Indian No.5 Bayonet

[porterkids]

Following are a few photos of some RFI marked No.5 bayonets. One of them is a genuine Indian Army bayonet manufactured at RFI (the one marked RFI 77). Then others are all reproductions made for the commercial market.

Attachment 80650

Attachment 80651

Attachment 80652

Attachment 80653

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Very nice, interesting scabbard. Cast in two long sections?

[Peter Laidler]

Looks like that BAR and Porterkids. Seems a strange way to go when rolling the scabbards from tube and squeezing it through rollers to get the ovality seems such a simple operation. Well, it is when you're tooled up for it.

Can we see close-ups of the original and fakes? Do they actually fit onto a No5 or Sterling? Thanks again.

[Flying10uk]

Then others are all reproductions made for the commercial market.

Can we assume then that the reproduction Indian No5 bayonets are not actually made at the Rifle Factory Inshapore, even though they are marked R.F.I., but are made elsewhere in India?

[Peter Laidler]

From my experience, (previous No5 article - thread 17.....) albeit very limited in number and even then, only to the actual metallurgy of a couple of the blades, you can't even say that F-10. That's because even a supposed fake had a 'correct' blade and bits. So was it punched-out on a small private contract by RFI in much the same way as they manufacture for the domestic/cookwars products market and for the motor industry in India? Clearly some will be made of duff/poor quality low carbon steel, look and feel wrong. But others, like one or two shown by Porterkids (thanks again.....) would pass a cursory glance especially if they fit etc etc

Interesting.

[Flying10uk]

What we need is a Forum Member who just happened to work in R.F.I., India, who can tell us the inside story.

[browningautorifle]

Clearly some will be made of duff/poor quality low carbon steel, look and feel wrong.

"Khyber pass" bayonets...

[porterkids]

One of the identifying characteristics of the Indian No.5 scabbard is that visible weld down the face and the back of the scabbard body. The marking on the blade is very clean and aligned. Most, if not all of the reproductions appear to be stamped one letter at a time and are not always in alignment. The top bayonet in the group shot was actually made in Pakistan.

I do have a No.5 carbine but quite honestly I haven't tried to mount any of the reproduction bayonets on it.

[Flying10uk]

Will a "genuine" ex Indian Army No5 bayonet made at the R.F.I. always have an abbreviated date after the R.F.I. as per your example, Post 1 (R.F.I.77). Is this one of the ways of spotting a "genuine" from a repro Indian No5? Thanks for posting the pictures.

[porterkids]

I've only seen a small number of these and they all had a two-digit date following the RFI. But don't consider that a sure way of identifying the genuine bayonets. One of the bayonets pictured about has the date following the RFI, but it looks like a six year old stamped it.