A friend gave me a 1911 RIA bayonet, 205726, that belonged to his dad who was in the Army a long time ago. It appears to be chromed and the leather scabbard is coming apart slightly where the top metal attaches.
The wood handle is smooth with no trace of lines or ridges in it.
I tried putting it on my M1 and Remington 1903 and it wouldn't quite lock into place. I might try and take it apart and clean up the attaching mechanism real good.
My questions are:
- Is this an original scabbard?
- If I strip off the chrome plating, will it hurt the value?
- Due to the chrome plating, is there any value?
- Is the wood handle original w/o the ridges or did he replace it or sand it smooth?
- Any history as to why this bayonet looks the way it does? My friend doesn't know anything other than it was his dad's. Details about the 205726 number?
Hopefully the pictures load correctly. It was hard getting a good picture because of the chrome reflecting.