Krag Collectors Association Forum

Hello to the forum: I picked this up and hope I can get some help from the pros. I thought the early bayonets should be in the brite. Does this look like a repo or possibly refinished? I know it is not a krag bayonet but maybe someone has some experience in this field. Thanks in advance, kc

Gosh, I can't tell from the pictures- is it blued or Parkerized?

Looks like a nice bayonet, though.

Hopefully an experienced bayo collector will chime in.

I pretty sure it is a black parkerized finish.

Looks like a nice 1903 Springfield bayonet.

It went through two World Wars.

IMHO - It is a likely arsenal reconditioned bayonet.

Both the 1906 and 1912 dates were finished in the White (Bright) when new. Springfield blued the blades in 1917, but only did so for a few years then changed to a parkerized finish. The Parkerized finish for WWII was a pretty heavy finish and blades and all handle parts looked pretty much the same when done. When redone for WWII, the wood grips would have been changed out for the familiar black (or once in awhile brown) plastic. Your 1912 still shows some of the dark case color at the very end which was common for the bright blades. The arsenal blue had no delineation between the blade and the hilt. In the photos you've provided, it's difficult to tell if the 1906 was blued or is just in need of a cleaning or both. My guess in blued for WWI and in need of a cleaning. The blue used for the bayonet was not a bright, shiny blue, but rather a more subdued, almost black look. The 1912 may still be "in the bright", but also in need of careful cleaning. What, if any, sort of scabbards did you get with them?

I think Brophy's book on the 1903 Springfield covers the bayonets as well. I haven't reviewed it in quite a while, but will if you need more complete information.

The scabbard on the 1906 bayonet is pretty rough. The 1912 one is in nice shape. Kind of hard to tell if its blued or parkerized. I will try to give them a clean up.

Hi King Carp,

As Olderthansome informed us above...your bayonet blade probably started out life in the white and eventually was blued/parkerized somewhere along the line.

Joe Poyer's book "The Model 1903 Springfield Rifle and it's Variations" seems to indicate that your bayonet was modified to what he calls the 2nd variation due to the letter "A" stamped on the pommel. The second variation had to due with increasing the size of the catch, pommel drain hole and boss grip screw.

Also stated in Poyer's book is that all 2nd and 3rd variation bayonets returned for refurbishing between 1917 and 1918 had their blades blued to the tip.

After November 1918...all 1905 bayonets sent in for refurbishing were parkerized.

One of your bayonets has a 1917 scabbard which would seem to be incorrect but was actually authorized in 1920 as a substitute for the Model 10 scabbard.

You can use some form of leather conditioner like Pecard Leather Dressing to slow the decay on your leather scabbard.

1905 bayonets are HOT ITEMS on the market today! The prices keep going up, up, up!

I'd say you have at least $450 to $550 worth of bayonets pictured!

Thank you for the info. That's a nice surprise on their value! I bought a 1903 Springfield in the early eighties for half that price. I think It compliments the rifle nicely. Thanks again, kc

Here are pictures of my PC rifle with the slightly beveled bayonet lug to allow for the use, as was done at the time, of the M1903 bayonet on the PC rifle. The bevel allows the M1903 bayonet locking mechanism to be activated and locked onto the Krag bayonet lug properly.

I had to use a lot of preservative on the leather scabbard which was really dry.

Thought it looked nice at the end of the Krag.

That bayonet is in great condition for its age. I will try some of that conditioner on my scabbard. Thanks for the tip. The bayonet looks good on your school rifle. Thanks again.