Looking at both early (and later) �milspec� issue Solingen made bayonets they are not �cookie cutter� identical. There are time period variations by any given specific maker, and variations between the makers themselves.

Furnaces, drop forges, rolling mills, metal casting foundries, deep drawing equipment, plastics manufacturing equipment, electroplating equipment, paint booths etc. etc. are not the types of equipment that are easily portable. And they all take up space. Sometimes a lot of space. And some of the equipment even back then would not have been inexpensive.

My point being that some companies had the facilities and specialized equipment to actually manufacture various items. And aside from distributors who had items made to order and branded - a number of others were not manufacturers in the true sense - but more in line with being parts finishers. Who put their name on �supplied to the trade� components they completed/finished - irrespective from whomever actually supplied the parts. And that even the largest actual manufacturers subcontracted for some components for completed items that they made and sold.

And if large makers can have manufacturing variations. I don�t think that it�s unreasonable to assume that smaller makers will or could have even more manufacturing variations over a given time period. FP