Bayonet latch disassembly

[IditarodJoe]

How do you remove the latch assembly from an M1 bayonet (or is this not advisable)?

Yesterday I received my unmodified PAL bayonet from the CMP. I first carefully removed the grip plates and then used the "hot water" method to remove the cosmoline from the metal. (This is the first time I've tried this approach and it worked amazingly well.) I then thought it might be a good idea to remove the latch mechanism to make sure all of the water was gone, and realized I don't know how to do this! I sprayed the latch down well with WD-40 so I suspect it will be fine, but I thought it was curious that I couldn't find instructions for removing the latch - either on this site or on the web.

BTW, for those who might be curious, the bayo is in excellent shape. The dull, dark gray parkerizing is probably too nice to be original. There are just a few small nicks on the crossguard. Markings are PAL, flaming bomb, and U.S. - no date and no foreign markings.

The scabbard is just fair - E US marked with the common replacement metal tip. I'll keep my eyes open for a decent original.

I'm definitely a happy camper. :banana100::banana100::banana100:

[Dan Shapiro]

After the grips are removed, push on the latch button which causes the rear latching mechanism to go down - now you use a punch or similar to push the latching mechanism down even further. Once the latch portion is clear, rotate outwards - CAUTION - the other end is pin-shaped and goes into/connects with the 'pushbutton' and it's under spring pressure. When you pull the pin from the pushbutton, the pushbutton (button and spring) will go flying if not careful.

I usually don't mess with them unless really gunked up or frozen. Relying on the old adage "Is this trip REALLY necessary?" :icon_scratch:

[IditarodJoe]

Thank you very much, Dan. I appreciate both your instruction and your advice.