BUCK 1993 USMC Solid Tang Test M9

[pwcosol]

Recently got this BUCK 1993 solid tang, riveted pommel test bayonet. Since this bayonet was made for stress & other evaluation tests @ BUCK, it has an unsharpened blade. The pommel cap was installed upside down, which Bill Porter stated was typical for these bayonets. I believe this was done to differentiate in-house test bayonets from those actually made for the trials. It would also prevent any of the in-house M9s from inadvertently being co-mingled with bayonets submitted for field trials. No scabbards were required for these bayonets.

According to the BUCK documentation dated January, 2001 accompanying the bayonet, it was one of 175 "riveted version" prototypes made for field testing. The example pictured underwent extensive testing to determine the strength of the solid-tang design (which resulted in the compression ringed segment seen on the forward section of the Zytel grip). The blade underwent numerous heat-treatments resulting in the "case hardened" appearance. In addition, the numbers "32-35", electro-etched on the left side of the blade, denote the Rockwell rating of the tang. The "circled number 1" in red may indicate this was the first in a series of bayonets designated for testing, or subject to the first in a series of tests applied to a number of bayonets. An interesting piece of M9 production history...