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, building on what has already been published with additional research of my own. The information presented below shows the extent of M9 Bayonet 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. If you are aware of any additional contracts or have information to add, comments and clarification are welcome.
| M9 Bayonet Contracts Summary | ||||||
| Contract No. | Contractor | Date | Amount | Quantity | Contract Type | Notes |
| DAAA21-87-C-0001 | PHROBIS III, Ltd. | 10/1/1986 | $15,641,136 | 315,627 | Definitive Contract | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. Quantity per Neyman. |
| M67854-91-C-0002 | Buck Knives Inc. | 3/13/1991 | $292,000 | 5,500 | Definitive Contract | U.S. Marine Corps direct contract. Contract details per NARA AAD. Est. quantity 5,500 per Neyman. |
| DAAA09-92-C-0406 | Lan-Cay, Inc. |
3/31/1992 | $1,427,400 | 30,500 | Definitive Contract | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. First Lan-Cay M9 contract. Quantities per Homer Brett letter, Lan-Cay History. The funding action represents the exercise of an option for additional bayonets. |
| 5/26/1993 | $1,006,200 | 21,500 | Funding Action | |||
| M ? | Buck Knives, Inc. | 7/16/1993 | $18,858 estimated | 350 | Definitive Contract | USMC direct contract. Not in NARA AAD or FPDS. 350 bayonets at $53.88 ea. per Neyman, which computes to $18,858. |
| DAAA09-94-C-0571 | Lan-Cay, Inc. | 9/14/1994 | $3,908,711 | 104,111 | Definitive Contract | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. Second Lan-Cay M9 contract. Quantity per Homer Brett letter, Lan-Cay History. |
| DAAE20-96-D-0001 | Buck Knives, Inc. | 7/15/1996 | $0 | 0 | 2 Delivery Orders Included M9 Bayonets. Contact Cancelled. | Indefinite-delivery contract for M9 bayonets and spare parts. Per Neyman, Buck was successful bidder, then got cold feet because there was no guarantee of the purchase quantity. Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. The Army placed 2 delivery orders: on 7/15/1996 in amount $115,860 for M9 bayonets and spare parts; and, on 2/27/1997 in amount $104,940 for M9 bayonets. Buck never fulfilled these orders and sought legal means to get out of the contract. Contract was finally cancelled 5/7/1997 without anything being delivered or paid. |
| DAAE20-97-P-0623 | Lan-Cay, Inc. | 9/29/1997 | $40,000 | not available | Purchase Order | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. |
| DAAE20-98-C-0030 | Lan-Cay, Inc. | 1/7/1998 | $246,000 | not available | Definitive Contract | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. Modification represents the exercise of 100% option for additional bayonets. |
| 3/31/1998 | $246,000 | not available | Funding Action | |||
| DAAE20-99-C-0035 | Lan-Cay, Inc. | 3/4/1999 | $145,920 | 2,400 | Definitive Contract | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. Quantity per federal solicitation announcement. |
| DAAE20-99-D-0134 | Lan-Cay, Inc. | 9/23/1999 | $550,000 | 12,500 | 5 Delivery Orders Included M9 Bayonets | Indefinite-delivery contract for M9 bayonets and spare parts. Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. The first delivery order represents the reported "split" of a 25,000 bayonet solicitation between Lan-Cay and Ontario. Quantity for second delivery order shown per Barry Brown (ref. Frank Trzaska Knife Notes 7). Delivery order in amount of $239,355 may also include spare parts. |
| 10/31/2002 | $179,233 | 4,500 | ||||
| 8/19/2003 | $292,332 | not available | ||||
| 11/20/2003 | $239,355 | not available | ||||
| 8/24/2004 | $399,000 | not available | ||||
| DAAE20-99-D-0135 | Ontario Knife Co. | 9/23/1999 | $662,500 | 12,500 | 3 Delivery Orders Included M9 Bayonets | Indefinite-delivery contract for M9 bayonets and spare parts. Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. The first delivery order represents the reported "split" of a 25,000 bayonet solicitation between Lan-Cay and Ontario. Delivery order amount of $662,500 may include additional deliverable(s), such as first article testing, final inspection gauges, etc. |
| 9/29/1999 | $1,075,043 | not available | ||||
| 8/14/2000 | $403,569 | not available | ||||
| W52H09-05-C-0106 | Lan-Cay, Inc. | 3/23/2005 | $408,500 | not available | Definitive Contract | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. |
| W52H09-05-C-0265 | Ontario Knife Co. | 9/15/2005 | $797,000 | not available | Definitive Contract | Contract details per NARA AAD and FPDS. |
| W52H09-06-C-0061 | Lan-Cay, Inc. | 1/6/2006 | $179,490 | not available | Definitive Contract | Contract details per FPDS. Original contract obligation of $582,000 was reduced to $179,490 on 5/9/2006. The original 9/1/2006 completion date was extended five times, ultimately to 1/18/2009, before the government terminated the contract on 7/16/2009 with $179,490 reported paid. |
| W52H09-06-D-0068 | Ontario Knife Co. | 5/9/2006 8/22/2006 1/11/2008 2/13/2008 4/2/2009 | $5,886,554 estimated | 151,200 | 5 Delivery Orders Included M9 Bayonets | Indefinite-delivery contract that included the M7 Bayonet, M7 Bayonet/M10 Scabbard Combo, M10 Scabbards, complete M9 Bayonets, and M9 spare parts. Estimated amount derived from USASpending.gov info. Quantity shown is max. M9 quantity allowed under contract, which appears to have been completely fulfilled. |
| W52H09-08-P-0538 | Ontario Knife Co. | 9/2/2008 | $8,053 | not available | Purchase Order | Contract details per FPDS and USASpending.gov. |
| W56HZV-12-C-0327 | Tri-Technologies, Inc. | 9/20/2012 | $1,395,190 | 40,000 | Definitive Contract | Contract for 40,000 bayonets with 100% option (which was not exercised). Contract details per FPDS. Original $1,620,000 contract obligation was reduced to $1,395,190 on 2/22/2013, based on incorporation of engineering changes and approval of deviation. Contract terminated for convenience 9/25/2016 with $1,395,190 paid. At one time, I thought that the contract was terminated before all 40,000 were delivered. However, further analysis suggests that all 40,000 were likely delivered. |
| Sources
Neyman: Richard Neyman, M9 Bayonet: The Authorized History (Spokane, Washington: Grey Dog Press 2018) Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS): Database accessed various dates February-March, 2023, https://www.fpds.gov USASpending.gov: Award Database, accessed various dates February-March, 2022, https://www.usaspending.gov/search |
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| © Ralph E. Cobb 2023 All Rights Reserved | ||||||
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