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Hello,
My first impression was that this bayonet was an early reject blade that was finished with the "new" Lay-Cay name expressly for the commercial market. The most unusual aspect of this story is that it was supposedly issued to a US soldier. The flaws on this blade are significant. It is surprising to me that this bayonet ever made it off the production line.
This is an early blade with a full sized fuller. That means it was forged before the progressive evolutionary removal of the fuller. Then it was set aside and not finished until the new Lan-Cay roll mark was in use. It was then brought back to the assembly line and finished even though the blade was not completely forged, i.e. there was not enough metal to machine the left side of the blade to within specs.
After all that, it passed all inspections and left the factory to again pass all acceptance protocols at the Army to then be issued to a US soldier.
Something is wrong with this picture. Either this bayonet slipped by unnoticed and became a US issue piece, or this bayonet is a parts kit put together after the dissolution of the Lan-Cay company for the commercial market. In any event, it is still a part of US history. Thanks for sharing.
Marv
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