Displaying Your Bayonet Collection

[Aragorn243]

I've been running ideas through my head for perhaps a year on what to do with my bayonets. I've been storing them in a pile in the base of a cabinet and not liking it much. The problem is, you get a lot of them, they are going to take up a lot of space, to display them, not keep them in a pile.

I've looked at various images on the net and while some look great, they didn't seem to suit my needs much. I don't plan to really show them off much but want easy access to them and an easy way to remove them for storage quickly if I need to. Like when we have guests and don't want a lot of "blades" hanging on the wall where they will be sleeping (guest bedroom).

What I came up with worked really well for the majority of them. I'm not ready for photos so bear with me on this. I got a heavy piece of decorative trim. Not door casing but a heavy 5 inch baseboard type. I drilled a hole along the top of it every 1 1/2 inches and inserted a spent 45 casing in the hole with about 1/2 inch sticking up. I can now store bayonets with muzzle rings simply by hanging them on the 45 casings. The 1 1/2 inch spacing seems perfect for all models and they will hang on there in their scabbards. The length I had space for allows me to display 47 bayonets, I believe it is just under 5 feet long. If I need to take them down, I can do so in a few minutes.

Problems: US late models and other makers without muzzle rings won't fit. British spike bayonets wont fit although Soviet Nagant bayonets will. Some Mauser bayonets with short muzzle ring lengths will not fit. If I had more carefully thought this out before drilling the holes, I could have solved the mauser issue by drilling them closer to the front. I can solve the British Spike problem by inserting longer casings than 45's in the holes but I have to find something first. I believe having the casings closer to the edge may solve the spike bayonet problem too but I'll have to work on this a bit more. 45-90's may work but as they are rimmed, I'm not sure. One further issue is the few bayonets that have screws or a sight above the muzzle ring. These won't fit and can't be modified to fit unless I build out the wood trim.

To visualize this, imagine them hanging on a rifle barrel upside down. You view them looking at the edge of the blade, not the wide portion. The tips of the bayonets almost all rest on the wall where they are hanging. The widest of the scabbard hangers that I have are the US models with the brass hooks. They have about 1/4 inch clearance to the next scabbard. The only exception to this is my Krag scabbard and I solved that by putting it on the end.

I did learn that I have a lot more bayonets than I thought I did. I have 5 open spaces and probably 20 or so that won't fit on it for various reasons.

I could probably drill holes in the face of the trim and insert dowels to hang the modern bayonets with hooks or belt loops. Again, the idea is not so much as a display but as easy access storage first, quick storability second and display third so this may not be a good solution for everyone.

Any other ideas would be welcome. I have nothing invested in this. The trim was a leftover and the casings can still be recovered and re-used.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[tankhunter]

If you have the room. Another good idea is to look out for an old cartographers Cabinet.
Or even an old Draughtsmans cabinet

This is a large wooded cabinetwith approx 3" deep & wide draws. These accept Maps or Engineers Drawings/Plans.

Line the base of the drawers with felt or some such cloth. & hey presto, a collection readily accessable. & out of sight. Also has the benifit of being able to be secured, if you fit a long flat bar & hasp with padlock. Keeps things safe from childerens 'Inquiring' little fingers!.....

[marysdad]

I do as tankhunter suggests and use an architect's flat file. I cut a piece of the cheapest indoo-outdoor carpeting to fit in each drawer and a piece for the top that makes for a nice work surface. I concocted a locking bar out of a gate hinge and steel rod, so that the kids can't get in. It wasn't the cheapest solution, but is really sweet.

[Aragorn243]

That is very nice. I'll have to keep an eye out for one of them.

I'm not anywhere near needing that yet but who knows. I'm still at the I'm happy with the one of each type stage. I have yet to get into the various makers, dates, etc.

[AZPhil]

Come On marysdad,
Quit teasing us with just one drawer.
Show Us the rest!!!!!!!!
That is a very neat idea.It sure beats my footlocker storage.

[A square 10]

that is a really nice solution for blade storage , as usual im kicking myself for 'passing' on a handfull of these cabinets a few years back when i could have gotten them for simply carting them away , quite a number of them actually - thus storage 'space' was the issue ,

i dont collect blades as simple blades , mine are all associated with a rifle and i built combined storage/display as assemblies ,



i have also seen glass faced shadow boxes designed to display and protect

[yardbird]

I prefer to hang them on rifle guns, but I blum ran out of them..Marysdad has the best idea, but I have never been able to find one of those.. I robbed this out of my shop and it works and locks up well...

[Bionicback321]

This is my homemade gun cabinet and I put in slide out drawers for the bayonets. I have one for each of the rifles I own that will accept a bayonet. The M5 on the far left is a stand in till I can get the correct one for my 1903A3. As to the small collection, in my defense I only started collecting last November.

[gbalke]

I prefer to hang them on rifle guns, but I blum ran out of them..Marysdad has the best idea, but I have never been able to find one of those.. I robbed this out of my shop and it works and locks up well...

Somebody had too many sharp pointy things!

[Aragorn243]

Took some photos of my setup. Haven't done anything with is since I put it up but seems unlikely I'll be painting it anytime soon so figured may as well just show it as it is.





This one shows a closeup of the 45 casings and why the short muzzle ring bayonets won't fit on this style.