M1 Bayonet?

[Exo594]

I was talking to my grandpa today, and he pulled out an old military knife and what he claimed was a M1 Garand bayonet. It looked to be in fair condition, had decent finish, and the tip was chipped. Aside from that, the blade wasn't actually sharp. It looked like it was made that way, but what I'm wondering is: Does anyone know if the original M1 Garand bayonets were sharp? Also, the handle looked different from what I saw when I looked online. It also didn't have the barrel piece/guard. There was a channel in the "lowest" 2-3 inches on the "top" of the hilt. And finally, the sheath it came in was black and it had a small ball at the tip.

 

[indyjohn]

They were not. Think about the mass of the bayonet you handled and the shape and what it was intended for. It is more than sharp enough to penetrate cotton fabric and flesh. From what you describe it sounds as if that knife saw a rough life. You'd need to post a pic of it for positive ID. (But if it were my grandpa telling the story, for now that would be all I need..)

I would guess sharpening them was done to pass the time between episodes of chaos or the stuff of Hollywood.

Rep for Welcome to INGO and a good question..

 

[Exo594]

Thanks, it had occurred to me later that they would have been "sharp enough" for stabbing. I'll probably get another chance to get a picture, but not for a while. Thank you for the info!

 

[Colt556]

Need pics

 

[red_zr24x4]

As stated not sharp. Did it look like this?--

 

[Exo594]

The blade looked very similar to those on pics of known M1 'nets. There wasn't a guard/barrel mount combo, there was just a lower finger guard that curved down and around, and there wasn't a connection point that would slide over the barrel itself. The slot in the back of yours looks similar, but the grips were different, and I didn't have time to look for markings. I wish I had been thinking more about the details when I was at his house.

I found this page http://worldbayonets.com/Bayonet_Identification_Guide/bayonet_identification_guide.html#type , which helped me find the other knife and the scabbard for this one. I believe it's one of these:

, even though the blade there, an FAL blade, didn't look like the one my grandpa has.

 

[Expat]

U.S. M4 thru M7 Series Bayonets

There are some US ones on page 1 and 2.