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So I have a couple of Bayonet Books, but by far IMO the best one is called "Bayonets Of Japan". I love the format and the colored pictures. It makes identifying Japanese bayonets much much easier.
Is there something like that for German Bayonets, British and American ones?
Bayonets from Janzen's notebook has a great deal of info in it. All countries are covered. ISBN 0-9619789-1-0 if you're looking.
Bayonets of the World by Kiesling is a good all around reference. Bayonets, an Illustrated History by Brayley is OK and available very reasonably. If you like great photos, Jim Maddox' Collecting Bayonets is hard to beat.
For US bayonets, Reilly's book on American socket bayonets and Gary Cunningham's book are good.
If you want one on No4 rifle bayonets, then you'd do0 no better than the mighty Graham Priest tome! How can so much be researched, unearthed and written about a humble spike bayonet?
My favorite is Brayley's Illustrated History of Bayonets but it is useful primarily for major types. It does discuss some variations but not all. I've been able to identify just about any bayonet with it through photos but it is a little time consuming to go through the entire book if you have no idea what you have.
World Bayonets 1800 to Present by Carter is a bit faster to use as it has page after page of bayonets by nation lined up side by side. That is also a bit of a drawback in that side views are the only ones offered. It does have the advantage of providing a rarity/price range although way out of date it still lets you compare from type to type. Small format, black and white.
Only other specific book I have is Australian Military Rifles and Bayonets by Skinnerton. Black and white photos of the rifles and bayonets and discussion of both. Small format, does not go into great detail with the bayonets as far as markings are concerned.
I have to second the Graham Priest recommendation. While I do not own a copy, I would like to, finances are holding me back right now. Graham helped me confirm the authenticity of a cruciform bayonet which I picked up that did not have the normal markings as one that there are only a few dozen known to exist. Without his research, I'd be sitting here thinking I owned a fake.
Not a book but a good source is the site by old smithy who is a regular on this forum and a world of information, easy to look up when on the move.
BAyonet Collection Presentation
I am surprised that no one has mentioned Peter White and John Watts, 'The Bayonet Book'. It is a fantastic book, though there are , with hindsight and much additional knowledge a couple of dodgy pieces illustrated in there, the kukri socket bayonet for example. However,. the od fake apart, it is a fantastic book and well worth the place on any serious bayonet collectors bookshelf.
Also Ian Skennerton and Robert Richardson,' British & Commonwealth Bayonets'. richly illustrated , and with bayonets from the very earliest plug bayonets upto the current SA80 variants. It also has chapters on Australia, Canada and India, as well as fakes . It is a fantastic book and, IIHO, well worth the relatively small cost of obtaining a copy.
Lastly, if like me, you like socket bayonets, then I can well recommend getting a copy of John L. Hayden's 'The Socket Bayonet'. This is a small paperback, but is rich in beautiful line drawings ( far in excess in quality of any others that I have ever seen!), very detailed measurements of all the various dimensions that are sometimes the the only way of telling certain types apart, and various markings etc. Again, well worth every penny - and it is usually quite cheap too!
I hope that this might be useful to you.:)
But he forgot to mention that they were around by the thousands from the seventies on. & available without scabbards for £1 each. Just to 'move them on'! They make EXCELLENT Tent Pegs! I have yet to find one that would bend!........LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by Peter Laidler
What happened to all the 'missing' scabbards? I always wondered where they went...it's not like you could really use them for much else, or not in that sort of amounts is it? If they were scrapped then why did the bayonets escape and not end up being scrapped too?Quote:
Originally Posted by tankhunter
I've been a fan of the original 4 volume Kiesling since I bought Volume 1 in the 1970s. Arranging the bayonets by length makes it very easy to find a bayonet when you have no idea what it is. Simply measure the overall length and look in the book. Unfortunately it requires that you go through three or four volumes. The new combined Kiesling is not as easy to use.
Back in about 1972-3, I sent off to a well known British arms ansd militaria dealer, who is still going strong!, for one of his catalogues. The catalogue, with postage, cost 30p, and came with a free No.4 Mk.3 spike bayonet, with scabbard! :thup:Quote:
Originally Posted by tankhunter
Bill
I agree with you about the Keislings, when i first started collecting this was about the best out there as the Bayonet book was way too expensive for a novice like me. It makes unknowns so much easier to ID. the comments that there are variations in lenght, never wear to me as i always looked back and forward several pages to see if there were other variations etc. Its great to have books by country but if you have blades with no marks - like a lot of South American ones - or German marks that means it coudl come from anywhere the length is a great starting point.
the ABC series has many problems not least of which is its in French, however it is one of th emost expansive books in terms of the shear numbers and variety. all nicely sorted by length so easy to find stuff. Vol III is a complete waste unless you do French stuff, most of it is minor variatiosn of 1866, 1886 etc. that for other countries woudl have been coverd by 1 or entries not 20 or 30.
My site has a bibliography with my comments on every bayoent book I have (>300) and hopefully a fairly objective comment on the books. Soem peopel may not liek what i have said about some books, but if you promise the moon and miss that isnt my fault.
Already mentioned is Ian D Skennerton & Robert Richardson's - British & Commonwealth Bayonets; which I would also recommend as being excellent.
In addition an invaluable aid to bayonet identification and general bayonet knowledge is 'Bob Osborn's Guide to Bayonets of the World' which is an e-book on CD. Loads of colour pictures, marking info, interactive identification guide etc. Can be bought on e-bay I think (about £14 if I remember correctly) or at WBD Publications - creating and publishing electronic books. Well worth the money for the hundreds of times I must have used it to refer to.
As a socket bayonet collector I have gotten quite interested in the humble No.4 spike bayonet lately, of which I have a few. So I recently purchased a copy of Graham Priests 'Spirit of the Pike'. WOW!!! what a book, how on earth he found so much information on this humble bayonet is well beyond me!
It is a fantastic book. If you are in anyway interested in these often encountered bayonets, then this book is a must! It is well worth every penny, cent, shilling......