These were produced in 1991 by the General Cutlery, Inc. of Fremont, Ohio. They are Identical to the U.S. M7 Bayonet-Knife, save for the markings. Australian-contract M7 bayonets are simply marked “M7” and carry the Broad Arrow acceptance mark.

The scabbard is believed manufactured by Hauser Products, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois. A variation of the U.S. M10 scabbard, being molded out of light green plastic with a green belt hanger (instead of black) with dark green paint in a camouflage pattern. The Australian-contract scabbard has the Broad Arrow molded into the front (instead of M10).

A copy of the U.S. Bayonet-Knife M7, the C7 is unique in having the blade made of stainless steel, rather than the carbon-steel blade of the U.S. M7 and other foreign copies. The scabbard is molded plastic with a frog stud. This example is dated January 1986.

The C7 bayonet was manufactured by Nella Cutlery of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1951 by an Italian immigrant as a mobile knife-sharpening business, Nella has grown into a manufacturer of cutlery and knife sharpening machines; and dealer of commercial food equipment. In 1983, Nella bid the bayonet contract on a whim and landed the $1.7 million deal to produce 70,000 C7 bayonets. The firm is still in business today, serving the Canadian commercial food industry.

The C7 was the standard Canadian bayonet from ca. 1984 until superceded by the CAN Bayonet 2000.

The Carl Eickhorn M7 bayonet is a variation of the Colt Part No. 62316 M7 bayonet. It incorporates Colt’s solid tang and universal grip, secured with screws and loose hex bolts (the example at left has USGI replacement grips). The blade runout is curved, like the early Colt-Imperial M7. However, the construction differs from the early Colt-Imperial bayonet in that the guard and latch plate are secured by welding. They produced two versions of the M7 bayonet, a standard M7 and a M7 with an abbreviated lower guard (pictured).

A February 2, 1979, letter from Mr. Robert Roy of Colt Industries is quoted in M. H. Cole’s book, indicating that: “Carl Eickhorn was the only manufacturer of the M7 bayonet in Germany, to my knowledge. I believe that he produced approximately 80,000 bayonets.”

With respect to the variant with the abbreviated lower guard, the above letter indicated that: “[It] … was the first production lot from Carl Eickhorn and had a cross guard which was cut off short so that it could be used interchangeably on bayonets that this company made for the M16 and also the German G3 and HK33 rifles. The bayonet is mounted on top of the barrel on the G3 and HK33. Therefore, the normal extension on the bottom of the cross guard would interfere with sighting. There are some versions of this bayonet with “Germany” stamped in a curve on the top of the cross guard. This was done to satisfy U.S. Customs since a “Made In Germany” stamp had not been put on the bayonets. These bayonets were made 1975/76.”

These were marked on the blade with the Colt “Rampant Horse” trademark and “COLT'S 62316 HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A. Most were also marked “Made in W.—Germany” under the Colt address. The guards were marked “US M7.” Some without the address on the blade were apparently marked for customs purposes as described above.

Eickhorn's successors made M7 bayonets for many countries, including Indonesia. The absence of a US M1910-style wire belt hanger indicates this example was made for wear on a plain belt. Hopefully, further research will reveal which country used this example.

The scabbard on this example is unmarked.

This bayonet also mounts to the M16 assault rifle. Military Assistance Program (MAP) records document that the U.S. provided 28,471 M16A1 rifles and 15,000 M7 bayonets between 1971 and 1978. Indonesia reportedly also purchased upwards of 50,000 M16A1 rifles directly from Colt.

Introduced in 1991, the SS1 is an Indonesian variant of the Belgian FNC assault rifle, produced under license from FN. The SS2 is an advanced assault rifle of indigenous design introduced in 2005.

The Sangkur 1 (Bayonet 1) is a copy of the U.S. M7 Bayonet-Knife produced by the state-run arms manufacturer, PT Pindad (Persero) in Bandung, Java. PT is an abbreviation of Perseroan Terbuka (equivalent to Limited Liability Company or LLC in the USA). Persero signifies a state-owned enterprise.

The S1 is very well-made, with a parkerized (phosphate) finish. The muzzle ring has a chamfer on the rear edge, a nice detail not found on other M7 variants. The plastic grip scales have much finer checkering than other M-Series bayonets. The grip scales are secured with hexagonal socket screws and small threaded steel grip inserts.

The S1 scabbard is patterned after the U.S. M8A1 scabbard. The web belt hanger is black. The steel glove fastener, rivets, and hilt strap ends are painted black. The scabbard body is black plastic, with the Pindad trademark molded into the front. The steel throatpiece is painted black.

Scabbard (body): Pindad Trademark

This bayonet was produced during the 1980s by A. Eickhorn-Solingen (AES), in West Germany, for Israel Military Industries (IMI).

It has the one-piece grip, pommel secured with a phillips-head screw, and plumb-colored blade characteristic of AES production. The scabbards is marked as being made in West Germany, similar to bayonets that AES produced for Haiti and other export contracts.

At first, the bayonet appears unmarked. However, the pommel is a casting and "IMI" is molded in to the casting at the end of the mortise.

Israel reportedly purchased 97,214 M16A1 rifles via U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) during the 1970s. Israel also reportedly purchased 110,000 M16s directly from Colt.

Scabbard: "U. S. M8A1" over "Made in W-Germany"

These first showed up in the U.S., in small numbers following the invasion of Panama in 1989. Presumably, they were taken and brought home as souvenirs by returning U.S. troops. However, little hard information has been discovered around the manufacture and history of these bayonets.

The T65 bayonet is a clone of the US M7, with an extra long blade. It is somewhat more crudely-made than US bayonets. Although the general appearance is that of a US M7 bayonet and US M8A1 scabbard, there are differences. In addition to being longer, the blade is more slender than the U.S. M7. At first blush, the scabbard appears to have a tip protector, like U.S. M8A1 scabbards. However, the scabbard is all plastic, just giving the appearance of a tip protector.

A crude copy of the U.S. M7 Bayonet-Knife manufactured in the Philippines. The bayonet is outwardly similar to its U.S. cousin, but is constructed differently. The pommel has been milled smooth after peening, unlike U.S. M7 bayonets, which are peened and left proud. The plastic grip scales are hollow and secured with phillips-head screws in large brass threaded inserts, where U.S. grip scales are solid, secured with slotted screws in small steel inserts.

The Philippine M7 bayonet scabbard is patterned after the U.S. M8A1 scabbard. The belt hanger rivets and glove fastener are steel. The letters "AFP" (Armed Forces of the Philippines) are stamped into the steel throatpiece. The scabbard body has the AFP Crest molded-in and a crude steel tip.

Military Assistance Program (MAP) records document that the U.S. provided 23,011 M16A1 rifles, 1,030 M7 bayonets, and 7,310 M8A1 scabbards to the Philippines between 1966 and 1973. During the 1970s, the Philippines reportedly also purchased 4,035 M16s from the U.S. via Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and 45,000 directly from Colt.

Scabbard (body): Armed Forces of the Philippines Crest

MAP records document that the U.S. provided 30,847 M16 rifles and 15,822 M7 bayonets to Korea between 1968 and 1973. Korea subsequently manufactured the M16 under license.

An exact clone of the U.S. M7 bayonet and M8A1 Scabbard. Bayonet has a factory edge like U.S. M7s, but not as finely executed.

This crude, unmarked M7 bayonet copy is believed to be from Thailand and to have been manufactured there. The fit and finish are poor, however, the bayonet and scabbard are serviceable.

The scabbard is a crude copy of the U.S. M8A1 scabbard. Examples are found with both green and black plastic scabbard bodies.

Military Assistance Program (MAP) records document that the U.S. provided Thailand with 84,308 M16A1 rifles and 43,368 M7 bayonets between 1966 and 1973; and 67,983 M8A1 scabbards between 1951 and 1972. Thailand also purchased 2,822 M16s from the U.S. via Foreign Military Sales and 55,000 directly from Colt.

The M16 has been replaced in major Thai forces by the Israeli Tavor assault rifle. However, the M16 is likely still widely used by regional, reserve, and police forces.

The "UAE" marking and Army Crest seemingly identifies them as from the United Arab Emirates. There is some evidence to support this, however, I consider the identification to be speculative at this point.

The crest on the opposite grip represents the UAE Armed Forces. The falcon (not eagle) is a common Middle East symbol of strength and the seven stars represent the Seven states making up the UAE. The Arabic at the bottom of the crest is Mashat Furat (Armed Forces).

A run of Rolex watches (real ones, not fakes) were produced with this same crest on the dial.

The scabbard markings are spurious. 8448476 is the U.S. Government part number for the M10 Scabbard. The CAGE Codes:

—19204 belongs to US Army, Rock Island Arsenal.
—9A148 belongs to NorcaTec LLC, a New York firm that produces spare parts for military aircraft, naval equipment, and armored vehicles.

Although these resemble the Ontario M7-B bayonet, they are not made by Ontario. They appear to be a product of China. Some examples have been encountered that were marked "China," although this one is not. These very possibly could be purely for commercial sales. However, China is the UAE's major import trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of all imported goods. Hopefully, further information will emerge to clarify their provenance.

Many Thanks to New Zealand collector & researcher, Kevin Adams, for info on the crest and the Rolex connection.