WW2 Japanese Type 30 Early Hook Guard Bayonet Prism Instrument Factory

This is a fine example of an early pre 1941 Hikari Seiki Seisakusho (Prism Instrument Factory) Type 30 Bayonet.

This is the standard WW 2 Japanese Type 30 bayonet.

There were more than 10 factories making bayonets for the Japanese Army and Navy.

This type of bayonet was issued with all Japanese Arisaka rifles during World War II, regardless of caliber.

The way in which these bayonets were manufactured changed dramatically during the course of the war.

The blades on all early bayonets were left in the white, meaning they were not blued.  This practice was later changed in favor of a blued, less reflective, blade during the war.

All Japanese bayonets made before May 27, 1940 had a hooked cross guard.

After that, in order to conserve metal, the hook guard was eliminated in favor of a straight cross-guard. Some early straight guard bayonets had blades left unblued. Later all blades were blued.