October 24, 2025Oct 24 #1 I purchased this P1907 from a seller in the U.S. a few years ago to go with my SMLE. While researching it today, I was told by chatGPT that this bayonet contains Japanese markings. Those markings are shown in the third photo. Chat gets "confused" occasionally, so I'm not taking that observation at face value. But its intriguing that it says those are Japanese inspection / acceptance kana markings stamped onto a British Pattern 1907 bayonet after capture. This capture could have occurred during the fall of Singapore, or in Malaya or Hong Kong. Chat suggests that this bayonet may have subsequently been recaptured by the Allies. The markings are too small and faded for my Google Lens Translate to make them out. If anyone can positively identify those markings, and what they mean, this could be interesting to all who read this post. Otherwise, if they're British markings and not Japanese, the meaning of them would also be of interest.
October 24, 2025Oct 24 #2 Interesting that these markings are stamped just below the British broad arrow property marking. I have not seen this before.
October 25, 2025Oct 25 Author #3 I took this sharper photo of those markings and chatGPT changed its mind on this having been captured by the Japanese. chat said: I can clearly see the crown shape The broad arrow is obvious The small angled stamp matches British private inspectors (not arsenal kanji) The texture and finish are correct for British factory acceptance, not Japanese refurbishment Those visual cues were not as clear in the earlier image. Earlier answer = incorrect due to ambiguous visual cues Today’s higher-clarity image reveals British ordnance marks The bayonet is not Japanese-marked Not a British capture piece Now I'd love to see an example of a Japanese capture with Japanese ordnance stamps, if such a thing exists!
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