What's your favorite bayonet?

One2gofst,

It does make quite an ice pick :eek:

Sifu,

Thanks for reminding us about the earlier socket bayonets. Those things would really turn your smoothbore into a pike.

BTW, here is an officially modified version of the French 1886. These modifications were made in 1935.
 
Robert asked me to upload this image of his SKS Bayonet.

ImageServer.psp
 
Robert/Andy thanks for putting up the SKS.

This bayonet was the German response to the French mod 1886 Lebel. The lengths are the same, and they are both obviously designed for point use only. The metal scabbard is uncommon, it is usually found with a leather scabbard. A limited number of metal scabbards were produced during the First World War as replacements for the leather ones damaged in the trenches.
 
Good Evening, etc.
My answer's nothing sexy or exotic. I like the M-7 for the M-16.
It goes back to my days at Parris Island where the bayonet instructor had a bayonet on HIS rifle, but said that us lowly recruits weren't allowed to have 'em cuz they were supposedly worried about 200 of us running around with knives at the ends of our rifles after all the Drill Instructors had been "Drill Instructoring" us for the past few weeks.
My favorite version of the M-7 is the one made by Colt.
(There's 2 blades in that pic. The Colt bayonet's the one that's a bayonet)

While we're on the subject, although it's not my favorite bayonet, I thought I'd post this photo of an Uzi with a bayonet on it. I never saw this before, so I figured maybe nobody here has either.

VG
 
not2sharp

That theater knife is really nice! Straight to the point is what that's about. They ought to throw something like that on the M-4.
 
VG,

That picture is no where near as scarry as the one featuring your deadly Leatherman Micra. :)

Strange as it sounds the Uzi was originally designed with a bayonet. It was an all metal bayonet with a blade similar to the U.S. M7. Israel no longer issues the bayonet.

n2s

This is an Italian bayonet from 1870 for the Vetterli rifle
 
I just was gave an old Mauser bayonet with wood handles from an old gentleman thats like my uncle. I looked at the blade and it was marked Carl Eickhorn on one side and on the other 3683 with an h under it. It might not be the nicest or the most interesting but it was a gift from a man I respect.............
 
Carl Eickhorn was a well known sword, and bayonet maker dating back to 1865.

n2s

Here is another English model. This is the 1856 Lancaster.
 
Some of you may have noticed by now that the 19th century bayonets were much longer than their modern counterpart. The older bayonets were designed primarily to provide the infantry with a defensive tool against calvary. They were more man-to-horse than man-to-man weapons. As an added benefit they were long enough to take on the role that had been previously performed by the infantry hanger (short sword). Not a bad thing to have when you fighting with an unrealiable single shot musket.

n2s
 
Crayola,

I like the Blade, I am just not to sure about the mounting system. It looks like it would put a high level of stress on the weakest part of the barrel. Does it actually replace the flash suppresor, or does it somehow fit over it?

n2s
 
N2S,

I know VERY LITTLE about bayonets. I just thought I'd post the link for those who don't know about the project.
 
Thanks for the link. Let see what the guys cook up.

n2s


This time around lets head North and take a look at the Canadian model 1905 Bayonet for the Ross Rifle. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian bayonet sold to other countries. The US purchased 20,000 just before the WWI (used mostly for training), and Britain issued these bayonets to commandos during WWII for use on the Thompson sub-machinegun. This example is one of the early knives purchased by the U.S.
 
Howdy all!

Mr. Priscoe - The pictures of Skeeter's throwing axe and bayonet is in Harry McEvoy's "Knife and Tomahawk Throwing", a classic book! It's on pg. 98, and for all you out there who do not own it...go out and get a copy!

On the 19th century spike bayonets - The reasoning for the triangular bayonet had a lot more to do with medical technology than with anything else...you see, medical technology in the 18th-19th centuries could not deal effectively with internal injury. Thus to get a gut wound with a big spike (ie. bayonet, small sword, sword-cane, etc.) could easily be a death sentance. If the wound was not immediately fatal, all a "doc" could do is stick up the outside...you would die of internal bleeding and complications later. This is one of the reason's that Bowie's survival after Vidalia Sandbar was so amazing...not only had he been shot 5 times, he had been stabbed twise through the torso with a sword cane.

Anyhow, bringing this back to the bayonet specifically, with the weight of a musket (such as the 1853 Enfield I have sitting right here) you do not want to be swinging / slashing, and if you are in any sort of unit formation for battle (as you would at the time) you can not swing the weapon anyhow...there are people all around you. The effect of a big "sewing needle" with all the mass of the musket behind it is truely surprising when it comes to thrusting on targets. Like a good saw, the bayonet does "all the work" for you when you have clean body mechanics.

They started to experiment with the saber style bayonet in the ACW, and basically it was found to be more usefull when *not* attached to the weapon. Durring the early part of the 20th century you see interesting evolutions with the "bolo bayonet" (clearly influenced by our time in PI) and the the final evolution of the "knife-style bayonet" which serves double duty as a hand tool and a weapon.

It is interesting to note that soldiers always used bayonets for "other things" not related to warfare. One use soldiers made of the ACW spike bayonet was as a candleholder...just stick it into the ground or a stump and place a candle in the socket.

I have put a lot of information on using the bayonet online already, so please have a look. Here are pictures of some of the training bayonets that were devoloped in America durring the Civil War http://alliancemartialarts.com/bayonet.html

And here are a bunch more articles on fighting with the bayonet, as well as links to some authentic 19th and early 20th century training manuals. Enjoy! http://ahfaa.org/military.htm

All the best,

Pete Kautz
 
Pete,

Thanks for sharing those links with us. Here are a couple of the bayonets you mentioned.

n2s

The first one is a turn of the century US Krag Bowie Bayonet. These were issued on an experimental basis and then discontinued because the blade was found to be too weak for use as a bayonet.
 
This one is a Swiss Pioneer's bayonet of 1911. It is a very well made piece intended to be used as both a weapon and a field tool.
 
...just a quick contribution on BayoKnife...we have seen this thing up CLOSE and it is indeed impressive. Its makers are solid people, with a solid design. It is the only bayonet that actually improves accuracy, statistically...that's on the books already...no joke.

Benning has been informed of its existence by us, as well as others.

Further, USMC loves it.
 
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