M9 Bayonet

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D5CAV
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M9 Bayonet

Post by D5CAV »

I picked up a surplus M9 bayonet at an ELGS. It looks like it could be a decent utility knife as well as a bayonet (unlike most bayonets).

Anyone used on as a utility/hunting knife? Any comments on steel quality or performance?

TIA
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308Mike
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by 308Mike »

Did you also get the M10 sheath with it?

I've been thinking about getting one of the Marine OKC-3S Ka-Bar bayonets.
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Mud_Dog
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by Mud_Dog »

I found they didn't hold an edge very well, but then I'm not that great of a sharpener. I much prefer the M7 myself, but not too much utility in it.

Decent for opening MRE's though! :lol:
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D5CAV
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by D5CAV »

Mud_Dog wrote:I found they didn't hold an edge very well, but then I'm not that great of a sharpener. I much prefer the M7 myself, but not too much utility in it.

Decent for opening MRE's though! :lol:
I have a couple of M7s. They are more in my era, so a couple ended up in my duffel bag. M9s were coming in as I was going out.

The M7s are much better bayonets and fighting knives, IMHO. The M7 has a very sharp double edge dagger point for good penetration, and is a much quicker knife both in the hand and on the end of the rifle, given that it's about half the weight of the M9.

When I saw the M9, my thought was "not a very good bayonet, but might make a good utility knife". So the M7 is a great bayonet and makes a lousy utility knife. The M9 looks like a pretty poor bayonet. All that weight at the end of my rifle makes the strokes a lot slower. Same problem as a fighting knife. It looks like it could be a decent utility knife.

I never saw the need for wire cutters. A pair of carbon steel, US-made, needle-nose pliers was just way too useful not to have in my kit, anyway. If I couldn't cut the wire with the pliers, I needed to get the bolt cutters out anyway.

I can see how the M9 might not hold an edge. The specs list the Rc at 53-57. At the lower end of the range, that's not a good edge holding hardness. I guess impact resistance and toughness was more important than edge holding. Toughness is a good property for a bayonet, but edge holding would be nice for a utility knife.

I guess that's part of the reason bayonets make such poor utility knives and vice-versa. They are different design requirements. So either you have a good utility knife and poor bayonet, or a poor bayonet and a good utility knife.
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D5CAV
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by D5CAV »

308Mike wrote:Did you also get the M10 sheath with it?

I've been thinking about getting one of the Marine OKC-3S Ka-Bar bayonets.
Yes, it came with the sheath with the little wire cutter attachment.

The OKC-3S USMC bayonet looks nice. I'll have to look for one at the next ELGS. Please post a review if you get one.
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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JAG2955
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by JAG2955 »

I've got an OKC-3S in my BOB. What would you like to know?
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D5CAV
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by D5CAV »

JAG2955 wrote:I've got an OKC-3S in my BOB. What would you like to know?
How do you like it as a utility knife?

What did you use before & how is the OKC-3S better or worse than what you used before?

How is the edge holding in utility chores (cutting firewood, general camp prep, etc.)?

I figure 99% of the time, I'm looking for a utility knife, so a utility knife that can work as a bayonet when SHTF may be a good choice.

TIA
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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SoupOrMan
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by SoupOrMan »

If we're going back to fixing bayonets, why not manufacture new M1905s?
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gandalf23
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by gandalf23 »

Is it just me or do the M9 and the new Marines Ka-Bar bayonet a little backwards? Shouldn't the fingerguard/part-that-goes-over-the-muzzle be down where when you are using the bayonet as a fighting knife it protects your fingers? Rather than being up on top and protecting nothing, and letting your fingers, potentially, get sliced all to hell by your own damn knife?

I took apart a few of the Spanish CETME bayonets and lengthened them for some guys heading to Iraq and they both asked me to turn the fingerguard around so that it would protect their fingers during use. Seemed common sense to me, but what do I know?
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Darrell
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Re: M9 Bayonet

Post by Darrell »

Denis or someone reported that the Swiss bayonets make great knives.
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