Indians For Guns

Moin's made the excellent suggestion about starting a separate thread for bayonets that members own. Allow me to kick it off.

The day before yesterday I was on my way onto something else when I spotted this with a seller in Tbilisi's flea-market. I have been looking for one for sometime, and when I spotted this one, I did not want to delay and miss-out like it happened the previous time. As I was not carrying a bag and did not want to get caught with a bayonet tucked in my waist while walking on the road, I offered the seller ten Georgian Laris as an advance.The seller laughed off my concern but I insisted. We shook hands and he put it away in his case.Went there yesterday and I picked this.

AKM Bayonet Type-II: Text from here

The AKM rifle was introduced in 1959. Among other things, the updated AK47 variant included a bayonet lug. Much easier and cheaper to manufacture than the AK47, production and use of the AKM went worldwide. The inclusion of a bayonet lug allowed for a more conventional bayonet. However, the new bayonet design, what we refer to as the AKM Type I, was far from conventional. It was as groundbreaking as the Kalashnikov itself. It incorporated a number of features, making for an incredibly versatile bayonet. The one-piece molded plastic grip & pommel; and stainless steel blade made the bayonet impervious to rust and rot. The unfullered clip-point blade had sawteeth along the spine. The steel scabbard body had a lug at the point that engaged a window cut into the blade, so that bayonet and scabbard could be combined as a wirecutter. The scabbard body had a rubber insulator, making it safe to cut electrified wire. The belt hanger was a clip-on affair that was cheap and easy to replace. A wrist strap was also included, for extra grip when using as a combat knife. A truly revolutionary design that continues to influence bayonet design to the present day.The improved AKM Type II bayonet was introduced in the mid-1960s and brought with it two significant changes. A squared-off steel pommel was added, to address the fragile nature of the Type I's bulbous plastic pommel. Revolutionary as it was, the Type I design couldn't change soldiers, who seem naturally inclined to use the pommel as a hammer. The second major change was a new scabbard. Advances in plastics technology had reached the point where the scabbard body could be made of molded plastic, with only a metal end for the wirecutter. This eliminated the need for a rubber insulator, as the plastic scabbard body was non-conductive.The AKM Type II bayonet was produced by Bulgaria (shown above), China, Iraq, East Germany, Russia, and Yugoslavia. Variations were also produced by India and Vietnam (the latter are thought to have been made for commercial sale, not military use).

Displaying the wire-cutter feature. As the handle and the scabbard are insulated, it can be used to cut electric cables/wires too.



Serrations on the spine



The scabbard has metal springs built in which hold the blade rather well and does not allow it to bounce out or too easily pulled out. That allows this bayonet to be used as a hammer . I would be very careful to use it as a hammer as displayed here,BTW.



All in all, it is a very sturdy and purposeful looking instrument.


Best-
Vikram

> Thanks Vikram for sharing!
> BTW the Bayonet pic you had posted earlier looks very similar to the one owned by fellow IFGian Lanceman - He has posted the pic on the Knives thread. The text says that it was gifted to him by the Australian Army Corps - very interesting isn't it?
> Perhaps you've seen (in my earlier post) the one presented to my grandfather by the erstwhile company commander (for bravery) post the infamous Moplah Rebellion in Kerala in 1921. It came with a Kaiser-e-Hind Silver Medal.
> I have them with me - This August it will be 92 years!
Briha

Briha ji,

Would love to see the photos of your bayonet. I just checked out Lanceman's bayonet.

Got a Mosin-Nagant bayonet tucked away somewhere by my M-I-L. Will get it out and post the photos of it later.


Best-
Vikram

Argentinian Army Bayonet c. 1909. Made in Solingen, Germany.

Hi Mulki,
> Very interesting looking Bayonet -
> Since it looks more like a mid-sized sword, especially the handle & finger guard - wonder how this got mounted on to a rifle?
> Perhaps the handle & guard was added later on!
> They have good antique value - look after them.
Briha

brihacharan wrote:Hi Mulki,
> Very interesting looking Bayonet -
> Since it looks more like a mid-sized sword, especially the handle & finger guard - wonder how this got mounted on to a rifle?
> Perhaps the handle & guard was added later on!
> They have good antique value - look after them.
Briha

You can't see it in the pic but the the handguard has a hole on the side opposite from the curved end which I assume is for the barrel to go through. I don't think the handle was added on later. I found similar bayonets on this site:
http://worldbayonets.com/Bayonet_Identi ... tina2.html

More info:
http://www.militariarg.com/swords--bayonets.html

Mulki, Very nice looking bayonet there. Have seen a couple of similar ones here.Will try to take another look one of these days.


Best-
Vikram

This is my humble collection of bayonets, please disregard the tanto..

Awesome, guys!

I found this quote (reportedly by Patton) in the "Introduction" of US Army Combatives manual: "Very few people have ever been killed with the bayonet, but the fear of having their guts explored with cold steel in the hands of battle-maddened men has won many a fight"

Collect them while you can, bayonets are going the way of human tails..... Extinct. Many modern rifles now are being made without the bayonet lug.
IMHO bayonets were first made for matchlocks and flintlocks, you had only one shot before a 15 sec reload, and the enemy was upon you before that, many soldiers died will ramming home the last greased silk patch. I have seen an early bayonet which was nothing but a spear point with a projection at the rear, this projection went INTO the muzzle making the rifle a spear instantly.
Sometime down the line came sword bayonets (Austrian) I think, these were what they said they were, fix it to a rifle or use it as a short stabbing sword.
Then of course the famous British battle cry "let's take the steel to them boys" of WW1. Many we're those who went down in a hail of machine gun fire. Automatics have made bayonet charges ineffective and inglorious.
Today we have come to the concept of "fighting knife", but I think this the glorious Rambo dreams of the American soldier. I have not heard of a soldier using a knife in combat today. So it is a lovely way to use D2 tool steel blade, with a beautiful burled wood handle to open a can of baked beans.
The honor and glory has gone out of war.... Sigh.....

True - as Corporal Jones said ( many times ) `They don`t like it up `em`.

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Read George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man", the Prussian officer challenges a professional soldier to a duel, puts his hand on his sword and asks him to choose his weapons. The professional soldier says "machine guns"...

I think bayonets died somewhere there

Fantastic thread Vikram. Sweet Sweet Bayonets there. Waiting for Brihaji and TCDa to post their pics.

Regards
Moin.

Nice bayonets Vikram, Mulki and Naga.

As far as the effectiveness of the bayonet in the Indian context ,it worked well from Bengal to the time the EIC decided to push its territories to the natural boundaries of India. The belief in cold steel died in 1845 or at least was proven to be misplaced.