Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition U.S. M1942 bayonet for the M1 Garand Rifle, complete with the correct WWII Issue M3 fiberglass scabbard. Technically, this bayonet is considered an M1905 bayonet by the U.S. Army, manufactured in 1942 with plastic ribbed grips. The M1 Garand rifle was designed to take the same blade bayonet as the M1903 Springfield rifle, so at the beginning of the war they were issued with bayonets originally made for those rifles. To keep up with Wartime production, new orders were placed for a version of the M1905 bayonet with plastic grips, and collectors use the designation M1942 for these bayonets, made from 1942 to 1943. Six civilian firms produced 1,540,578 M1905 bayonets from April 1942 to May 1943.

After this, the specification was changed to have a 10 inch blade, and many M1905 bayonets were shortened to this length. This bayonet however is still in the original configuration, which is rare to find on the market today.

The blade ricasso is marked by maker A. F. H. (American Fork & Hoe of Geneva, Ohio) above U.S. around the Ordnance flaming bomb. Below this is the manufacture date of 1942. The parkerized finish on the bayonet blade is retained in areas with spots of loss with oxidation, and the bayonet still has the original factory edge, with minor wear/nicks. The red grips present on this example are actually somewhat rare. The bayonet doesn't have the standard black plastic grips, instead they are made of Cellulose Acetate Butyrate, commonly called CAB. In use, it was found that this material was softened by the solvents used to remove grease in the field. As it had been found that there were sufficient supplies of the black Bakelite material, the use of CAB was discontinued in April 1943.

Original use of these grips was therefore restricted to the 16 inch blade M1905 bayonet. The red grips were almost exclusively used by American Fork and Hoe (AFH), although it is possible that some small amounts were used by other makers. They were supposed to be replaced when the bayonet went through rebuild or was shortened to M1 length, but this did not always happen. Unfortunately, one of the grip scales has a chip towards the ricasso.

The original M3 scabbard on this example is a rare example, produced by Detroit Gasket & Manufacturing Company of Detroit, Michigan. Their contract, number 374ORD 1293 was for $251,000 and called for deliveries to be made from January 1942 to June 1943. The body of the scabbard was made of different materials than Beckwith MFG Co used, consisting of cotton tubing impregnated with a phenol-formaldehyde thermosetting resin. Scabbards made of this material have a much finer weave in the body material, and the resin is a dark brown. These were marked with a sideways "Lazy S" under the "flaming bomb" on the throat.

The scabbard bodies proved to be brittle in service, and it was recommended that a change in the type of plastic be made. Also, it proved almost impossible to find a paint that would adhere properly to the body, and most of those found today will have much of the paint missing. This example, however, retains almost all of its original paint with minor storage marks rubbing it off. The throat has almost none of the original finish, making this a very nice example of a rare scabbard.

An excellent condition 16” M1942 Garand bayonet with original scabbard by American fork and Hoe! Ready to display or fit on your Garand Rifle.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 16"
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Overall length: 20 1/2“
Crossguard: 3 1/2”
Scabbard Length: 17"