Bayonet 1888 Lee Metford Mk1 1st Type ?

[James.Bolton]

Hi - This is my first post on this forum having just joined today (also a member of the Yahoo bayonet forum on which I have posted a similar query as follows).

I have come into possession of what looks like an 1888 Pattern Lee Metford
Mk1 1st Type bayonet (the quite rare one with three brass rivets). However I have numerous queries and questions that relate to its manufacture, history and possible authenticity.

The blade on the bayonet has definitely been modified and shortened (now
measures about 266mm or 10.5 inches from base of ricasso to tip of blade). The
scabbard looks to be quite standard and has 496 stamped on the mouthpiece.

Without going into detail on my thoughts; could anyone provide any info or
comments on; who they think made this bayonet (given the profile of the blade
shape and markings), what its history may be, markings on the bayonet
(especially the round mark with three lines coming out of it that is next to the
WD / war department stamp or anything else

Any comments and feedback would be very much appreciated - Many thanks - James

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Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[old-smithy]

THe back to back R's show it was sold from service, it predates the X mark formed by point to point WD arrows. It is interstign how well the wood has stood up compared to the metal, my first thought wsa replacements but that is no easy on rivet grips like these, and if you did you would use later PtII grips.

Sold from service then opens up all sorts of possabilities as to why the blade has been shortened, from bubba to fighting knife.

[gsimmons]

Quite a number were altered into fighting knives and used during WWII. One of mine has had one side rounded into a knife blade. My brother's has a bowie point.

[James.Bolton]

Many thanks for your help with this. I completely missed that back to back R's and was looking at the marking in a completely different way. Based on the fact that the bayo was sold out of service then i'm quessing that this may have been due to irreparable blade damage that possibly resulted in it being cut down / repaired. It's also worth noting that none of the of the bayo's blade is sharp in the slightest (I would even go so far as to say that it is rounded / smooth); possibly suggesting that it has been used for some other purpose (e.g. letter opener??). Or given the age of the bayo possibly as a fighting knife and then later as a letter opener (or something similar).

With regard to the profile of the ricasso I've just checked 'Skennerton & Richardson; British & Commonwealth Bayonets (p.168)' that suggests Enfield were the only manufacturer of the Mk1 1st Type. The way in which central rib meets the ricasso (quite gently for an Enfield and comparatively sharply for a Sanderson) would suggest that the bayo was made by Sanderson (who I believe only received contracts for the 1888 bayo following the revised Mk1 2nd Type design and would not therefore have ever made an 1888 with the three rivet grip)

Again, I may be missing something completely obvious here. But any additional thoughts on who manufactured this bayo would be greatly appreciated.

[browningautorifle]

I'll bet the blade was re-pointed. I've done my share of repairs like this in various blades and it's easier than re-creating the diamond profile of an original. As for the rest of your info, I'll be of little help. If Old Smithy doesn't have it, it's hard to say. I just think it's a super nice example and wonder at all the time and travel it's been through. Finally it's come to a home...