trajan Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 OK, I only have the one of these beauties (dated 11/04), but I was wondering about the blade spine markings on mine (Moderator - this one has a scabbard marking indicating issued to 1-5 Hants in India in 1914-1919!). My little darling has on the top of the spine: a crown over 05 over E which basically match regular inspection marks; and on the bottom a single number, 5 . Any ideas/comments? Are blade spine markings usual on these? Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Are blade spine markings usual on these? Not on the ones that use recycled pattern '88 blades, unless the stampings are very small and the stampers very skilled Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 4 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Not on the ones that use recycled pattern '88 blades, unless the stampings are very small and the stampers very skilled Chris Thanks. Mine does have a double-stamped crown but the 1903 stamp is clear as are the 11/04 marks so I assume not a re-issue. Did any pre- (or post-? )1903 UK bayonets have spine marks? Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Thanks. Mine does have a double-stamped crown but the 1903 stamp is clear as are the 11/04 marks so I assume not a re-issue. Did any pre- (or post-? )1903 UK bayonets have spine marks? Trajan Sorry I was attempting to be amusing...probably not a good idea. If it has a spine it is probably not a P88 blade (which were double edged blades)... or am I misunderstanding what you are referring to as spine? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawdoc34 Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Chris, think Trajan is referring to the small flat part of blade, top/bottom in front of muzzle ring/quillion. My 2 have Crown 95 E & Crown 3 W inspectors marks on the top & 1 has what looks like a Y on the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 4 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Sorry I was attempting to be amusing...probably not a good idea. If it has a spine it is probably not a P88 blade (which were double edged blades)... or am I misunderstanding what you are referring to as spine? Chris Chris, think Trajan is referring to the small flat part of blade, top/bottom in front of muzzle ring/quillion. My 2 have Crown 95 E & Crown 3 W inspectors marks on the top & 1 has what looks like a Y on the bottom. Indeed! 'My bad' as our USA cousins would say... Without being overly pedantic, a P1903 does have a small spine close to the ricasso but I should have made it clearer in my original post... Mea maxima culpa.. So, back to the main point (I know, no bayonet puns!), it is or is not usual for P1903 bayonets to have an inspection mark on the top 'spine'? And a number or letter (sometimes!) on the back 'spine'? Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawdoc34 Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Trajan, I only have 2 P1903s in my collection & both have inspectors marks on the small spine, only 1 has a mark on the under side, so unless we have both got rare bayonets then I would say it is normal. S>S has more P03s so hopefully he can examine his & see what he says. Got to admit the blades on the P88 & P03 are the coolest out of all my brit bayonets, Cheers, Aleck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Surely the illustration below is an example of 'spine marking' on a P1903 ... To answer the question, yes it is common and normal for both P1888 and P1903 bayonets to have markings placed on the flat edge of the blade. All of mine have various inspection marks placed in this area, but come to think of it, I'm not sure what the exact term is when describing a double edged blade.! Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 5 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 5 August , 2011 Surely the illustration below is an example of 'spine marking' on a P1903 ... To answer the question, yes it is common and normal for both P1888 and P1903 bayonets to have markings placed on the flat edge of the blade. All of mine have various inspection marks placed in this area, but come to think of it, I'm not sure what the exact term is when describing a double edged blade.! Cheers, S>S S>S, good point (aaaagggghhh!), in that with a double-edged blade the 'spine' would be what I think of as the mid-rib. But you got the main gist (avoiding 'point' like the plague!) of this thread, i.e., marks on the flat (unsharpened) sides of the blade on either side of the ricasso. So, regular inspection marks on the upper (i.e., muzzle ring) side are usual/common? Any ideas of marks on the other side, my '5' and sawdoc's 'Y'? Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 6 August , 2011 Share Posted 6 August , 2011 In my experience the bottom side flat edge of the blade, may or may not have markings placed there, so not always. They can have inspection markings stamped, or just 'random' letters and numbers, which can sometimes also show up on the tang. I believe these markings were all stamped during the manufacturing process, and are just the factory approval and viewer 'hallmarks'. Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 6 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 6 August , 2011 In my experience the bottom side flat edge of the blade, may or may not have markings placed there, so not always. They can have inspection markings stamped, or just 'random' letters and numbers, which can sometimes also show up on the tang. I believe these markings were all stamped during the manufacturing process, and are just the factory approval and viewer 'hallmarks'. Cheers, S>S Thanks! And when are you going to publish your collection so we can all have this to hand????!!! Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippingsteel Posted 6 August , 2011 Share Posted 6 August , 2011 Strange as it may seem, I have not come across that many people who are as deeply interested in the 'micro-detail' as you are Trajan.! Yes, I think it takes a certain type of person - and I can certainly understand your interest coming from the Archaeology field as you do ... Likewise I get a lot of enjoyment out of studying the detail from an historical perspective - just bought another 'anorak' reference yesterday.! Cheers, S>S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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