A little bit of history about the bayonet

[hammerdownnow]

Ok guys don't freak out this is not Roc it's Crystal. As many of you know Roc died 6 months ago today. So I'm sitting here missing him and came here to see how "This Old Knife" forum, and there are no new threads. So in hope of keeping "This Old Knife" forum going I went and found an interesting article on the history of the bayonette. The article comes from historical weapons.com. I copied and pasted the article here so you guys don't have to look for it, but you guys should still check out the site. With my life being non stop I barely have time to do anything, but this day calls for a pause, I just don't want to do anything today that is not related to Roc. Well almost everything I did today is what Roc would do if he was still alive. As we all know Roc rarely went a day without posting on here most of the time numerous of posting a day. So with this being a day about Roc I had to post on here. I will try to post more and better articles on here, just bare with me as I said before I'm no Roc, and I can't even begin to hold a candle to him. I hope you all enjoy the article and I will be checking in weekly hopefully with new articles.

The bayonet stems directly from the various forms of polearm, it was obviously inappropriate to have a firearm-bearing soldier encumbered by a pike, yet there was need for a polearm to stand off cavalry and for hand-to-hand encounters when ammunition was gone or when there was no time to reload.

The original "bayonnette" - the name came from the town of its supposed origin, Bayonne in France - was introduced into the French Army in 1647.

It was a plug bayonet, a spear-like blade to which was attached a long conical steel plug inserted directly into the muzzle of the soldier`s musket, a collar lodging against the barrel to prevent it sliding too far in. This had certain defects; the musket could not be fired once the bayonet was fitted, and during the act of fitting the soldier was virtually unarmed. Misfortune overtook an English army at Killiecrankie in 1689, when a sudden rush of Scottish Highlanders overwhelmed them as they were fixing bayonets.

As a result of these defects, the socket bayonet was developed; this had the blade cranked and attached to a hollow sleeve which slipped over the muzzle of the musket. The blade lay below the axis of the barrel and left sufficient clearance to permit the weapon to be loaded and fired while the bayonet was fixed.

Although generally considered as the infantryman`s assault weapon, the bayonet was originally a defensive instrument. Steady infantry standing two or three deep and adopting a "square" formation could defend their position against a sudden rush of cavalry; the combined lenght of the musket and bayonet was sufficient to permit a standing soldier to reach a man mounted upon a horse.

The idea of using a short sword as a bayonet was tried from time to time but the first regular users of the sword-type blade appear to have been the British rifle regiments in the early 1800s. However, the advent of breech-loading, and then magazine arms provided infantry with a firepower capable of beating off cavalry, at which time the bayonet turned from being primarily defensive to being a personal offensive weapon.
For this a knife-like blade was of more use than a spike blade, and so from the midle of the 19th century the knife or sword blade became common, though a few armies still retained spike blades.

The difficulties of fixing bayonets in the heat of the battle led some armies to adopt permanently-attached bayonets which folded above or below the barrel of the weapon and could be released and locked into place very quickly when required.
A singularity of the Imperial Russian Army, which carried over into the Soviet Army, was the permanently fixed bayonet; no scabbards were issued, and the bayonet remained on the rifle muzzle at all times.

With the adoption of modern short assault rifles the utility of the bayonet as a weapon was placed in doubt; the combination is not well suited to bayonet fighting.

http://www.historicalweapons.com/bayonets.html

[Andrew Garrett]

Very interesting Crstal. Thanks for posting that and keeping the forum going.

I hope this day passes with fond memories and smiles for you and the boy... and with few tears.

[rhrocker]

Hi Crystal. It was so very nice of you to post your article now that it's been 6 months since Roc left us. When Roc accepted my invitation to co-moderate this thread with me, I had no idea of the knowledge that he had. I don't know of many days that he didn't post valuable information, he was, without a doubt, one of the most intellegent guys that I knew especially when it came to older knives. I recently asked Eric about finding someone to continue with the Old Knife thread. He asked me to look around and see if I could find someone. That's what I've been doing for the past couple of months. I have 3 in mind, and I'll end up asking if one of them would be interested. Roc and I were also doing a knife/wooden sheath project together. I've left it alone now since his death, but it's been more and more on my mind, so I'll be working on it some more. I'm thinking that once I'm done, the knife and sheath will be auctioned off with benifits going to Crystal and his boy. Please keep in mind that I'm no Delbert Ealy, Kevin Cashen or Bruce Bump
but I think the work will be worth a little something anyway. I've always had the feeling that Roc was giving me all the information he could about it all, and I can't help but think that he had an auction in mind, but how could he have known the so very short time he had left. Well, the project will be introduced in late summer more than likely.
Again Crystal, thanks so much for helping us all remember him. I believe that one of his strongest atributes was the lives he touched.

[TexasJack]

Good to hear from you Crystal! You might have thought that Roc was long forgotten over here, but that's not the case. I was just thinking about him earlier today. There's a KITH going on with the theme of 'historical inspiration'. Ol' Roc would have been in the thick of that. There's another forum on here that suffered a tragic loss like this one and posts just stopped. There are lots of new folks joining all the time and sooner or later it will all move on. That's all part of life.

Hope y'all are doing well! You have a few hundred friends over here that sent a lot of prayers your way and continue to care.

On the bayonette thing: I have a large knife that has been in my family for many years. My father used to use it for a small machete. Story was that it was some sort of bayonette and that it was brought back from the Phillipines Insurrection. I finally took it to a knife expert and he did a bit of research. Turned out to be an old sword (maybe a broken one?) that had been cut down and re-shaped. What I took to be a threaded fitting for attaching to a rifle on the end of the handle was where the original guard would have joined. The original guard was replaced by a small oval one.

[hammerdownnow]

rhrocker, first of all let me thank you for thinking about having another auction in Roc?s honor, but there are so many more people in need of money then me. I have a job and I am able to buy food and pay the bills and that?s good enough for me. I feel that I owe the Knife Network big time for all the support I have already received. Please don?t send me any more money I won?t accept it. I am a strong and independent woman. I can, will, and am making it on my own. Don?t get me wrong I appreciate all the support that was given to me. I can?t even begin to express my gratitude. I really truly appreciate the thought, it?s so very kind of you, thank you. I?m not here for money, I?m here to make sure ?This Old Knife? stays alive for as long as the Knife Network will allow it and for as long as I can keep doing it. Again thank you for the kind gesture, it really does warm my heart. I am very interest in see pictures of it when you are finished.

Texas Jack, I cannot believe even for a second that anyone who knew or even meet Roc just once could ever forget him. Especially the Knife Network members that thought never crossed my mind. Roc was such a friendly, warm, bright, and shining person that it hurt to look at him sometimes, and it?s killing me not to have him here with me. Thank you for sharing with us about your sword. It appears that your sword has a wonderful and rich history. I really enjoyed read it. I know that Roc would have love to seen and hear about it.

Andrew Garrett, thank you for your kind words. Yes there are a lot of wonderful and happy memories of Roc that bring a smile to our faces. He was definitely one of a kind who touched so many people so deeply.

I know I?m very long winded here, but can I just add that it feels great to be back on here talking with all of the wonderful people. You guys are the bests. Again I would like to thank you all for your time and support.

[NJStricker]

Hi Crystal,

You probably don't recognize my name, but when I first joined up on this forum 2 years ago Roc was one of the people that always took the time to answer my newbie questions. He will be and is missed, and there are other noobs that have joined up here since his passing that, unfortunately, will not get a chance to be greeted by him. It's nice to know that you are carrying on for him.

Nathan

[fitzo]

Hi, Crystal! Nanc and I are very glad to hear you are getting by ok with the bills. That's the first step in getting on with life as I'm sure your man wanted. It is great you have found the strength within which we all have when needed.

I think I would speak for all of us that you don't have any continuing debt of gratitude to anyone here. All help was freely given, as was your thanks. The balance is met.

It made me very happy to read your posts. Thank you.

[hammerdownnow]

Nathan, That so sounds like Roc. He was a strong believer in treating others how you would want to be treated. I?m happy to hear that he touched your live. I feel so sorry and sad for all the noobs that won?t get to know him. He definitely was head and shoulders above the rest. The good news for them is that there is a ton of great people like Roc on here.

Mike, my goodness it is so great hearing from you. I hope you and Nanc are doing great. You?ll have to forgive me these 10-hour days are difficult, I tell ya it?s hard to think of words when you are so tired. I?m trying to work on the new article, but it?s not easy finding the time. I just don?t know how Roc did it.