Hi guys, today we are taking a look at a US M9 bayonet. The M9 was brought into service in 1987 to replace the M7 bayonet. I used this bayonet when I was in the army and I've got to say... I wasn't a fan.
It's so heavy, it would have been lighter (and cheaper) to just add wire-cutters to the weight of the M7 bayonet. It copied the wire-cutter feature from the Soviets which was a bad idea, it made the scabbard far heavier than necessary just so it could be used as a really ineffective wire-cutter.
That's what I thought when I first saw it. Then they gave me one when I deployed to the middle east. It was heavy and bulky. I asked for the old M7 instead, but they wouldn't give me one.
Thank you for disassembling the tang to show its inherent weakness. That is why I never bought one. Instead, I built a custom large solingen bowie blade + M7 hand guard and butt attachment to fit my Mossberg 590. I made grip scales out of black walnut and a sheath out of harness leather. It is very intimidating, pointy and sharp.
Excellent example of form over function: beautiful to look at, but very heavy and uncomfortable to hold. Kept mine locked up and carried the old Kabar for utility use
We had a big box full of those on our deployment in 2012-2013. It stayed locked the entire time, and we only opened it once to count them at the end of the deployment.
Great insights, I think the steel is 420 stainless-at least that’s what Ontario was using. 420 SS is terrific for corrosion resistance and toughness-a lot of jet hen knives are made with it-in the kitchen it’s less likely to snap tips or chip edges on bone, get thrown in dirty dishwater for days, etc. Doesn’t hold a good edge but easy to sharpen up. I chose this steel for a pick/hammer/prybar tool and it’s done great. But no edges to maintain either.
Lots of U.S. soldiers hated these when they were first issued that they sold or traded them at surplus shops for the more desirable M7. I personally have a Phrobis III which is rarer than the more common Camillus.
They haven't banned military-style assault knives in Australia yet? Wow.... In '94 when i went through Basic i had an M7, when i got to my unit, we still had the M7s, lighter, smaller.... Buck knives carry model numbers, 188 is the model number. "M9" is the military designation.
Great video my friend! The 188 is Buck's model number. I also hated the damn thing and even took them from my troops because they were more likely to stab themselves or each other with them. We never carried them in the field, too bulky and heavy. I have an old LanCay just for nostalgia. Your Buck with the Aussie broad arrow would bring a premium with collectors here in the US. I would love to get my hands on an M7/M10 Aussie bayonet scabbard as well. The green painted scabbards are scarce here.
IMO, It’s a fine knife, and a massive improvement over the M8. Unlike the previous bayonets, this one is actually useful as a field knife. That said; 1) It’s way too thick. OK, thicker is stronger, but I believe a thinner 3/16 blade would be way more useful, sharper, and tough enough; 2) The handle is uncomfortable. Continuing to use the previous bayonet’s handle would have been better; and, 3) The sharpening stone is inadequate. Placing a double-grit diamond stone in the pouch would have been better. I find the ergonomics of the AK bayonet wire cutter to be better. What would I do, if asked to design a bayonet? I’d start with a second gen Kanarese tango pattern, modifying the tip to incorporate a wire cutter. I’d then shape the handle to an ovoid shape, similar to the M8.
I used to hate that bayonet when I was in the army (11b 10th mountain). I remember one time we were in the field and someone lost theirs and we had to search all day for that damn thing being how it was a sensitive item. Thank God it was found and we were able to go back to barracks. I did however purchase a couple a few years back just to have em . Nostalgia I guess
I know those feels, some idiot in my unit stored NVGs in a garbage bag. Sure enough they got thrown out. It took the battalion a week at the tip to find them
I cut down a few trees on old post with one during EIB. I was always impressed how heavy duty they were. We did some dumb stuff and I never saw a broken one.
If you think this is bad you should try the British army SA80 bayonet. It’s like a 18/19 century plug bayonet that you can fire off the end of your rifle.
It's ugly but the blade is actually offset and the bayonet attaches around the barrel So no you can't fire it off the end of your rifle, the blade is offset so you can fire with the bayonet attached. It's still ugly and can't really be used for anything else
My squad used M9's on deployment a few times and never had issues. Very handy and when used properly cuts through concertina wire fairly easy. I have one in my personal collection.
as someone who bought a personal M9 bayonet (Smith & Wesson SW3B to be exact) for my US Army service use this sums up my thoughts perfectly, the knife overall is a great utilitarian knife and option, but the scabbard and frog just dangle and flops everywhere. I ended up taking the wire hanger and strapping/hooking that to the back right of my battle belt, but could never solve the floppiness, i tried with 550 by simply pulling the scabbard up to take the slack off the frog but the 550 wore and broke quickly, but i learn to live with it, might come back and edit if i can find a way still. But i used the extra pocket for and extra multitool, over all about a 8/10 for me
Superb review! That particular bayonet would fetch you a very nice sum from a collector if you wanted to sell it. Thank you for the thorough review and comparison with its predecessor the M7 as well as a comparison with its inspiration, the Soviet AKM bayonet. The M9 seems like a DoD special - the sort of "One Tool To Rule The All" mentality that also gave us the M14 rifle trying to replace a whole host of weapons. I think the US Marines use a different bayonet that they seem to like.
Have one broadarrow head oz army issue i would part with has had a reworked tip apart from that in good condition scabbard ingreat condition stone excellent. awnser this ill send u my email if u r interested.
You can strip the scabbard down pretty small and still carry it securely. I liked the fact bayonet was easily rebuildable. I chopped,hacked,poked and punished mine and had no handle loosening nor fractures. I will say I used some Velcro to secure unit to my thigh.
The wire cutting lug on the sheath gets caught in camo nets so bad it will send you into a cursing fit when you are trying to put up the net over a M198 howitizer at night. I have just hacked the cursed net to bits getting free of it then spent hours in the motor pool patching that vile net Ha!!!
I remember seeing these......and laughing at how big and heavy they were (with a rat tail tang and slim handle) Ended up running around with a Glock knife and a OKC3S with the EGA wrapped over with tape😂 Would have made more sense ordering them after the Marines got them designed
i wanted to get one of these and then saw a disassemble video of it and saw that it had a tiny rat tail tang. Was so disappointed. Would be nice if they revamped this model and made it full tang with a sheath that had better mounting options. (Think Gerber Strongarm).
Depends which country you are in and which model you have. I can only speak for what they are going for here in Australia. Seems the prices are much lower overseas
@@G60Gibbo hard to pin down, they don't go up very often. I got offered one earlier this year for just under $700. That was a steal. From memory I've seen a few go on ebay for around $800-900. I might be wrong I can't really remember. This one belongs to a mate who spent a bit to get it. I can't remember how much. Sorry not too much help with valuations
I think you must be very happy with that M9. I have an M7 from Bauer ordnanse Corp with the P..W.H Scabbard..a tank of a Bayonet and i made i razor sharp. I am very thankfull to have my M7. But a real US M9 is a Dream for me..and they are not weak at all. I have had some replica's..i could not destroy them. In my country in Europe its very hard and expensive to get an M9. Be thankfull you have one.
It has its faults, but it beats the L3A1 for the British L85 rifle hands down,they look the part but are useless except for stabbing,I blunted the file on a leatherman trying to sharpen mine in Iraq.
I have not met a Vet that liked that bayonet/m9 just to heavy and bulky cool looking though. lots of the the guys I know that we’re in Iraq,Afghanistan or both said they preferred the M7 if available of course they never used them as bayonets more of a GI fidget spinner lol
The smaller hole on the bottom of the guard was either a lanyard hole or a hold-back from the WWII survival knives so the knive could be attached to a long stick with 550 parachute cord and used as a spear. The 550 cord would come from a pilots parachute after he ejected. .
The m7 bayonet is a better combat knife. Full tang, stronger steel, better poking. The m9 is a bad knife, bad wire cutter, bad tool.....but it can do everything. Badly.
The M7 is a better bayonet. The M9 is a better field knife. Considering that troops today have immense need for a field knife and about a 1% chance of needing to use a bayonet for its intended purpose, the M9 is the better choice for our military.
at the 5 min mark is one of the dumbest 'government directives' one has ever heard... so they expected soldiers to wear and take care of ONE POUND of steel on their waist belt but you could not use the knife as you may dull or damage the blade before you get 'into country'... like what? its a knife... you use it as a knife... it seems to me that the armory had no directive on how to sharpen and maintain the knife
