JAKA Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I posted these on the Blade Forum but would like to post them here for comments also. A coworker who owns two World War One French bayonets wanted them converted to daggers. Results: #1. Nickle silver guard and pommel. Ebony handle material with flutes carved in. #2 Brass guard and pommel. Handle of Osage Orange with twisted wire in carved flutes. Spacers of red macarta, malachite, and brass If you hold down the CNTL key and spin the wheel on your mouse you can increase/decrease the size of what you're viewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golgotha forge & anvil Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 both blades are fantastic ! Gene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiapan Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I love a good knife, and these are just wonderful. But i cant help but say there is that small portion of me that loves history and is sad to see it altered. Kind of like when you see a historical weapon sporterized to go hunting. but hey lots of people do it old nagant rifles. of course those cost less then 100 bucks and there like freakin plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I don't see a problem with re-working them. In the past is was very common to re-work old blades into new uses. In my collection I have an old socket bayonet converted in to a short sword by cutting off the socket and then a smith drawing out a shank for the "soup" bone handle, iron hilt with brass ends and cutlass like hand guard to be riveted on. A handy little man sticker for a young naval officer or street thug to use. Not to many years ago you could purchase a bucket full of rusty bayonets for $20 at a gun show. Wonder where they all are now? Just rusting away in some fellows garage or tool shed now. Nothing wrong with turning them into a work of art. <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I can see it both ways -- but ultimately it's the owner's call as far as I'm concerned. They look good. And modifying equipment was a common way to pass the time in the trenches. Some vintage trench art is awesome. I can see some French dogface turning his issue bayonet into a dagger in his spare time, albeit not with the types of materials you see on these pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiapan Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Like i said a part of me. the knives are wonderful, much better then anything i can put out. But i love them in original condition too. Especially even earlier ones. I have a sword bayonet from 1875 and there are few blades i would rather have at my side. the craftmanship is amazing, and the balance wonderful. oh and its french too. Now if only i could get my hands on the rifle that it would normally have been attached to. but oh well. But you are also right, a lot of the time you can get old surplus military items for cheap, sometimes like new and others with some rust. But i have found that a lot of older military gear tends to hold up better then modern reproduction. All the bayonets i have seem like really sturdy tools and fierce weapons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiapan Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 but back on the knives i especially love the use of malachite, I was wondering if you have had any issues with that getting damaged in use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I have posted about some of the knife scales over on the lapidary forum I frequent so maybe you could ask that question over there, some of those guys sell knives for a living with lots of different stone types. http://gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php/board,34.0.html They are a friendly and knowledgeable group and always seem able to rise to the occasion in answering questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAKA Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Thanks to all of you who commented on the bayonet conversions. Just FYI, the owner was advised of the loss of historical value before work was started and was fine with it. I also buffed up a pair of German SS daggers for a co-worker who said the same thing. The knives were brought back from war as trophies and they (the owners) said they would never consider selling them. On the Malachite; it's brittle but I put a macarta spacer on each side of the malachite spacers with epoxy before any finish work was started and did not have a problem with them. However, if the knife is used as a hammer I can't speak for the stableness of the malachite or any stone. Thanks again for all the kind critiques. Forums like these are what gives those of us in the knife field encouragement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAKA Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have posted about some of the knife scales over on the lapidary forum I frequent so maybe you could ask that question over there, some of those guys sell knives for a living with lots of different stone types. http://gemstone.smfforfree4.com/index.php/board,34.0.html They are a friendly and knowledgeable group and always seem able to rise to the occasion in answering questions. Thank you for the suggestion of the website on the lapidary forum. I just finished going through some of their forum subjects and it's a great site. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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