British L1A3 Bayonet, Converted L1A1, Dated 1957 by Enfield
Straight single fullered blade with clipped Bowie point. Black finished steel hilt, black painted sheet steel slab grips secured by two rivets around concealed tang. Steel pommel with locking button, black finished steel scabbard with circular frog stud, frog of white woven plastic.
The blade is stamped at the ricasso on one side with a broad arrow War Office ownership stamp and ‘57D’, the ‘D’ having a horizontal stroke extending from the vertical. The ‘D’ with a stroke extending from the vertical is a mark of the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, while 57 is the date of manufacture.
The grip slabs are each stamped with another ‘D’ with a stroke Enfield stamp and another broad arrow. The pommel is stamped on its base with the model ‘L1A3’, as well as with ‘0’ and ‘257’, the latter probably a serial or weapon number.
The L1A1 bayonet for the SLR rifle was sealed as a pattern in 1957, and the L1A3 bayonet in 1958. Most of the newly made L1A1s were converted to L1A3s (which only involved milling a recess into the pommel allowing the press stud to be replaced) and later more L1A3s were newly manufactured.
Being dated 1957 this example is most likely one such conversion of an L1A1. Its markings also show signs of conversion: the grips of either an L1A1 or L1A3 would normally be stamped with their model and NATO item number, but these would be incorrect after conversion and I think they have been deliberately removed on this example by grinding, and only new Enfield ‘D’ stamps were applied before the grips were refinished. The new model mark ‘L1A3’ was then applied by manual stamping on the pommel rather than trying to replace the factory stamping on the grips.
The blade retains its black parkerised finish with only tiny bright spots of wear on raised edges. Some dimpled forging imperfections to the blade which have been parkerised over. Likewise some spots of wear to the finish on raised edges of the hilt, grips and pommel, a couple of very small chips to the scabbard with light rubbing at its chape end.
