Japanese Militaria at Castle-Thunder.com

[Garandshtr]

Time for another question!
My 99 is on the way! That's the good news. Hopefully I can get some useable pictures on Friday or Saturday. In the mean time, I found a suitable bayonet on ebay. At least, I think I did. At the time, I hadn't even considered the possibility of a non-Japanese (fake?) bayonet, and since I'm new here, I was wondering if you guys can give me some things to look for, to verify the bayonet is an actual Type 30. I've been reading some more posts, here and on a couple other forums on bayonets in general, where the topic of fakes came up. The seller did have good feedback, so that part should be ok, but I'm not sure how to verify what I end up with.
TIA
Mark

[gwsiii]

most of the fakes are still based in china, look for clear, distinct arsenal markings. You need to decide what type of bayonet you want, early, mid, late and what crossguard shape, grip, pommel, blade styles, etc....and condition. If you find one you like, email me and I'll eyeball it and let you know. The Type 30 bayonets are pretty distinctive, so they're pretty easy to identify. A word of caution, as with any rifle accessory, it is always better to be sure it fits, before you buy it. You can't beat carrying the rifle to a show, and trying the bayonet 'on for size' first. Most problems are due to the barrel ring opening on the bayonet being distorted, that can usually be fixed by gently opening it up enough to fit on the end of a junker barrel, and wiggling it until it slides up and down the barrel smoothly. Make sure the locking mechanism (push button) is complete and functional. With an internet auction, all you can do is ask if it works, and fits on a rifle. If I've left anything out, someone please fill in the blanks. Trey
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I didn't pay to much for that old Arisaka, I just bought it a little bit too soon!

[Garandshtr]

Thanks for the offer, Trey! You guys are very helpful.
Part of the problem here is buying things online, where you can't actually test them out. I was wondering, in this case, how to verify that a bayonet is genuine, once I get my hands on it. Or, maybe it doesn't matter much, beyond the fact that I probably paid too much if I think it's genuine, but it isn't, if I'm happy with it.
I'll try to post pictures when they arrive, and we'll see what you think of those.
I think my impatience is a factor here, also. You'd think, at my age, that I'd be a bit more reserved!

thanks again,
Mark

[Edokko]

One thing you can do to avoid the thrill, is, if you see something that catches your fancy on an internet auction, cut and paste a few photos on a thread on this board and ask the guys here for advice if it's authentic or not.

[Garandshtr]

That is a good idea. The only downside is calling attention to something that one of you guys are looking for! Then I'll just be gathering up competitors in the bidding!
However, I'm also not looking for any unusual for rare items. More a nice representative sample that I don't have to explain to my wife!
Thanks, and I'll try to keep this in mind for the next one. Plus, I'll post a pic when it gets here, and see what you think afterwards.
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Still trying to learn what I can, mainly about the Type 99 and Type 38. I have more curiosity than time, and more time than money.

[Edokko]

The trick to keep the hunger frenzied vultures (that means us, and I'm real notorious) from pouncing onto your auction, is to just cut the photo part out of the auction site, and post it here without saying "which auction" it's from. You can keep us in the dark that way, and as an added kick, drive us all nuts and pulling our hairs out wondering where the heck that such a jewell is being auctioned on.

[Garandshtr]

Good idea! I'll try that next. But, now that it's dark here on the east coast, I can't get a good picture of the bayonet that arrived today. It seems pretty good to me. None of the picture I got were really worth a hoot. About all I could tell was the handle scales were screwed on. I'll see if I can get a picture tomorrow, or Saturday at the latest.
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Still trying to learn what I can, mainly about the Type 99 and Type 38. I have more curiosity than time, and more time than money.

[Edokko]

We will all be looking forward to it.