Throughout the 1820s and 1830s the US Ordnance Department made serious efforts to standardize manufacture of military weapons in an attempt to produce more interchangeable arms. While the innovations applied to the Model 1816/22/28 series of muskets are well known many collectors skim over the similar attempts to standardize bayonets in the same period. 
 
    Offered here is a very nice example of the Model 1827 socket bayonet for Model 1816/22/28 Muskets. These bayonets are identified by the larger width of their neck dimensions, which is larger than the previous maximum size of .450 inches of the Model 1822 bayonet. 
    Our example features a 15.5 inch blade, half an inch shorter of the standard, though it does not appear to have been retipped. The blade has a prow-tipped point, and an 8.5 inch long flute. The socket is 2.978 inches, with the standard three-step “T-mortise”. The muzzle end bore diameter measures .820 to .831 inches, and the rear of the socket measures 0.844 to 0.8445 inches. 
    The face of the blade is well struck with US over TA. The “TA” refers to Springfield Armory bayonet forger Timothy Allen. The socket of the bayonet shows a pair of markings in front of the mortise. These are an Arabic numeral “15” stamped parallel to the mortise, and an alpha numeric combination, G over c followed by 95. I believe the “15” was probably matched to the mating number of the original musket’s bayonet lug, and that the G/c 95 stamp may be a Springfield Armory serial number as applied to muskets between 1820 and 1832. 
 
    Overall, this is a very good condition bayonet with a pleasing medium gunmetal gray patina. There are some scattered age blemishes and a very little light old pitting near the tip. This bayonet does not appear to have ever been cleaned, and shows some light brown patina in protected areas. There are some minor scratches and handling marks as one would expect of a bayonet that saw use, but no damage to speak of. This bayonet would make a nice companion to an appropriate M1816/22/28 Musket. I am happy to provide additional measurements to see if this will fit your musket.