M9 bayonet opinion ???

S

sharp-k

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Apr 6, 2007
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Hi folks,

I was thinking about this knife for outdoor (camping & hiking) but I need some info please. Is it a good slicer ? is it a full tang construction ? what about the steel ? Is there a better manufacturer ? I saw Ontario's bayo are half cost than Phobis, why ? What about the new USMC bayonet (looks like a bayo's K-bar in 1095 steel :thumbup:) but seems to be expensive.

Any info are welcome , thanks in advance !!! ;)
 
To me its a knife that calls to be (ab)used. Its 420M and not hardened for edge holding as far as I know.
I would prefer the plain ka-bar or my beloved Buck 119 over it any day, they are better slicers in my book.

I know this doesnt help much, but Ive only handled the M-9 a few times, I'm pretty sure its full tang though.

Peter
 
I would probably go with just about any fixed blade other than a bayonet unless that is the image you want to project. They tend to attract unwanted attention and cause other hikers and camper to shy away. Also they are meant to be used as weapons, not as a camp knife so they may not perform some of the chores as well as a good general purpose blade. My preference would be something like the Cold Steel Master Hunter made with a VG-1 San Mai III blade. The handle material gives great grip in all conditions and the VG-1 blade is easy to keep sharp. The kydex sheath won't hold moisture and this helps with blade care.
 
It's primarily designed as a weapon and a "do it all" tool used for prying and other uses. A softer steel was therefore deliberately chosen which of course means poor edge holding
 
I read a knife mag article reviewing the USMC bayonet. Like all articles this one was glowing. Pictures showed the author chopping through a 2x4 and he said it would make a good camp/survival knife. Looked like hard work though. I like the hard nylon sheath design with wire cutter, but I do think it would look ridiculous on a hike and I would be embaraced to use it in front of others.
 
General opinion on bayonets seems to be that they are not as good as a simmilar knife that is not designed to be used as a bayonet. mostly due to the ergonomics problem where the knife needs a catch to attach it to the wepon. On the other hand, most of the stuff i've come across before is in the uk, where the bayonet is the SA80 bayonet, which is dire (hollow sheet metal handle anyone?) so the opinion could be based on this and generaliseation.
 
Bayonets are for sticking and stabbing.

The M9 is to big.

There are many knives better suited to camping and hiking.
 
Hard H2O said:
Bayonets are for sticking and stabbing.

The M9 is to big.

There are many knives better suited to camping and hiking.
Click to expand...

I was an active duty Army Officer in the '80's when the M9 was developed. I was a "Combat Developer" at the time, and, although not in the Infantry School, I did attend the same project meetings those guys did. The M9 was developed to be a bayonet, field knife, and mine probe. It was supposed to be lighter than the "then" current M7, easier to sharpen, etc. It did none of those things better than the M7 with a companion dedicated field knife. ...and it was much heavier. I refused to carry it and used my old M7 and a separate field knife of my choice (Randall, Chris Reeve, etc.).

The M9 has a very "wedgy" grind so it is not a slicer at all. It might be a good chopper but I carry a small folding saw that weighs next to nothing so a chopper is not for me.

Get something else for a camp knife. The M9 is not your blade.
 
bruce said:
I was an active duty Army Officer in the '80's when the M9 was developed. I was a "Combat Developer" at the time, and, although not in the Infantry School, I did attend the same project meetings those guys did. The M9 was developed to be a bayonet, field knife, and mine probe. It was supposed to be lighter than the "then" current M7, easier to sharpen, etc. It did none of those things better than the M7 with a companion dedicated field knife. ...and it was much heavier. I refused to carry it and used my old M7 and a separate field knife of my choice (Randall, Chris Reeve, etc.).

The M9 has a very "wedgy" grind so it is not a slicer at all. It might be a good chopper but I carry a small folding saw that weighs next to nothing so a chopper is not for me.

Get something else for a camp knife. The M9 is not your blade.
Click to expand...


OK thanks for this post, the M9 seems not to be a winner :grumpy:
 
Here's an "exploded" view of the M9.


knivesbayonetm9006rhk1.jpg


I agree that the good old USMC Fighting Knife is a better choice and it doesn't weigh as much.
 
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It doesn't look like it would be easy to take the 3-S apart. It looks like the rear of tang is hammered, like a rivet, to prevent it being removed.
 
Ontario has both a Spec Plus and Freedom Fighter version of the Marine Bayonet. Look at the Freedom Fighter Fighter and the SP6. The differences are, they are not serrated, not bayonets, and made of 1095.

As a rule, Bayonets make poor knives, they are for stabbing. The idea of it being a field knife replacement is sort of a wet dream. It is really designed as a hand weapon, with some limited additional utility.
 
Smash05 said:
,As a rule, Bayonets make poor knives, they are for stabbing. .
Click to expand...


Not only that, but for stabbing on the end of a rifle. You can apply a lot of torque to something four feet in front of your face.

That is why they tend to be thick, heavy, and soft steel.

The M9 was supposed to have a wire cutter feature. Heard that was useless.

I have dug through boxes of old bayonets. Few are ever sharpened, because they are pretty useless as a knife. About the best feature is the pommel. guys use those as hammers, and you will see old bayonets with flattened pommels.

I can't think of one bayonet that was a good knife.

Best use was holding hot dogs over the flame.
 
Smash05 said:
Ontario has both a Spec Plus and Freedom Fighter version of the Marine Bayonet. Look at the Freedom Fighter Fighter and the SP6. The differences are, they are not serrated, not bayonets, and made of 1095.

As a rule, Bayonets make poor knives, they are for stabbing. The idea of it being a field knife replacement is sort of a wet dream. It is really designed as a hand weapon, with some limited additional utility.
Click to expand...

OK thanks !!!
 
I hated the bayonets, No use whatsoever. In all my time in the military, I never heard the order "FIX BAYONETS!!!". Just a useless hunk of subpar steel in my opinion. Get a Kbar if your into those types of knives.

The bark river Bravo1 was designed for and by USMC force recon if youre into the military thing. I have one w/ the optional leather sheath and its an amazing blade, my go to blade for sure. Read the story on them on bark river knife and tools website.
 
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