bayonet to knife conversion question

M

migmaq

Joined
Apr 22, 2026
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local pawn has a M1905 bayo converted to knife , basically cut the muzzle ring off , most of the M1905 bayos were cut down in 1942 from 16 to 10 inches to bolster the numbers to get to the troops in a timely manner , the cut down ones defer from the M1 Garand Bayos that were manufactured at 10 inches by the fuller going to the point as this one does so this started life as a 16 inch m1905

this knife/bayo has me perplexed because the markings were sanitized , i know countries adopting US surplus firearms did sanitize US markings , so on one hand i would not be surprised that a foreign country would remove US markings , but not shorten further than 10 inches , scrub and lop the muzzle ring

maybe foreign country at some point , then imported back to the states and then Bubba did his thing? any thoughts , theory's , personal experience with such a animal? all thoughts welcome

 
Lend lease? Probably not...

Someone probably picked it up at a 5 and dime store/pawn shop, back in the day.

Probably modded it down from the standard issue 16", to make it more usable. Could've ground off the identifying marks, when they cut it down.

Pretty cool conversation piece.
 
the fact the markings were sanitized is what has me going in circles , i can see bubba making a crude knife out of it but not being bothered by US markings , i can see a foreign country military not wanting military markings of a different country on thier service bayonett but not converting it to a hap hazard knife

ive seen campaign bayo conversions to knife but they always had the original markings , its $25 , i may grab it just for giggles
 
I don't know the history of the knife you posted, but I've seen old newspaper/magazine ads from US companies that purchased surplus bayonets in bulk, shortened/modified them, and then sold them as "hunting knives".

From what I've read, Utica/Kutmaster was one such company. They made bayonets, and converted their own surplus or rejects into "hunting knives".

EDIT: I did a little more research on Utica/Kutmaster, and the story I read is that Utica had a contract from the US government to produce bayonets for the M1 rifle, but all of the bayonets they made were out of spec and were rejected by the gov. So the government canceled the contract, and didn't pay Utica. So Utica modified all of those bayonets and sold them as "hunting knives".

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i just called them , its at one of their other locations , they are going to have it brought to my local store when they are making the trip , i was honest that i wasnt 100% positive i was getting it but want to inspect it , i think for the money it may end up a no brainer if not for a novelty factor , if it has a serial number on it or markings under the stocks i will know it seen service in a country other than the US

bad pictures and a poor description
 
Usually bayonets don’t make great knives. The flex required to keep a bayonet from breaking keeps it from having good edge retention. Still, it looks interesting, priced right, I’d buy it.
 
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eveled said:
Usually bayonets don’t make great knives. The flex required to keep a bayonet from breaking keeps it from having good edge retention. Still, it looks interesting, priced right, I’d buy it.
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i think the 1905 was the exception , they were designed to carry a single edge and are very stout , the 1905 i have i would never consider dragging my thumb down the edge ,its very sharp , keep in mind these were produced well before the start of WW1 and were designed for the Springfield 1903 rifle
 
Getting sharp and staying sharp are two different things. It may be good as a knife. It obviously speaks to you, buy it and try it.

In general knives and bayonets need different steel qualities to be good at there respective jobs.

Keep in mind, they messed up the heat treat on early 1903 rifles in the era you are referring too. Who knows how they did on bayonet heat treat batches?
 
eveled said:
Getting sharp and staying sharp are two different things. It may be good as a knife. It obviously speaks to you, buy it and try it.

In general knives and bayonets need different steel qualities to be good at there respective jobs.

Keep in mind, they messed up the heat treat on early 1903 rifles in the era you are referring too. Who knows how they did on bayonet heat treat batches?
Click to expand...

Most 1905 bayonets were designed, to be strong enough, to not break and easy to resharpen.

Plenty of articles on them, the tangs were even softer.

Bayo Points 13

www.usmilitaryknives.com

 
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After WWII companies purchased surplus bayonet parts and finished them as hunting knives. The blade is usually reduced to 6" and the locking mechanism is removed. The original manufacturing marks from the bayonet maker were often removed in the process.

IMG_0615.jpeg

N2s.
 
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havnt forgotten to update , still waiting for them to xfer it to their/my local store for me , no gripe , its a free of charge service that allows me to shop all 8 locations , this one is literally on the other side of the state so they are probably waiting to make the run worth while or when someone has to make the trip for a unrelated reason , should be this week , never benn longer than 2 weeks
 
I would add that they are apparently then legit historical knives with some level of collectible value if that appeals to you. If these, or some of these, were converted and sold during WW2 there would be little doubt imo that some were acquired and carried by soldiers, airmen and sailors, and likely during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Me, for $25 I'd buy it
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