Should bayonets be sharpened?

[Full Tang Clan]

I've heard/seen different opinions of whether bayonets should be sharpened like knives and swords.

In the movie "Gallipoli", you see an officer having his bayonet sharpened on a grinding wheel. However, someone told me that it wasn't supposed to have a "sharp" edge since it was a stabbing implement.

Also, I own two bayonets which were given to me. How can I identify the styles?

 

[Razoredj]

I've heard/seen different opinions of whether bayonets should be sharpened like knives and swords.

As a bayonet is often designed to do double duty as a field knife, like the M9 bayonet shown below, it makes sense to have it sharpened.

A sharp edge certainly does not prevent the bayonet from being used for stabbing, and would actually help it thrust deeper, I would think.

Also, I own two bayonets which were given to me. How can I identify the styles?

You could start by posting pictures of them. If you lack the technological means to do that, a detailed text description would help. Bernard Levine's forum might be a good place to ask.

Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.

 

[allenC]

It depends on what type of bayonet you have.
Some are long "needles" designed only for stabbing, others (like the current US issue) are for slicing and stabbing. During Army Basic we practiced the slash, thrust, and butt-stroke).

 

[Trevor Calder]

I must admit that I can't think why a bayonet wouldn't be sharpened for use, but of the ones I have (about a dozen or so) only one has been sharpened.



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"..it is foolishness and endless trouble to cast a
stone at every dog that barks at you.."

 

[not2sharp]

Yes and NO.

Bayonets were usually issued with an edge. But, many types (swords, knives, and bayonets) were manufactured and shipped in an unsharpened condition. The issuing units were expected to sharpen the item prior to issue.

Until the early 20th century Bayonets were edged and sharpened as swords. They were primarily weapons and they were not intended for field (combat knife)use. The French were so upset that some of the troops had been using their bayonets as tools that they actually went to the trouble of redesigning the bayonet into an edgeless spike. Its only during the early 20th century (eg. the 1896 Swedish Marine, eventually the US M9) that we start to see the bayonet developing as a fighting/combat knife.

But, hold off sharpening the bayonet until you have had a chance to identify it? Otherwise you might just destroy alot of collector value.

 

[smithd]

As stated above, identify the type. If is is something along the lines of the M9 or the older M-16 bayonet, sharpen it razor sharp. A bayonet need to cut, slash and penetrate, a dull bayonet cannot do all the tasks. When in doubt, keep it razor sharp.

Doug

 

Very official statement on the subject:
Swiss army keeps bayonets "dull" for training purpose. In case of "active duty" they are sharpened as part of getting "ready".
Same rule for officers "daggers", (they are not only for representation.....)which superseeded sabres "quite a while ago".
The knives (SAK's, of course!) are always sharp.
Happy sharpening

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D.T. UTZINGER

 

[Jeff Clark]

The only reason I can think of for not sharpening a bayonet would be for easier extraction from bone. A sharp edge cuts and wedges in as it is thrust into bone. A bayonet with a flat, unhoned, factory edge (actually no edge at all) will break bone when thrust in with a rifle thrust. This will be easier to extract. For every other purpose lack of an edge will be a disadvantage. I usually sharpen bayonets with a file to get an aggressive cutting edge even with the obtuse bevels common on bayonet blades.