Phrobis Int'l M9

[pwcosol]

Thought I would post something new for this week, & so here it is. This M9 is a Phrobis International with black Zytel fittings, blued blade, & black polyester webbing. Homer Brett states these bayonets (60 in number) were made "in house" @ Phrobis for evaluation. For whatever reason, they were not found to be satisfactory to Mr Finn, et al, & twenty were destroyed. The remainder were sold off not long before Phrobis dissolved. It looks like a nice bayonet to me, but perhaps something was lacking in quality of finish, etc. to the degree that one third of them were scrapped out.

[porterkids]

Nice piece. I bet you were happy to pick that one up. I knew that there were 40 of these made. I wasn't aware of the additional 20 that were destroyed. I also have a Phrobis Int'l with black fittings and a bright blade.



Several years ago I came across another of these all black Phrobis Int'l M9 bayonets. It was mounted on a dark colored wood plaque with a USMC emblem. The plaque is completely different from the Phrobis chevron plaques but the component parts are identical to those used on them. The M16 barrel and mounting block are the same as the chevron plaque, as is the engraving on the brass plate. I suspect that this was made by Phrobis or someone with a connection to the company. I sent pictures of this plaque to Mickey Finn shortly after buying it but he never commented on it.



Keep your eyes open guys, there should be 36 more of these bayonets floating around out there.

[pwcosol]

Bill: Thanks for posting the pics. I have a silver & green P. Int'l M9. Though I do not find the black finish as appealing as that of the original, this variant was unusual enough I decided to get it. It makes one wonder why 20 of their number were scrapped. I just can't see anyone tossing out 20 completed bayonets. One would think the scabbard & other components would have been salvaged & perhaps only the blades "demilled". Maybe a couple went on a plaque like you pictured. One of these days maybe I can get more details out of Homer B. if he can recall the specifics...

[Carlo]

Originally Posted by porterkids

That black plaque looked too familiar.......



P.S. The above picture was originally posted here
http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/showthread.php?t=33

[porterkids]

Carlo,

It's good to see that someone is paying attention!

[Carlo]

I saw that one of the Phrobis Int.l with black blade and black fittings is now for sale on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-All-Black-S...3A2%7C294%3A50
I wish I had more money ....