Help... my old neighbor is crazy!

[JuJu-]

So i live in a neighborhood filled with elderly. I usually check up on them and maybe once a month we all talk together outside. Some how we got talking about dandelions in the yard and what we do to get rid of them. My one neighbor goes on to say he uses an old us issue bayonet from ww2. my jaw dropped and i yelled a little at him(jokingly)! I said how about you give me that bayo. He said well if i had something better at getting them out of the ground I would. So i am now on a mission trying to come up with something similar or better for removing dandelions from the yard to trade him! You see i have a german and japanese bayonet from my great uncle along with an old picture of him at fort bragg in 1943 at graduation from bt. So this would go along perfectly with those and keep it from rusting away into nothing! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My jap bayo: i believe its an Arisaka type 30

My german bayo: I believe its a kar 98 k but have not nailed it down exactly yet. any ideas?

My US M3 Utica: with uncles initials P.S.

Somewhere in there is my uncle: Fort Bragg 1943

 

[JuJu-]

Thought this thread would be appropriate anyway being tomorrow is 68th anniversary of D-day.

 

[GRIM 62]

Let your old neighbor keep his bayonet,at least he finds a use for it.

 

[Rich S]

Go to any hardware or home improvement store and get him a dandelion digger. Basically a metal rod with a sharpened (slightly) "V" fork on a wood pole. Works very well. I use one occasionally when the wife forces me to; I like dandelions - they are pretty little flowers, you can eat the greens and make wine from the flowers. Why dig them up and kill them?

Rich (one of those elderly folks you mentioned

 

[JuJu-]

True he finds a use for it but probably twice a year. I know i really enjoy having my uncles ,and i would take good care of it! I'll have to look up one of those dandelion diggers, maybe make him one! Nothing wrong with the older crowd at all, I would rather talk to someone in their 70's or 80's (my neighbors) than try to understand todays teens and young 20 somethings.

 

[awh]

The fiskars 7870 weed remover is an amazing tool for just $35.00. Check the big river for the best pricing.

 

[CWL]

What's with the "give" request? Seriously, how can you think to take that away from him?

Why don't you offer to buy it from him? To sweeten your deal, you can also offer to do the weeding in his yard for him.

 

[Reeek]

Have him use lawn safe weed killer and let him squirt the weeds It also makes for fun target practice . . .

 

[Big Mike]

Let your old neighbor keep his bayonet,at least he finds a use for it.

+1, ditto on that.


Someday you'll be that crazy old neighbor.




Big Mike

 

[JuJu-]

What's with the "give" request? Seriously, how can you think to take that away from him?

Why don't you offer to buy it from him? To sweeten your deal, you can also offer to do the weeding in his yard for him.

The give request... I wouldn't worry about the give request. Trust me we are on a level playing field! Since i am the youngest home owner on the street i help as much as i can. It was kind of a joke but i can see how it came across in the post, I apologize. I have dug holes, built mailbox posts, mowed grass, cut up brush/trees, run people to the store, taken them food when the power is out, shoveled their driveways, and defend the street from feral dogs to name a few. We all help each other around here! That being said it wasn't his in battle or anything, so he has no sentimental value for it. He just uses it for the yard here and there. In the end If he does not want to trade or let me buy it, no harm done we are still neighbors!

 

[RevDevil]

How about he keeps his bayonet and you just clean his yard for free? That sounds fair to me.

 

[JuJu-]

I do that a couple times a year! he had some heart problems and couldn't drive for awhile or do anything strenuous.

 

[hank_rearden]

WW2-vintage bayonets are available at e-bay. i'm surprised you don't have one for the lee enfield.

re: that old neigbor. he doesn't strike me as dangerous but if he's a veteran, better not push him.

 

[JuJu-]

hahaha he is a vet! I think he could still kick some @$$ if he wanted to! I was looking awhile ago at some enfields. I like the ones i got because they are from my Great uncle and have a story. It would be cool to have a few more with awesome storys too. Some day i would like to get the guns to go with them! It's not just about having them, but having the history and a good story. I like to educate my kids and the neighborhood kids on them as well as guests who come through.

 

[Grease]

As long as he cleans it after digging with it, I can't think of much that would hurt one of those old bayonets. They're basically just a large shaped chunk of steel with handle scales of some sort. They're about as tough as knives get. While I totally get wanting the knife, I wouldn't worry about what he's doing to it

 

[hank_rearden]

i'll bet in some foreign field, he used a bayonet to dig, probe landmines, gather edible roots. that's why he likes to garden with that dirk. i think the right way would be to get his story and honor his exploits.

 

[trashboss]

I agree with CWL & Rev..,

Seriously, what if the old timer has family or kids that want it and may already know stories of it...

 

[JuJu-]

All right gents, I see I approached this wrongly. I will speak with him and see why he has kept it all these yrs. And does what he does with it. I am on pretty good terms with him and know his family. Unfortunately his two girls are not at all interested in him and or helping him. That's just sad. I am planning on talking to him regardless and sharing my great uncles stuff with him. We have talked about it before briefly. I will post up when I do.

 

[knarfeng]

I dunno. It really is hard to beat a bayonet for digging and weeding. Some four decades ago when I was a botany student I used an M7 bayonet for digging out specimens for my plant taxonomy class. Worked like a champ and because it had a sheath to carry it in, it left my hands free for climbing to get those specimens. In the early 70's M7's were cheap at the army surplus. The handle is much more comfortable than that of any weeder I've bought at a hardware or garden store.

 

[10thMtn]

Just saw your change of heart. Good going! If his kids do not appreciate him, perhaps it's best in your hands after all. But his grandkids may have different feelings. Tough call!