Beating swords into plowshares

[not2sharp]

Beating swords into plowshares is a ancient reference to converting war efforts into peaceful pursuits. The image above is from a statue that sits on the grounds of the UN.

The pendulum tends to swing both ways on this and we have seen both swords, bayonets and knives converted into everything from decorative table lamps to agricultural tools; and we have also seen miscellaneous stuff turned into articles of war. Need and improvisation seems to be the primary driving factor on the direction this takes.

Lets use this thread to post photos of examples from our collections. These improvised items can be uniquely interesting, so lets share them.


N2S

 

[J. Doyle]

...Beating swords into plowshares is a ancient reference to converting war efforts into peaceful pursuits....

Its quite a bit more specific than that but I'll digress.

 

[Whisperstealth]

Boy, do I have thoughts on this...

And they are very much political, so I better keep my mouth shut..

 

[not2sharp]

Here is an example from Eastern Europe. It is a mid 19th century Russian Tesak short sword that has been converted into an agricultural tool. The original sword would have been issued to Sappers and Artillery units. It’s a shame the original sword was destroyed, but what remains clearly seems to have survived as a useful tool for someone.


N2s

 

[not2sharp]

Boy, do I have thoughts on this...

And they are very much political, so I better keep my mouth shut..

I do as well. But, let’s focus on the artifacts. As I mentioned in the OP, they seem to flow in both directions and reflect a practical solution to a real world problem rather than any specific political philosophy.

N2s

 

[not2sharp]

Here is a collection of French model 1874 Gras bayonets converted into a fireplace set.

Set Of Three French Bayonet Forged Fire Tools at 1stDibs | bayonet tool, french bayonets, forged in fire bayonet

View this item and discover similar for sale at 1stDibs - Set of three French bayonet forged fire tools. Each blade with Armory touch marks on the upper ends and guards. The top ridges of the blade marked: MRe

www.1stdibs.com

N2s

 

[not2sharp]

This one goes the other way. Someone converted a hand saw into a field knife.




n2s

 

[not2sharp]

Here is a plow or heavy hay knife converted into a field/fighting knife.

 

[edgelion]

How bout "goes both ways?" Here is what I believe was originally a mundane kitchen knife, converted to something entirely less functional but more malicious by (I can only assume) a high-schooler with misguided intent and unsupervised access to shop equipment, left to rust in a basement until rediscovered by children who treated it as a toy, confiscated, and now serves as a beat up scraper for my beat up mower deck. Just for giggles I hit the edge with 600 grit, then hacked up some cardboard boxes until it was dull again. The ergos are terrible.

https://flic.kr/p/2rr2xcU

 

[BigAl62]

Here’s a ferrier’s rasp turned into a knife. My son’s 2nd attempt at knife making. Not too bad for figuring it out on his own. Did a nice job on the kydex sheath too. IMHO anyway.

 

[Triton]

As a collector of swords I'm horrified by the entire premise of this thread!

 

[scdub]

This belongs to a friend who served in Vietnam and decided to convert his issued billhook machete into more of a fighter. The edge is where the spine once was.

 

[not2sharp]

This belongs to a friend who served in Vietnam and decided to convert his issued billhook machete into more of a fighter. The edge is where the spine once was.
View attachment 3128411View attachment 3128410

This is what it originally looked like:

n2s

 

[not2sharp]

Here is another knife made from a slaughtered German sword.


N2s

 

[David Mary]

Its quite a bit more specific than that but I'll digress.

I, too, will not mention that this expression comes from the Bible, since we are in GKD.... wait

 

[KentuckyBlackBird]

A small light hatchet with a sawback made for cutting hay bales, a small edc fixed blade, and a double bitted cruiser, all made from 1 10” table saw blade. They are all sharp, light, and solid users.

 

[John A. Larsen]

Saw a video on You Tube of after WWII in Germany, turning German helmets into Colanders. John

 

[J. Doyle]

Boker uses barrels from Sherman tanks in these pattern welded blades.

 

[BigAl62]

Its quite a bit more specific than that but I'll digress.

Conversely, Joel 3:10 says, Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, “I am strong!”

 

[Triton]

Here is another knife made from a slaughtered German sword.

View attachment 3128492
N2s

The horror!