Former Bayonet

[Chris Evans]

Originally Posted by RobT

Hi Chris,

The edge isn't very sharp. It cut some paper drawn across it but didn't cut a piece of twine. I imagine that it is sharp enough if the blade was intended primarily as a point weapon.

Sincerely,
RobT

Rob,

As a generalization, old bayonets make poor cutting knives because the steel was tempered to a lower hardness and the cross sectional geometry was less than optimal. As you say, they were primarily stabbing weapons.

Cheers
Chris