May not be hundreds of years old, but I'd say an ethnographic arm nonetheless!

Jim McDougall · 24th April 2007, 06:51 PM

Hi Steven,
Nice find, and you are right, these dont come around much.
Lew is right, these military bayonets are about as far from ethnographic as can be though! Interestingly, when they DO become ethnographic is when the blades end up remounted in local tribal hilt forms, which did occur often in highly colonized regions and countries.

When I first started collecting (zillions of years ago!

my first conquests were old bayonets which sat in barrels in army surplus stores, and my allowance was quickly spent on these extravagant weapons (about 50 cents each!). You are right in adding these to embellish your gun collecting, as they carry important perspective often overlooked by most gun collectors.

Thank you for posting, and I hope you'll stay with us as many of the discussions carry important detail that often applies to the history of guns as well ( conversely I have often found important facts key to the study of edged weapons in books on firearms!)

All the best,
Jim

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24th April 2007, 06:51 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,190	Hi Steven, Nice find, and you are right, these dont come around much. Lew is right, these military bayonets are about as far from ethnographic as can be though! Interestingly, when they DO become ethnographic is when the blades end up remounted in local tribal hilt forms, which did occur often in highly colonized regions and countries. When I first started collecting (zillions of years ago! my first conquests were old bayonets which sat in barrels in army surplus stores, and my allowance was quickly spent on these extravagant weapons (about 50 cents each!). You are right in adding these to embellish your gun collecting, as they carry important perspective often overlooked by most gun collectors. Thank you for posting, and I hope you'll stay with us as many of the discussions carry important detail that often applies to the history of guns as well ( conversely I have often found important facts key to the study of edged weapons in books on firearms!) All the best, Jim