1917 bolo knife/bayonet?

[rondog]

This is for sale locally for $75. Is it worth picking up? Real or fake? I've never heard of them before. Supposed to fit the 1903 and Garand.

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[old-smithy]

At that prrice I woudl snap it up, even if its fake, send it to me and I'll refund the cost

[rondog]

Really? That was my first thought too, to just grab it. It's actually a couple hours away from me.

[browningautorifle]

I agree on the buy cause it looks great... but Smithy, don't you think it's a fake? I don't think they're even in the book. It's not a Krag or anything, I would think it's been made up from two.

[old-smithy]

The original ones were for the Krag, I'd need to dig deeper to see if there was one for 1903, but at 75 i woudl have ahd it even if it is a fake, but then I collect fakes as well LOL

[browningautorifle]

It has a blade like the ones for the Lee Enfield #1 mk 3. The one for the 1903 had a slimmer blade according to Brophy. But, I agree. The fakes(if it IS one) can be just as interesting. And, we've see enough of your collection to know how diverse it is. And interesting!

[rondog]

I've told him I'll buy it, where else can I get a meat cleaver for my Garand? Somebody gave me these photos of the real deal, a 1915 I think he said it was.

[browningautorifle]

That's right Ron, that's the pic I have. Wouldn't one of those be something! The hats on those guys are hilarious, that's the way kids wear their hats today.

[rondog]

OK, I bought this thing shortly after I started this thread. Finally took some photos while sitting in my vehicle, bored out of my mind one night at a jobsite. Authentic or not, it certainly has a "cool factor" to it.

Without taking the handles off, it definitely looks to have been "created" by mating a bolo with a bayonet. Whether it was a field mod by a unit armorer, or done by some Bubba, who knows? It looks like it was done well, and a long time ago. The stitched rawhide sheath inside the scabbard was a surprise, wasn't expecting that! The canvas pulled off when I went to pull the knife out, I suppose I should reglue it. Or not.

Opinions? Sorry for all the photos, but hey, y'all LOVE photos, right?

[browningautorifle]

The original scabbards can be had. I don't think they're that scarce. We have them around here anyway. I agree the bolo seems to have been cobbled together, but what harm? As Smithy says, it's good for an example of what you really want. It was probably done by someone to fool the unaware originally but as long as the price was right, I'd have it too! Without hesitation.