Caveat Emp...t..o..r...SARCO "1907 British SMLE Bayonet & Scabbard"

[tj214]

Their email ad sent me to their website, which stated (and still does as of this posting):

"1907 British SMLE Bayonet & Scabbard

Item Number BAY348
$69.95

Nice late manufacture, WW1 style British bayonet for the #1 MK3 Enfield Rifle, 2A Rifle in .308, and Lanchester SMG. Steel with wood handles and period markings. Includes leather scabbard."

Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk. III: CHECK, got one.

1907 British SMLE Bayonet & Scabbard: CHECK, don't got one.

"Nice late manufacture:" CHECK, cool!

$70 ($90 delivered to where I live): CHECK, sounds good.

CAVEAT EMP...T..O...R!

Item arrived in today's mail. Looks good; in really good shape. Looks like I lucked out!

Not so fast, grasshopper.

The blade edge is unfinished; in fact it's about 3/32" wide where the sharp edge ought to be. DING DING DING went the alarm bells (finally). Even an unissued bayonet should have the cutting edge sharpened! Did they sell me a repro?

Contacted SARCO to ask whether "Nice late manufacture" is some sort of code for "reproduction." Yep, they replied (quickly), it's a repro.

You experienced guys stopped at the $70 price and said, "Are you an idiot--where can you find an original 1907 for $70 unless it's been beaten into a ploughshare?"

That's fine, but I'm no expert in WW I bayonets and the website listing explicitly states "Nice late manufacture," so it didn't occur to me SARCO would be representing a repro as original. I've bought a LOT of stuff from SARCO over the years and everything's always been original, except in a couple of cases they specifically identified as repro and I was willing to buy.

$90 lesson learned. Caveat Emptor.

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