Interesting spike bayonet scabbard spotted today

[spinecracker]

I visited a local museum today that has a Savage No.4 Mk.1* on display (I'm considering asking if I can volunteer to help keep the firearm display in good order - it needs some work), and the rifle had the spike bayonet fitted, but what was of added interest was the bayonet scabbard. After some research, it looks like the scabbard is a US-made M5 type. I have never seen one of these before. Are they rare?

[Badger]

I don't have the answer, but you might try posting in the "Edged Weapons" forum as well ....

Regards,
Badger

[peregrinvs]

Sounds like a US made 'Victory Plastics' scabbard:

Briitain - No. 4 Spike Bayonet

They're less common than the standard metal scabbard, but not particularly rare. IMA sell them with a bayonet for $60.

Mark

[spinecracker]

Thanks Badger and Mark - that was the website I looked at to find out the fact it was an M5. THe scabbard looked brand new with no scratches that I could see (probably has a big lump missing out of the side I couldn't see lol).I will add photos of the rifle plus bayonet if the museum allows me to volunteer to assist in firearm preservation (they should do - their budget has run out, and they would be getting free help from a keen firearms enthusiast who will not be sneaking the firearms out of the museum under his coat...)

[Mk VII]

Reasonably common here - though nearly always without the integral frog, which never seems to have been fitted to most of the specimens I encounter.

[spinecracker]

In this case the frog was attached, just as the ones for sale at IMA. You learn a new thing every day (even if someone has to force it into your head with a mallet...)

[marysdad]

Not rare, but not as common as some other types. There's some info on different scabbard types on the No. 4 Spike Bayonets page of my site.

[smellie]

Spinecracker, that's a great idea! Working in a Museum is a lot of fun and some of the smaller ones, as you have noticed, have budgets made up of nickels and dimes.... and exhibits worth huge amounts. They need help, partly from a money point of view and partly because there really aren't a lot of people in the museum business who can be bothered dirtying their hands by touching such politically-incorrect objects as (shock!) guns.

This is an area in which a few of US, with everybody else backing us up with knowledge when we run into something strange (as we will: you have no idea what they have tucked away), can really make a difference. And, let's face it, a lot of US know a lot more than most of THEM.

Small museums are operated generally by people who are DEDICATED to trying to preserve the past. They get darned little help from Government most of the time and many of them don't have a huge amount of expertise on which they can call for some things. Given the increasing level of demonisation of firearms and their owners in this country over the last 40 years or so, this means that most of their recent-acquired staff know very little about firearms. This is where we can help, with hands-on support, with technical support, with a wealth of knowledge which the museum normally would not have at its disposal. I know whereof I speak; I worked in a large city museum for a couple of years, just days-off from a dead-end minimum-wage job in which I worked every weekend.

This all contrasts dramatically with the situation existing in some Government-supported museums. I remember being in a certain large Government-supported military museum in Ottawa a number of years ago. I attempted to draw the attention of the staff to what I felt might be a small error and was told, in the most snotty terms imaginable, that they had "experts" working there and that their "experts" knew a lot more than I possibly could. I suggested that they look at the WRITING which was actually ON the gun itself; they might discover that an M-1 Thompson and a Mark III Sten are not the same thing at all... and they just might think about changing the sign before they had TOO many people thinking them complete fools. Next time I was there, they still hadn't changed the sign, so I haven't bothered going back.

Spinecracker is SURE to do a better job than THAT crowd!

You know, right now, I'm sitting here, wondering how many Museums actually KNOW about the absolute WEALTH of knowledge that we can offer them..... Perhaps an e-mailing program to get us some respect and some publicity and get them some help. There ARE national museum associations, come to think of it.... big mailing lists...... Hmmmm........ Badger? Are you reading this? What do you think?

[spinecracker]

Especially as they couldn't even spell Mosin correctly.....they NEED my help!!!! If only to save themselves from embarrassment...

[browningautorifle]

As I have found too, a small but exellent local Regimental museum has mistakes in the description printed on it's display. They too pat you on the head (thanks sonny) and that's that.