The downward curved single edged deeply fullered blade is 512 millimeters long and unmarked.

Jerry L. Janzen, Bayonets of the Remington Cartridge Period, states that the US Model 1871 Navy rifle was manufactured by Springfield Armory and a total of 22,013 were produced. However the Navy rejected the first 10,000 because of the rear sight location.  These were sold to Poultney and Trimble, who sold them to France during the Franco-Prussian War.  The bayonet was designed to fit under the rifles barrel.  It has a brass hilt, cast with a scaled pattern grip and the Bureau of Naval Ordnance monogram (crossed cannon and anchor) on each side of the pommel.  The back of the grip was raised and cut for the rifle barrel bayonet stud.  

----------

Albert N. Hardin, The American Bayonet 1776 – 1964, states that in essence the hilt is the same as the straight bladed version except the tang opening in the pommel rear is offset from center, the lower guard is slightly shorter and the initials normally found on the Type II hilt flat and pommel end are missing on the Type I.  The curved blade with wide unstopped fullers is 20 1/8 inches (511 mm) long, 1 1/16 inches (27.0 mm) wide and 19/64 inch (7.5 mm) thick.  The blade is unmarked and is finished in a deep mellow blue. 

----------

Ed Hull, Notes on Remington Bayonets, 1870, SABC Journal, Vol 88, states that in January of 1871 the Navy stopped production of the Model 1870 Remington Navy Rifle due to the placement of the rear sight. E Remington & Sons (via dealer Thomas Poultney) purchased the 10,000 rifles rejected by the Navy and sold them to France for its war with Prussia.  However, the Navy stipulated that the rifle sale did not include the bayonets (with a straight double edged blade) already produced by Ames Manufacturing Company.  The record of shipment by Remington to France record the Navy rifles and "Sabres for U.S. Navy B.L. rifles" (i.e., breech loading) as 10,000 rifles and 10,000 bayonets in March of 1871.  It is believed that these 10,000 saber bayonets were what collectors called the "Type 1" (yataghan bladed) Navy Model 1870 saber bayonet. 

From 1879 to 1882 the Navy sold thousands of Remington Navy Rifles to J.W. Frazier, D.W.C. Farrington, Whitney Arms Company and Winchester Repeating Arms Company.  However, for some reason the straight bladed bayonets were not sold with the rifles and the buyers were forced to supply different bayonets for the rifles.

----------

In a personal communication with Ed Hull in May of 2023 he said that he now identifies three yataghan blade types.

A. Original, documented Remington Company contract for French delivery - 10,000.  These have a high quality hilt identical to the U.S. Navy type (with straight double edged blade) but these are unmarked.

B.  What appears to be a contemporary replacement type, made to go with the Navy surplus rifles sold by J.W. Frazier and SH&G in the late 1870s into the 1880s.  These are almost identical to A above, but have a rougher looking (sand-cast?) hilt that has a poorly cast/machined spring slot.

C. The modern reproduction using "original blades".

----------

Ed Hull, A New Look at Bayonets for the Remington Navy Rifle, Model 1870, SABC Journal, Vol 129, breaks the bayonets for this rifle into four Types:

Type 1 - Navy Model 1870 Saber Bayonet

On March 7th 1870, the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography contracted with Ames Manufacturing Company to produce 10,000 bayonets with scaled brass hilts and straight double edged blades which were delivered by July, 1871.  

Type 2 - French Order 1870 Remington Navy Rifle Bayonet

Records show that Remington shipped 10,000 bayonets to France with the 10,000 Model 1870 Remington Navy Rifles that were rejected by the US Navy.  Since, the US Navy did not include the Type 1 bayonets with the rejected rifles, new bayonets were produced for this shipment.  These bayonets maintained the Ames' hilt design of the Type 1 bayonets but utilized a yataghan blade.  The Type 2 hilts appear to be made to the same style and finish as the Type 1 hilts.  The Type 2 bayonets have no markings on the hilt or blade.  

Type 3 - Substitute Saber Bayonet

From 1879 to 1881, the US Navy sold its store of Model 1870 rifles to various companies but again, for unknown reasons, they did not sell the Type 1 bayonets with these rifles.  It is believed that some of the buyers of these rifles, possibly Whitney Arms Company, obtained replacement saber bayonets.  These bayonets are of inferior quality and machining.  The hilt appears to be a sand cast copy of the original Ames.  The naval emblem is crudely reproduced.  These bayonets are typically unmarked but one example has been found with Mexican government markings. 

Type 4 - Modern Reproduction Bayonet

There is a modern made reproduction of this yataghan blade bayonet.  The quality of the hilt casting is notably cruder that the original Ames bayonet.  The Navy emblem has been simplified and the scales are deeply chiseled and of differing shapes. 

Ed also identifies a previously unknown hilt variation. "There are two variations in the detail of the Navy emblem on the hilt, meaning that at least two different molds were used to Speed up fabrication.  Some Model 1870 (Type 1) nd French (Type 2) hilts show the anchor's point in the rondel penetrating the circular boundary.  With other examples the point is within the rondel's periphery, showing that more than one mold was used to cast the hilt." 

The bayonet currently listed here appears to be a Type 3 as described in Ed Hull's latest article in the SABC Journal, Volume 129.  Ed's article is a must read for anyone interested in this bayonet.

The term "Type" has been used in various books and articles about this bayonet and sometimes with different meanings.  So to avoid the continued confusion, I will break the US Model 1870 Navy Rifle bayonets into two different references of Straight Blade and Yataghan Blade.  

Did Ames make these yataghan bayonets?  Yes there are some significant differences in the casting and machining but there are also differences in the castings of the Ames marked Straight Blade examples as well.     

Most of the Model 1870 yataghan style bayonets seen today are modern reproductions and original examples are hard to find.  Most reproductions can be quickly identified by the deep heavily exaggerated lines between the feather/scales.