May 3, 201115 yr Hi All, I have a 1942 P07 bayonet (same as the pic bellow) but it has a slight kink in the end as if it has been used to pry/jimmy something open. the kink is appx 1/2 inch from the tip and the blade is appx 2-3/8ths of an inch off center. the blade is at a guess carbon steel. i do not wish to blemish the blade during straightening. Any ideas??
May 3, 201115 yr When I worked at Albion, we just used aluminum blocks in our bending jig. The simplest being three 1/2" aluminum rods with a wire through them to make a 'T' (so it wouldn't fall through the vise jaws) and crank on the vise after it was up to temp. If your still afraid of goofing up the blade, cover the aluminum with leather, it'll do fine at that temperature.
May 3, 201115 yr I doubt there's a way to do this cold without some risk of snapping the tip off, but doing it hot would raise other problems. (I assume you don't want to ruin the heat treat, and even if you didn't care about that you'd want to remove the temper colors, which would probably wreck the patina.) So, how badly do you want the kink fixed? If I had to do it, I'd probably try a three point straightening jig in a vise or press (like this: http://www.arscives....htening-jig.jpg), padded with thick leather. But don't come cryin' to me if you can't get it to look right, or you break the thing! I'd probably be inclined to leave it as-is. Soldiers abuse their equipment. It adds character. Besides, how do you know it didn't get bent in use against the enemy?
May 3, 201115 yr I'd use a screwpress with wooden blocks. As I recall Bayonets tend to be pretty soft and hard to break; don't recall ever seeing one broken but a lot bent! So the risk is not as bad as for a knifeblade.
June 30, 201114 yr i would heat it up then sandwich it between 2 wooden blocks in a vice and then tighten. then heat treat it back to normal.
July 1, 201114 yr i would heat it up then sandwich it between 2 wooden blocks in a vice and then tighten. then heat treat it back to normal. If you don't mind having to figure out how to completely disassemble and reassemble it, ruining the patina (he did say he doesn't want to blemish the blade), and generally destroying most of its value as an historical object, that is. :blink:
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