WWII RARE!! M1 Bayonet ("Union Fork & Hoe") Unfinished "Forging Blank"

Description

WWII M1 Bayonet
(from
"Union Fork & Hoe"
) Unfinished
"Forging Blank"
Rare!
Rare!
Rare!
(Sale is for the "Forging Blank" ONLY.)
+ Perfect for display with a collection of
M1 Bayonets
for the M1 Garand! This would have been drilled, finished, stamped with the
"UFH"
letters, the 'flaming Ordnance bomb', the
"U.S."
cypher, parkerized, and Bakelite grips attached.
+ This is a wartime ORIGINAL, untouched, rough, unfinished "Forging Blank" for a 10-inch
M1 Bayonet,
stamped by the
UNION FORK & HOE COMPANY
of Washington Mills, Ohio during WWII (between April of 1943 and the conclusion of the war in 1945).
This
M1 Bayonet "Forging Blank"
was removed from a
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
rail crane counter-weight, during the summer of 2021 along with other scrap iron being used for ballast. Obviously, this 'forging blank' was not  moved far from where it was stamped during the war!
*****
UNION FORK & HOE COMPANY HISTORY:
The
Union Fork and Hoe Factory
was located on Oneida Street in Washington Mills, Ohio from 1865 to 1909.  The company was founded in Unadilla Forks in 1840, when Henry H. Babcock began the manufacturing of hoes by hand on an anvil. Later Charles B. Brown and others became interested with him, and in 1865 the business was moved to Washington Mills.
​
In 1871 Porter S. Huntley and Mr. Babcock became sole owners and continued the business until 1883, when the
Huntley and Babcock Agricultural Company
was incorporated. This firm continued until 1887 when the name was changed to
Lewis and Babcock Manufacturing Company
and in 1892 it was changed to the
Utica Tool company.
In 1885, Charles H. Philo purchased an interest in the company.  The works covered an area of 10 acres and employed from 75 to 100 skilled mechanics. The mechanical appliances and equipment of the factory insured rapid production.
The factory manufactured hoes, pitchforks, lawn rakes, knives and various garden implements which were shipped throughout the United States and to all parts of the world.
*****
The
Union Fork & Hoe Company
was founded on March 21, 1907 in Columbus, Ohio following a merger of four tool plants set up by George B. Durrell, including the
United States Hoe & Tool Company
and
Continental Tool Company
.
Its industry was lawn and garden tools and its headquarters remained in Columbus, Ohio.
The company was acquired by the
Vision Hardware Group
in 1986. The
"UnionTools"
brand was acquired by
Ames True Temper, Inc.
in 2006, and the company was merged into
Acorn Products, Inc.
in 2009.
*****
Exceptional research provided by Gary Cunningham, July 4, 2006
Estimated production figures of the various contractors of the
M1 Bayone
t. This is provided to give a sense of rarity of the various makers. Numbers have been rounded and are based on contracts and other official information from the War Department. It appears that of the five manufacturers,
UNION FORK & HOE
delivered approximately 600,000
M1 Bayonets.
UNION FORK & HOE
supplied approximately one/fifth (20.5%) of all those stamped, finished, and delivered during the war.
A
merican Fork and Hoe:
1,100,000 (38%)
Utica Cutlery:
750,000 (25.5%)
Union Fork and Hoe:
600,000 (20.5%)
Pal Blade:
450,000 (15.5%)
Oneida, Limited:
20,000 (0.68%)
+++++
DELIVERIES OF THE M1 BAYONET:
Month - Quantity - Cumulative Total Deliveries
April,
1943
- 94,869
May - 184,320 - 279,189
June - 175,800 - 454,989
July - 186,711 - 641,700
August - 151,659 - 793,359
September - 147,320 - 940,679
October - 154,131 - 1,094,810
November - 138,480 - 1,233,290
December - 132,408 - 1,365,698
*****
January,
1944
- 132,910 - 1,498,608
February - 132,910 - 1,631,518
March - 76,000 - 1,707,518
April - 73,927 - 1,781,445
May - 24,418 - 1,809,863
June - 28,032 - 1,837,895
July - 50,000 - 1,887,895
August - 75,000 - 1,962,895
September - 74,907 - 2,037,802
October - 80,000 - 2,117,802
November - 83,000 - 2,200,802
December - 90,000 - 2,290,802
*****
January,
1945
- 102,000 - 2,392,802
February - 95,000 - 2,487,802
March - 142,000 - 2,629,802
April - 135,000 - 2,764,802
May - 87,500 - 2,852,302
June - 67,650 - 2,919,952
July - 17,873 - 2,937,825
August - 10,824 - 2,948,649