screws but it could just be a tight fit. From the photos, they may be a bit small, they don't extend beyond the metal at all.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

70,000 of those bayonets were earmarked for War Reserve along with the L2 SMG's. Alas they were chopped along with the guns

OUCH! That hurt.

[LesterH]

The late 1940's No5 bayonets were not that smartly finished from new. I would say the 1980's Sterling No5 bayonet was twice the quality. However this was made in a modern factory in peace time conditions. Most unhappy to hear 70,000 war reserve No5's got chopped for scrap. They would have got more than scrap value if they had sold them to bayonet collectors. As a British tax payer who paid for these bayonets in the first place. They could have retired a few for free into my collection!!!! I paid £270.00 for my D/A Sterling SMG in crackle finish. Had to make do with an export commercial version.Would have prefered to own a British armed forces version.