Post-War U.S. bayonet and scabbard production has posed significant challenges to researchers. Limited federal contract data has left many gaps and, at times, has proven difficult to interpret accurately. As with any story that is pieced together over time, there have been advances, as well as errors, made along the way. My research builds on previous work by noted authors/researchers, Gary Cunningham, Bill Porter, and Frank Trzaska. Gary’s research can be found in his books; and the work of all three on Frank Trzaska’s great site, http://usmilitaryknives.com.
The following summarizes what appear to be the U.S. government contracts known to me, building on what has already been published with additional research of my own. The information presented below shows the known extent of M10 Scabbard procurement discerned from publicly-available data, adds new details, and clarifies some details previously reported elsewhere. There remains much to still be discovered and explained through further research. A brief summary of Commercial M10 Scabbards encountered during my research is also appended below. If you are aware of any additional contracts or have information to add, comments and clarification are welcome.
| M10 Scabbard Contracts Summary | ||||||
| Contract No. | Contractor | Action Date | Amount | Contract Type | Quantity | Notes |
| DAAA-09-85-C-1316 | Imperial Schrade Corporation | 11/18/1985 | $246,000 | Definitive Contract | 112,400 | Contract details per NARA AAD. Quantity per Cunningham's 1996 book. Quantity reported consistent with total amount paid. Per Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision B-218140, Feb 22, 1985: Hauser Products, Inc. was low-bidder, but their bid was rejected on a technicality. |
| 2/19/1986 | $104,000 | Additional Work | ||||
| DAAA09-87-C-0130 | Hauser Products, Inc. | 10/1/1986 | $93,130 | Definitive Contract | 33,500 | Contract details per NARA AAD. Quantity per Cunningham's 1996 book. Quantity reported consistent with amount paid. |
| DAAA-09-88-C-0129 | Ontario Knife Co. | 11/13/1987 | $718,000 | Definitive Contract | 58,100 | Contract for M7 Bayonet/M10 Scabbard combo. Contract details per NARA AAD. Quantity per Cunningham. Quantity reported consistent with amount paid. |
| DAAE20-96-C-0224 | General Cutlery, Inc. | 5/1/1996 | $91,969 | Definitive Contract | not available | Contract details per NARA AAD. |
| DAAE20-98-P-0221 | Lan Cay, Inc. | 4/23/1998 | $51,759 | Purchase Order | 10,700 | Manufacture subcontracted to Hauser Products, Inc. Contract details per NARA AAD. Quantity per M7 Bayonet specialist William Humes. Quantity reported is consistent with amount paid. |
| DAAE20-00-P-0497 | General Cutlery, Inc. | 9/28/2000 | not reported | Purchase Order | not available | Not reported to NARA, so likely <$25,000. |
| DAAE20-01-P-0180 | Ontario Knife Co. | 3/7/2001 | not available | Purchase Order | not available | Contract for M7 Bayonet and M10 Scabbard packaged separately. NARA shows total of $71,936, which would be for both bayonets and scabbards. |
| DAAE20-02-P-0506 | General Cutlery, Inc. | 9/18/2002 | not available | Purchase Order | not available | Not reported to NARA, so likely <$25,000. |
| DAAE20-03-P-0449 | Ontario Knife Co. | 8/26/2003 | $16,884 | Simplified Acquisition | not available | Contract for M7 Bayonet Knife and M10 Scabbard packaged separately. NARA and FPDS show 2 transactions: $32,874 & $15,990. FPDS indicates $15,990 was exercise of an option for a total of $48,864. Deduced breakdown as 1 combined purchase order for M7 bayonets & M10 scabbards, plus option for more M7 bayonets. If $15,990 of the $32,874 was for M7 bayonets, then the remaining $16,884 was for M10 scabbards. |
| W52H09-04-C-0222 | Ontario Knife Co. | 9/9/2004 | not available | Definitive Contract | not available | Contract for M7 Bayonet and M10 Scabbard packaged separately. NARA shows total of $269,574, which would be for both bayonets and scabbards. |
| W52H09-06-C-0002 | Lan Cay, Inc. | 11/22/2005 | $257,987 | Definitive Contract | estimated 12,000 | This contract not identified in Cunningham. Contract for M7 Bayonet/M10 Scabbard Combo. Subcontracted to General Cutlery Co. Contract amount pencils out exactly to 12,000 at $21.50 ea. |
| W52H09-06-D-0068 | Ontario Knife Co. | 8/22/2006 10/16/2006 11/19/2008 4/2/2009 |
$1,863,900 | 4 delivery orders for M7 Bayonet/M10 Scabbard Combo | 90,000 | Indefinite-delivery contract for M7 Bayonets, the M7 Bayonet/M10 Scabbard Combo, M10 Scabbards, complete M9 Bayonets, and M9 spare parts. Amount derived from USASpending.gov info. Quantities per Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) info. |
| 5/18/2007 | not reported | 1 delivery order for M10 Scabbards | 1,497 | |||
| W52H09-08-D-0004 | Ontario Knife Co. | 10/17/2007 | $11,203 | 3 delivery orders for M10 Scabbard | not available | Indefinite-delivery contract for M10 Scabbards. Contract details per USASpending.gov. |
| 10/30/2009 | $12,726 | not available | ||||
| 5/25/2010 | $18,540 | 3,000 | ||||
| W56HZV-14-P-0472 | Iris Kim, Inc. | 9/15/2014 | $0 | Purchase Order | 0 | Contract amount of $13,838 for “scabbard,bayonet knife”, with a 100% option (that was never exercised). Delivery date was 4/13/2015. Contract terminated for default 8/21/2015, with nothing having been delivered or paid. Subsequent investigation revealed that from 2011-2018 this contractor conspired to falsely qualify for set-asides reserved for service-disabled veterans, then supplied defense agencies with $7 million in counterfeit products they had made in China, then represented as U.S.-made. The owner and 4 employees were arrested in 2020, pled guilty, and received lengthy federal prison sentences. |
| SPRDL1-18-P-0495 | Aces Enterprises, LLC | 9/10/2018 | $118,000 | Purchase Order | 2,000 | Procurement by the Defense Logistics Agency via a middleman for M7 Bayonet/M10 Scabbard Combo supplied by Ontario Knife Co. Amount per USASpending.gov. Quantity per DLA info. |
| 3/15/2019 | $118,000 | Purchase Order | 2,000 | |||
| SPE7L3-19-P-7158 | Harris Support Services, LLC | 7/26/2019 | $289,836 | Purchase Order | 9,960 | Procurement by the Defense Logistics Agency via a middleman for M10 Scabbards supplied by Ontario Knife Co. Amount per USASpending.gov. Quantity per DLA info. Package observed has two labels, one from Ontario dated 1/20; one from Harris dated 2/20. |
| W56HZV-19-C-0169 | Omega Innovative Products, LLC | 8/26/2019 | $313,320 | Definitive Contract | 5,600 | Procurement by Army Materiel Command Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal via a middleman for M7 Bayonet/M10 Scabbard Combo presumably supplied by Ontario Knife Co. Amount and quantity per USASpending.gov. |
| 9/26/2019 | $313,320 | Exercise of Option | 5,600 | |||
Sources Cunningham: GAO: Bid Protest Decision, B-218140, (Washington, DC: Government Accounting Office, Feb. 22, 1985), accessed September 26, 2021, https://www.gao.gov/products/b-218140 Federal Procurement Data System, EZ Search, accessed various dates February-March, 2022. https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/index.php/en/ |
| © Ralph E. Cobb 2022 All Rights Reserved |
| The following is by no means an exhaustive list, but identifies the commercial M10 Scabbards that I have encountered in my research. | |||||
| Commercial M10 Scabbards | |||||
| Scabbard Maker | CAGE | Associated Product | Product Maker | Scabbard Color | Notes |
| Hauser Products, Inc. | 1Z803 | Australian M7 Bayonet | General Cutlery, Inc. | Green | Light green plastic scabbard tube has Broad Arrow in place of the "M10" found on U.S. examples. Some had paint applied in Australia to make a camouflage pattern. |
| Hauser Products, Inc. | 1Z803 | Tan M3-style Combat Knife | General Cutlery, Inc. | Tan | The package containing both the knife and scabbard was labeled with spurious contract number and National Stock Numbers. |
| Hauser Products, Inc. | 1Z803 | Tan M7 Bayonet | General Cutlery, Inc. | Tan | The package containing both the bayonet and scabbard was labeled with General Cutlery's 1988 M7 Bayonet contract number DAAA-09-88-C-0366. |
| Hauser Products, Inc. | 1Z803 | White M7 Bayonet | General Cutlery, Inc. | Black | The package containing both the bayonet and scabbard was labeled with Hauser's 1986 M10 Scabbard contract number DAAA09-87-C-0130. |
| Hauser Products, Inc. | 1Z803 | not observed | n/a | Green Camo | Unsure who marketed these. |
| Unknown Chinese Firm | 9A148 | UAE M16 Bayonet | Unknown Chinese Firm | Black | Scabbard has spurious CAGE Code 9A148, which belongs to NORCATEC LLC, a NY firm that produces pipe and fittings used in armored vehicles. |
| Unknown | none | not observed | n/a | Green | Has large "U.S." and Ordnance Dept. shell-and-flame on front. |
| Unknown | not observed | General Cutlery M7 Bayonet (see notes) | Unknown | Green Camo | DAAA09-86-C-2430 on package label. This contract number is likely spurious. Sold along with a General Cutlery marked M7 bayonet. Bayonet had blade reversed so that cutting edge faced upward when fixed. |
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