I have a Lithgow 1907 bayonet manufactured in 1914, EXCEPT it is a straight quillion, not a hooked quillion.  Skennerton mentioned the hooked quillion was phased out in 1915.  So how can this be??

I own it, so let's hope I have the rarest of unicorns, not a rookie purchase mistake!  It's interesting, I have had this for a while in storage, and something has been niggling me about it so I finally checked today.  Duh! The scabbard is also problematic.   I knew it wasn't a match, but it has a tear drop lock stud on a 1944 sheath and a OA marked nosecap.  It looks as though a WWI locket was stapled to a WWII sheath? 

Thanks,

From what I remember there's actually a subtle difference in the shape of the remaining part of the quillion between the "Hookies" that were docked & the later ones made without one.

The later ones were strait sided albeit with a taper, but the originals inwardly were curved IIRC.

As usual thanks for the great input. Potential disappointment has turned it into an even more interesting bayonet.  I had no idea they de-hooked the quillion! In a way it makes sense as I imagine the hook just got in the way.  The photo's do show some slight marks which look like vice marks which may have been from the removal/grinding process. I do have a really nice 1942 and I will compare the shapes of the quillion to see if I can detect the difference - I'll post photo's if I can detect the difference.

Very cool.  Thanks gents. 

These firearms tell a fascinating story. 

These firearms tell a fascinating story. ..."

yes indeed and if they could only talk , i very much enjoyed researching mine over the years , its sad so much is lost to the ages but what we can find is always fun 

Thanks for the ID "Bayo500"!

I promised to do a side by side of the ground hookie and a non-hookie.  My photo skills are not great, but I took a few angles and you can definitely tell it was ground down.  Great insight from the board.  I compared the 1914 with the 1942 and marked the photos accordingly. 

Howdy y’all; I do believe you are correct ole cobber & here (hopefully photo shows up ok) are 3 more for reference to your post.

L-R 1919 Lithgow non Hooky,1908 EFD Hooky,1915 Lithgow Ex-Hooky.

Cheer’s all.

It'll certainly help us all when looking at bayonets.

...here is my example - among the last of the hooked-quillion examples...made at SAF Lithgow, they started production in 1913 with about 1k rifles/bayonets in that year, about 10k in 1914 and about 15k in 1915...as the hook to the quillion ceased being applied sometime between August/October of that year, there were only somewhere between 11k and 20k bayonets with the hook ever made at Lithgow...the blade on my example has a bright finish all the way from the quillion to the (very) sharp point...does anybody know if there was a variation in the amount of blueing applied to the bayonet blades...(8{

Firstly... The absence of the 'Hooked' Quillon. In GB, production of the curved quillion ended in November of 1913, with the War department.... through the official 'List Of Changes'.... announcing the end of production, and the removal of the curved quillon from all future production. The curved quillon was also to be removed, as and when a bayonet were to be presented for either repair or inspection. History has shown that quite a substantial amount of curved quillon '07's' ( for one reason or another ) have survived in their original form. Australia was slightly behind in curved quillon '07' matters, including stopping production, and the removal. So, what you have is a perfectly authentic Lithgow 'Quillon' removed example.

Secondly...The scabbard. With the '07' bayonet, there are three frog studs which will be encountered : 1) The original 'Tear Drop'; 2) The 'Roundal'... announced to replace the 'Tear Drop' in mid 1916; 3) the Australian 'Roundal', which is noticeably smaller than it's British counterpart. It's quite feasible that the original scabbard to your '07' was replaced due to it being unserviceable for a number of reasons. Also, stampings military area's differ between WW1 and WW2. So, each difference you have, is one instance in the bayonets lifeline. To add to that, when a bayonet is submitted for inspection / repair / modification.... the bayonet and scabbard are inspected separately. So, it's quite logical to assume the two may never be together again.... although there are cases of staying as one unit. 

@martinrf I love the photos of Lithgow Hookie.  That is nice to have in your collection. Congratulations!  We are all a little jealous 😀

Glad you are still with us!

If I can work out how to post pics on here again, I'll share my '07' Vickers collection----> '9' examples to-date.

I've learnt something today.👍

Small trivia point.

The "Sirhind tool" was originally issued as an INtrenching tool & later changed to be an ENtrenching tool.

There were 2 versions of it. One (shown) was "plain", the other had a "fake" no4 barrel top & bayonet lugs on the end of the handle, to allow a bayonet to be attached to "probe for mines"!

He said that unlike most british units the New Zealanders tended to dump useless british army equipment fast and scrounge (or steal where necessary) anything better.  He was a signaler and started out armed with a revolver (only good for throwing at the enemy) then a Thompson SNG (heavy and rattled loudly with the drum mags, also poked you in the back when slung) then used a lee enfield rifle ( meant you didn't stand out as a high value target) and was useful to tie aerial wires to when stuck in the ground with the bayonet fitted) this was because there were very few trees around in North Africa to tie the aerial wires to.

I have the second version...

Me too.

The locals are becoming a little concerned with me hacking "zombie mint" out of my yard with it.

Gawd bless em.

...here is my latest acquisition - another 1915 Lithgow, with the hooked-quillon intact...it joins a small, but perfectly formed, collection of 1907 bayonets...all have either 1 MD, 2 MD, 3 MD, or pre-M.D., markings showing their service within the Australian military forces...the shape of the quillon differs between British and Australian manufacturing, as does the hand stamping upon the ricasso...(8{

...another recent acquisition...an early CHAPMAN marked blade, numbered with the State of Victoria marking on the crossguard and 3MD on the throat edge...

Good and huge collection.