Phrobis XM9

[Mister Moon]

Magnifique photos Carlo ! .... On the other side of the scabbard .. there's the " hole " too ?

[Carlo]

Hello, thank you both for your comments!
Yes, I'm extremely pleased and happy!
Fabrizio, the "hole" is only under the stone.
I did not post a picture of the front of the scabbard without the puch, but there is one in the original ebay listing.
I'm not able to figure out what was the reason for this "hole".
It can't be for weight reduction, as the portion of the plastic removed is too small.
Also, why making this quite elaborate design?
I can only think that the stone was probably not supposed (in the beginning) to be glued to the scabbard, but attached in a different way....

[porterkids]

I think that most likely the mold did not completely fill when they were making this scabbard body. It is probably a flaw in the scabbard but they figured the stone would cover it so why not use it.

[Carlo]

Originally Posted by porterkids

I think that most likely the mold did not completely fill when they were making this scabbard body. It is probably a flaw in the scabbard but they figured the stone would cover it so why not use it.

It seems very logical.
Still, in my opinion, a little bit "dangerous"... I think that should the stone had broken during the trial tests, Phrobis could have had, if not really a "failure", still problems because of this flaw.

[Carlo]

I just came across this on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/Extremely-Rare-X...item3efc78c427
Note the cutter plate with an unusual blade stop.
I also noted that the rivets on the bianchi plate (on the right) seems the standard ones (look at the pictures on the previous pages for comparison).
Can't tell from the pictures if the straps on magazine pouch are smaller than usual.
What about the "machined pocket to recieve cutter plate" on the scabbard, mentioned in the auction?

[pwcosol]

Carlo: This is one of the XM9 overruns made by Phrobis for the Army trials. Although they were required to provide 55 examples for testing, some few additional XM9s (quantity unknown) were made. These could have been designated as replacement bayonets for the trials process, metallurgical testing & evaluation, etc. I think the seller's comments regarding the cutter plate are in regards to it being the the pre-production machined pattern as opposed to the cast production variant. This would also be true of the scabbard, where the step to accommodate the cutter plate was machined out of the scabbard body. In production scabbards the step was provided for in the mold. In addition, there are other nuances on the XM9s, like the suspension retaining screws used, grip checkering pattern, and pommel cap.

[Broad_Arrow]

Thanks Carlo & pwcosol for the info on the bayonet.

I was curious about it, and did not realize that it was considered an XM9 production overrun example. Will wait and see how the auction ends.

David

[pwcosol]

Well, perhaps "overrun" is a bit too vague. Although the total number of Phrobis XM9s produced may be unknown, there were more than the actual number of 55 required by the U.S. Army for competition. Of that lot, 55 bayonets were randomly boxed up & shipped, leaving a small number behind. The only difference between these would be the "A" prefixed serial number, ranging from "001" to "055", found either scribed or painted on both bayonet & scabbard by the Army. This indicates the bayonet was one actually submitted for trials competition.

One other note worth considering would be the Phrobis "pancake" scabbard with external wire cutter. These, like the bayonet, bear the manufacturer's assigned submission number of "29" & "XM9" as well. Some were submitted to the Army for consideration, and one would expect the bayonets were XM9s as well. However, some time after the trials, the remaining XM9s were either given away or sold commercially by Mr Finn. The "pancake" scabbard I have came with an early Phrobis "3-line" which never had the bayonet's edge sharpened. The bayonet also has a XM9 pommel cap, so seems nothing went to waste...

[rexmeyer]

Boy, I could sure use the pommel...I have an xm9 that was incomlete. It was found at the old Callimus knife company and sold at auction by them and I bought it on ebay...It came without the pommel and no scabbard...

[porterkids]

Hi Rex,

If I remember correctly, you bought a blade. That's a good starting point, but keep in mind that every part on the XM9 was machined from scratch. Production crossguards and tang rods are not the same.