Q. I recently started collecting World War I U.S. military firearms. I want to obtain a Model 1917 rifle made by each contractor—Winchester, Remington and Eddystone—along with bayonets for each. However, I can only locate bayonets made by Winchester and Remington. Why are bayonets made by Eddystone so hard to find?
A. Eddystone-made Model 1917 bayonets are hard to find because they don’t exist. The Model 1917 rifle-production contracts awarded to Winchester Repeating Arms Co., Remington Arms Co. and Eddystone Rifle Works (a corporate affiliate of Remington) also contained the provision for the manufacture of bayonets. Winchester made Model 1917 bayonets at its New Haven, Conn., factory.
However, the management of Remington decided to have its plant in Ilion, N.Y., and the affiliated plant in Eddystone, Pa., concentrate strictly on rifle production and not be sidetracked by making bayonets. Remington also had a factory in Bridgeport, Conn., with sufficient capacity to manufacture large numbers of bayonets, so it made sense to have the bayonets manufactured there to supply both the Eddystone and Ilion plants.
All of the Model 1917 bayonets made at the Bridgeport plant had Remington markings.
