Random Bayonet ?s

KodeFore · Jan 24, 2019

I'm not a knife guy but I have not been able shoot in a while due to a foot injury. That got me going thru my knife box and even ordering a few. ( FM81, M7, M9) It has also led to some questions I can't seem to find satisfactory answers to from google.

Why do ak style blades mount blade up, while US ( and most others seems ) Mount blade down?

When US Marines opted to get the OKCS3 why does it not include a wire cutter attachment like the Army M9? ( I'm going to guess it might be that the cutout in the blade on the M9 creates a weak spot in the blade ? )

Seems like the AK bayo prices are shooting up, are they becoming collectible?

Can you buy the bayonet adapters for the FM78? ( Glock bayonet )

Apparently the US army has discontinued bayonet training but is bringing back knife training, The Australian army does the bayonet course, there are videos about it, I can find pictures of Austrian soldiers with their Glock bayonets but no pictures or evidence of them using them attached to their AUGs so I'm thinking they just use them as knives only?

Thanks guys

hso · Jan 25, 2019

KodeFore said:
are they becoming collectible?

They always were, they're just becoming more so.

KodeFore said:
Why do ak style blades mount blade up

They don't. http://worldbayonets.com/Misc__Pages/ak_bayonets/ak_bayonets.html
Look at the pictures below. It carries blade down. You have modify the carry method for blade up.

KodeFore said:
cutout in the blade on the M9 creates a weak spot

KodeFore said:
weak spot in the blade ? )

Nope. The M9 is a very thick blade. I've not seen any claims of the blades breaking at that point, but there were some issues due to quality control where separation at the handle was a bit of a problem before worked out.

KodeFore said:
why does it not include a wire cutter attachment like the Army M9?

Because they didn't want one. They wanted a fighting knife that could penetrate soft armor and the bulk of making a knife a wire cutter wasn't desirable.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/pointy-end-united-states-marine-corps-daniel-foster/

JohnKSa · Jan 26, 2019

I think he's saying that when they are mounted on the gun and the gun is held in a normal shooting position, the AK bayonet cutting edge is up while on others the cutting edge is down.

That's an interesting observation. I had never noticed the difference.

hso · Jan 26, 2019

JohnKSa said:
the AK bayonet cutting edge is up while on others the cutting edge is down.

Ohhhhh

DOH!

In that case, I have to assume they're using the mounting ring as a guard when used in the hand.

lemaymiami · Jan 26, 2019

Actually since a fixed bayonet is mostly used with an upward thrust (if I remember that sort of stuff from 1968...) I can see how a designer might just want the edge of the blade facing up....

I also clearly remember that I planned, after training with bayonet (my initial training was with the M-14...) to do everything I could to make sure that I never, ever needed a fixed bayonet.... in the real world.

JohnKSa · Jan 26, 2019

In that case, I have to assume they're using the mounting ring as a guard when used in the hand.

I had been thinking from the perspective of use as a bayonet--and as lemaymiami states, there's some rationale for having the cutting edge upmost. Hadn't considered its use as a knife at all, but that makes very good sense too.

NIGHTLORD40K · Jan 26, 2019

The CETME mounted its bayonet edge up, though the FR8 mounted the same bayonet down.....

hso · Jan 28, 2019

So we have the two possibilities that the upward thrust makes edge up beneficial and the guard "down" beneficial.

KodeFore · Jan 29, 2019

Thanks guys. I managed to find a used OKC3S for 81$ used on amazon so I jumped on it. Can't wait for it to come in.

I actually prefer getting military blades used. I think markings scratched on handles and sharpie marks on sheaths that show actual usage add character. Between what I have handled so far I think the AK bayonet is the best general purpose tool. I have one I picked up cheap at a gun show, the handle is so scratched up it has a stippling affect on the grip. I used to wire cutter function to help put up a chain length fence. I don't feel bad about using it to root out pesky weeds or knock off small tree Limbs, in short in does everything I would expect a workhorse knife to do. It doesn't look as cool the M9 but it is considerably lighter.

I still wonder about the mounting blade face up vs down on rifle. I am not it really matters but I am sure some designers some where gave that some thought.

CapnMac · Jan 29, 2019

As a guess, US "ring up" orientation is so that, off the rifle you have a place to put your thumb. or as a hand guard in knife-to-knife bayonet fighting.

But, that's just 2¢

Speedo66 · Jan 30, 2019

That’s not a bayonet, this is a bayonet. lol
Civil War Zouave, with 21 inches of steel.

ingliz · Feb 9, 2019

The all metal L1A1 bayonet/fighting knife with its blued blade is very pretty.

CapnMac · Feb 9, 2019

ingliz said:
all metal L1A1 bayonet/fighting knife

Hmm, memory is fickle today--didn't that bayonet install "over" the barrel, rather than "under"?

hso · Feb 9, 2019

CapnMac said:
didn't that bayonet install "over" the barrel

BigBlue 94 · Feb 15, 2019

When knife fighting, holding the sharp edge towards the sky is proper, if the nladenis pointing towards the target. Think about the way you would stab someone in the ribs. Your motion is an upward swing, so the cutting edge needs to lead.

If you hold the knife facing you, theres technique for blade down (slicing with jab like motion) or blade up (overhand pulling motion, such as attacking the clavicle. Since a rifle with bayonet will be swung from the hip, it usually should have a blade up orientation.

My Romanian SKS had a flip out blade bayonet that isn't sharp on either side. It's for stabbing. I dont recall which direction my m48 mauser blade faces.

kBob · Feb 15, 2019

One of the things I liked about the whole M3-4-5-6-7 series of US bayonets (well M3 was a fighting knife) was the so called false edge.

Some people got the idea that the name of that portion meant it should not be sharpened. Sad for them. It just means it does not go all the way back. I always sharpened mine. No worry about blade orientation at all. Just one edge is seven inches and the other three and they meet at such a nice point.

If I want a wire cutter, I carry wire cutters. If I want a saw, I cart a saw. A bottle opener? For a bayonet or fighting knife I want something to fight with.

-kBob

BigBlue 94 · Feb 15, 2019

kBob said:
One of the things I liked about the whole M3-4-5-6-7 series of US bayonets (well M3 was a fighting knife) was the so called false edge.

Some people got the idea that the name of that portion meant it should not be sharpened. Sad for them. It just means it does not go all the way back. I always sharpened mine. No worry about blade orientation at all. Just one edge is seven inches and the other three and they meet at such a nice point.

If I want a wire cutter, I carry wire cutters. If I want a saw, I cart a saw. A bottle opener? For a bayonet or fighting knife I want something to fight with.

-kBob

I did that to my ka-bar. I've also got a Yukon sheepsfoot pattern with a razor sharp false edge.

Random Bayonet ?s

KodeFore

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JohnKSa

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