Former Bayonet

[Ian]

Hi Rob,

Now that is the kind of expert reply you don't get every day! What a gentleman to share freely such detailed knowledge.

Ian.

[Chris Evans]

Rob,

Was nice of Mr Domenech to respond - He is a real gentleman and a scholar!

I forgot to ask in my earlier posts; Is there any evidence of the edge having been sharpened more than once or at all?

Cheers
Chris

[RobT]

Hi Chris,

From the striations on the edge, it would appear that the blade has been sharpened with a stone.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Chris Evans]

Originally Posted by RobT

Hi Chris,

From the striations on the edge, it would appear that the blade has been sharpened with a stone.

Sincerely,
RobT

Thanks for that reply. It would seem that it was indeed intended for some kind of use.

Cheers
Chris

[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

[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