Why Collect Bayonets?

Bayonets have a rich history, playing a pivotal role in military tactics for over 300 years.  Did you know that the bayonet was a hunting implement for decades before it was adopted as a military weapon? Did you know that the bayonet made it possible to arm all soldiers with firearms? Click here to read about key milestones in the bayonet's history, from its beginnings to the present day, in my Bayonet Historical Timeline.

Getting Started

Books are important, and something that you cannot do without. Hands down, books are the best way to make good finds and the best insurance against making a bad purchase. Although there are exceptions, bayonet books are often published in small numbers and prices sharply increase, once they go out of print. Get ‘em while you can is the order of the day, when it comes to bayonet books. There are some very affordable bayonet books available today.

If you are just getting started, Bayonets from Janzen’s Notebook, by Jerry Janzen, is a good first book. It covers about 1,000 bayonets from all over the world, arranged by country. It is no longer in print, but can be purchased very reasonably from Dennis Ottobre. If you are just starting out, buy this book while you can get it. It was my first book and has paid for itself many, many, times over by helping me avoid bad purchases and clueing me in to great finds.

Kiesling’s Bayonets of the World was republished as a single volume in 2009, after being out of print for many years.  It is an outstanding reference.  Much more detailed than Janzen. (Kiesling feels like it weighs a ton!) There are many other books, some focused on one country or type of bayonet. I list what I have in my reference library, on my Library Page.

There is also a tremendous amount of information available on the Internet. My Links Page contains a listing of links that have been most useful to me over the years.

Networking

The 98k Bayonet Collectors’ Network (BCN) is a very innovative collecting organization that uses e-mail and the Internet to overcome many of the obstacles imposed by distance. Founded in 1996 by John C. Jacobi, the BCN began as an organization focused around collecting of the German SG84/98 III bayonet used on the WW II German Mauser Kar 98k rifle. The BCN has since branched out to encompass international bayonets and includes collectors from around the world. The BCN publishes a daily e-mail digest of member posts of questions, answers, and discussion of collecting topics. The e-mail digest is currently compiled in Australia and sent to members worldwide.

Although the BCN has broadened its scope, a continuing project that dates from the very beginning is to re-create the production record of the SG 84/98 III bayonet, through collection and analysis of maker and serial number data. Members report serial numbers observed at shows and other places and they are loaded to a database in Slovakia. To date, over 12,000 serial numbers have been collected.

The BCN has been a phenomenal source of information and I treasure the correspondence that I have received from leading authors and collectors on pieces in my collection. 

Internet discussion boards also provide opportunities to network and learn from other experienced collectors.  Gunboards.com and surplusrifle.com are two of the larger boards.  Both have bayonet forums.  Many other firearms and militaria boards cater to bayonet collectors as well.  These are a great place to get started.

Where to Find Bayonets

One of the fun things about bayonet collecting is that bayonets can turn up just about anywhere. If you have done your bookwork, you can recognize the gold nuggets when you see them (not every gold nugget comes labeled ‘gold nugget’). Study, study, study . . . it will pay off. There are regional differences that influence the venues in which one is likely to hit pay dirt. 

I am on the west coast, in Northern California, so the examples below reflect that. For example, pawnshops do not figure into my finds much. In some areas, pawnshops are very fruitful. In California, few pawnshops have FFLs anymore due to the onerous additional State licensing. No guns = few bayonets. 

Gun shows are not reflected as prominently as one might expect. Tons of BS and beaters.  Overpriced items that sit on the same dealers’ tables for years.  However, real gems do turn up if you can spot them.  They are also a great study opportunity.  I hit as many shows as I can and practice identifying scarce bayonets.

Here are some examples of my finds in a variety of settings:

Antique Shops and Antique Malls

Often these venues are known for high prices. However, they also yield some real nuggets, because dealers do not always make the distinctions between run-of-the-mill examples and rarities. For example:

• I found a very rare (one of only a handful of known examples) Sharps M1863 “New Model” bayonet of the Drake pattern, for $45. Today, it is worth about $750. It was authenticated by comparing it to another that was obtained from the late Robert Reilly, who wrote the Bible on American socket bayonets.
  
  
• I used to have a showcase at a local antique mall, where I sold militaria and bayonets. Whenever I came by to service my case, I would take a stroll around to see if anything caught my eye. One day, while making my rounds, I spotted a U.S. bayonet on another dealer’s table. It was a near mint WW II U.S. M-4 bayonet with the leather grip. The dealer had $30 on it.
  
  
• Just last year, I walked into the same antique mall and found a U.S. M4 bayonet with the experimental wooden grip for $40.  It was just sitting there.  Anyone could have snagged it.
  
  
• On a business trip to a very remote area of California, while walking down the main drag, I passed an antique store. Leaning in the front window was a U.S. M1905 bayonet in the early scabbard with the Krag-style belt hanger. It turned out to be a matching Rock Island Arsenal 1907 bayonet and scabbard without any modifications. I got it for $95.

Gun Shops

Gun shop owners often obtain bayonets and other items that are outside of their area of interest (or expertise). They do their best to price them right, but sometimes overlook those gold nuggets that I mentioned earlier. I used to frequent a now-defunct gun shop that specialized in old military firearms. You would think that they would not overlook much. Try these out:

• Near mint, German M1871 sword bayonet (looks like it was made yesterday) with matching regimental markings on both bayonet and scabbard for $120.
  
  
• Lee-Enfield No. 5 Mk. I (jungle carbine) bayonet by Wilkinson Sword Co. for $45.
  
  
• One day, I stopped in and there were two No. 4 spikes behind the counter. I asked to look at them. The first was nothing special. As I started to withdraw number two from its scabbard, the cruciform blade came into view. I quickly shoved it back in the scabbard and asked, how much for these? The clerk took one of them (the one with the cruciform blade) into the back to ask the boss and came back saying, $15 each. I bought both.

Distributors and Importers

Strange things can turn up among the ordinary pieces received by importers and distributors. They get so much stuff, that it is impossible to cull out all of the sleepers. For example:

There used to be a small, but well-advertised, importer based near where I work. I would go over occasionally at lunch on a Friday and they let me wander through their warehouse. One day, I spotted a box of greasy British No. 4 spike bayonets and Mk. I scabbards. In among the scabbards was one with a BRASS throat piece, instead of the customary Mazak (zinc alloy) or blued steel throat. I sent pictures to Yves Robitaille, a leading Canadian expert on the No. 4 spike bayonet, who was working on The No. 4 Bayonet: A Collector's Guide. He forwarded them to Graham Priest, noted author of many bayonet books, who was working on The Spirit of the Pike - British Socket Bayonets of the Twentieth Century. Graham wrote me back that this was the only brass-throated Mk. I scabbard that had ever been reported. A discussion and photos of my scabbard are in his book. Not bad for $6.

Gun Shows

I am in an area where gun shows are not the best. However, sleepers do turn up at gun shows. In addition, sometimes exhibitors do bizarre things when they get punchy from sitting there too long. For example:

• Found a near mint condition Finnish M1962 Valmet bayonet and scabbard on a table with three or four cheap fishing knives.  I got it for $30.
  
  
• On my first pass, down the first aisle of the Big Reno Show, I spotted a Portuguese AR-10 bayonet and snagged it for $85.
  
  
• Had a guy at the Cow Palace in San Francisco plead with me to give him $5 for a near-mint Indian 1A long blade bayonet for the FAL rifle.
  
  
• Found a U.S. M1873 Cadet bayonet on a table with a bunch of nonmilitary junk for $35.
  
  
• Recently found a very nice, matching German SG84/98III bayonet on a table at the Big Reno Show for $55.
  
  
• Another Big Reno Show find was an Italian M1938 folding bayonet for $25 on the table of a major firearms auction house.

Networking/Other Collectors

The Internet has provided many venues to network with other collectors.  I check my favorite boards almost every day.    As the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  Good finds go quickly, so you have to be in the right place at the right time or be aced out.  Some finds from my more frequent Internet haunts:

• Eickhorn Bayonet 2005 for $50.
  
  
• Haitian M5 bayonet for $30.

Other collectors are a great source of hard to find bayonets. You will not walk away with a sleeper, but you can really add some nice pieces to your collection at reasonable prices. This is where networking really pays off. For example:

• I picked up an unusual Chinese sword bayonet, from a BCN member, which has a Japanese Type 30 blade mated to a Mauser M1924 hilt. I have never seen another, before or since, except in Janzen’s Notebook.
  
  
• Was able to purchase a scarce Uruguayan M1900 bayonet from a colleague for much less than they bring at auction these days.
  
  
• Around Christmastime 2009, I had the opportunity to purchase a German G36 bayonet, new in the packaging, via a colleague who had a contact in the Netherlands.  When was the last time you saw one for sale at any price?

On-Line Auctions, etc.

Much of the glitter has come off eBay and other on-line auctions. Unfortunately, eBay is becoming a vehicle for the proliferation of fakes being manufactured in India and China. However, if you wade through all of the chaff, there are still some gold nuggets to be had. Some eBay finds include:

• I scored a matching German SG. 84/98 III bayonet (an Elite Diamant no less) in a rare Afrika Korps web frog for $79 on eBay. The bayonet, alone, is worth more than that and the frog is worth more than the bayonet.
  
  
• Sometimes it pays to ask.  I saw an eBay auction for a common British No. 9 Mk. I bayonet.  The bayonet looked rough, so I dropped him a note to ask if he had any marked M48, M49, or M50.  He had a M49, a M50, and one marked both M49 & M50!  (All of which I bought.)  There are probably fewer than 10 known examples of the M49 and M50.  The double-marked example is the only one known to exist.
  
  
• Another eBay score was a near mint British No. 5 Mk. I in a wartime No. 5 scabbard for $79 buy-it-now only.

eBay is not the only online auction.  Here are a few other examples:

A new live online auction service has recently emerged, called Proxibid.  Proxibid allows you to participate in live auctions via the Web.  You hear the auctioneer and can place bids real-time, right along with the in-person bidders. At first, Proxibid catered to smaller auction houses.  However, some of the major auction houses are beginning to use it too, a signal that it is here to stay.

• I snagged an Argentine M1891 Engineer’s Carbine bayonet very reasonably using Proxibid.  It was fun to hear the auctioneer, via the live audio feed, and see my bids go in.

Note:  Proxibid also allows leaving of Internet bids in advance of an auction.  However, you never want to do this.  The software works like eBay, only increasing your bid in response to other online bidders.  However (here's the catch), when the live auction starts, the auctioneer starts off live bidding at the upper bid limit for the highest online bidder.  If you want to be assured of the best price, you have to participate live.

Gunbroker isn’t my favorite, but it occasionally yields a gem.  My issues with gunbroker are reserves on $20 items; sky-high starting bids where the same stuff is listed daily for years and never sells; and blatant BS in item descriptions (far more BS on gunbroker than eBay).  One would expect that a firearms oriented auction site would represent an improvement over eBay, but that is not the case.  On eBay, most sellers are there to move product.  Gunbroker is an online gun show, bloated with “sellers” who really are not serious about selling.

• Another Thanksgiving 2009 find was a full-length Italian M1871 Vetterli bayonet listed on gunbroker for $30 as a buy-it-now.

I came across a M1892 Krag bayonet advertised on craigslist.org for $50. I could not believe that it had not sold by the time I found it, but the gentleman said that I was the first one to call. It turned out to be an early, 1895-dated, example that still had the Cosmoline on it from arsenal overhaul. Not as nice as one that had not been overhauled, but for $50, it was a super find.

Best of Luck and Happy Collecting!