Quarterbore's Forums - Buyer and Reader Beware...

Following are a couple posts that are important to understand and they come from two perspectives. First, is the perspective of the collector who wants to ensure that they are purchasing a correct as manufactured M9 for the sake of the history of the knife itself...

The point of the collector is that a number of people are misleading in their posts to sell a knife where they describe a knife as being a very rare or collectable variety when the knife is really a parts knife put together from various spare parts. Following is an example:

Quote:

Originally Posted by porterkids

A few pointers on LanCay and Lan-Cay M9 bayonets:
-- LanCay's first military contract called for bright blades. Second contract and on were all black oxide.
-- The step in the back edge of the blade just in front of the muzzle ring was eliminated right at the end of LanCay's first contract. LanCay ran out of blades and the last 1000+ bayonets in the first contract were made without the step.
-- Shortly after starting the second contract run, LanCay changed their name to Lan-Cay. The very early second contract bayonets are marked LanCay with black oxide blades. All military contract blades marked Lan-Cay are black oxide. I have seen bright early style blades marked Lan-Cay, they are NOT military issue pieces.
-- None of LanCay's or Lan-Cay's US military contract M9s had a pouch. The Lan-Cay manufactured pouches came about several years after they started making M9s and they were for a special project, NOT US military.

Another concern is the various knives being sold as USGI M9 bayonet. It is important that people realize that a great many of the M9s being sold as USGI have never been purchased by the US Government and have not been Issued to troops. These knives may be madeon the same machinery of the same components but that does not make them USGI.

There was another post on the old forums which was deleted by the poster that also made a good point that not everybody is a collector and some people purchase these knives to be used as tools.

What is important is to realize that there is a huge variety of M9s out there and a buyer should not jump into purchasing of a bayonet expecting that you have found a rare or unusual find without really understanding what you are buying. If you are buying a bayonet to hold and perhaps use, then the value of this bayonet if dependent on your own willingness to part with your hard earned money!

The M9 Bayonet is a ruged knife and I personally own several and I do not consider myself a collector. I have a couple expensive M9s that sit in my safe and I have at least one or two cheaper current models that I use and mount to my AR-15s when I want to fend off small furry woodland creatures that are trying to get into my home :lol:

QB!