This is a VERY GOOD condition example of the US Model 1835 Socket Bayonet. The Model 1835 socket bayonet was the first US socket bayonet to incorporate a locking ring to ensure that it remained firmly attached to the gun it was fixed upon. The bayonet was an almost direct copy of the French Model 1822 socket bayonet. The bayonet was designed for what would be the last of the US flintlock muskets, the US Model 1835 that finally went into production as the Model 1840 and which is sometimes referred to by collectors as the US Model 1835/40. The bayonet continued in use through the production run of the first US percussion ignition musket with interchangeable parts, the Model 1842. The Model 1835 bayonet remained in production until the end of Model 1842 musket production in 1855. Later, a “replacement” variation of the Model 1835 bayonet went into production to provide bayonets for the older Model 1835/40 and Model 1842 muskets still in use during the 1850s and 1860s. These bayonets are often called US Model 1842 bayonets by collectors, but no such US Ordnance Department designation exists. As these were not produced until after 1855 that designation would be incorrect, and Model 1835 Replacement Bayonet would be the most correct term for the later production variation.

The US Model 1835 Socket Bayonet featured an 18” blade, with the squared off shoulders that were typical of the earlier 1816/22/27 series of socket bayonets. The socket was mortised for a bottom stud and was sized for US .69 caliber musket barrels. The later “Replacement” version of the bayonet had a US Model 1855 type blade with tapered shoulders combined with the standard 1835 pattern socket.

The US Model 1835 Socket Bayonet offered here has a clear US stamp on the face of the blade at the ricasso. The original locking ring is intact and remains fully functional, and the blade is full length. The blade has a mostly smooth, medium pewter gray patina with a moderate amount of scattered oxidized freckling and age discoloration along the entire blade, giving it a mottled “salt  & pepper” appearance. The blade is mostly smooth with only a few small areas showing some pinpricking and light pitting, mostly at the ricasso. The socket has nearly the same coloration and patina as the blade. The socket shows some lightly scattered surface oxidation and evenly distributed pinpricking as well as some light pitting. The appearance of the socket matches the blade well, despite showing some more light pitting. The entire bayonet is in fairly nice, and in relatively crisp condition. A little light cleaning might remove some of the darker age discoloration on the blade. As it sits, the overall condition is very decent, and it would be a great addition to your pewter gray US Model 1835/40 or US Model 1842 musket. For the re-enactor or living historian, these Model 1835/40 bayonets almost always fit on the reproduction Armi-Sport Model 1842 muskets, as well as the original muskets.

ON HOLD