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Marv, I agree with your assessment and subscribe to your first scenario that it "slipped by unnoticed and became a US issue piece...". The seller provided how he came to acquire the bayonet when I made an inquiry after purchase. The bayonet & scabbard do show light field use, and there was dirt/sand residue on both bayonet & scabbard. I have little doubt the scabbard is the one issued with this bayonet, and the Fastex clip date of 1/95 IMHO provides a indication of the approximate time this bayonet was assembled. Also no "Lan-Cay" on the pommel cap, either.
Once this bayonet was slathered with cosmolene and packaged in a brown protective government bag, no one likely laid eyes on it until issued out. I have heard from one or two people whom have intimate knowledge of the workings at LanCay during that time. Once they received the waiver for acceptance of the 200 shorter, left over bayonet blades, it may have been "the camel's nose under the tent". Possibly this provided reason to utilize some other marginal material on rare occasions to meet a production shortfall.
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Threaded Mode