Stay Safe
There's something in me that hopes, oh so much, that you ran down a carjacker with a 1970s Plymouth Roadrunner, and the last sound the squished badguy heard was it's horn mocking his demise with a Beep! Beep! farewell salute....
-archy-/-
Posted on 01/10/2004 11:53:29 AM PST by John Jorsett
True enough, but the bayonet lug also makes a nice mounting point for a flashlight for certain nighttime target identification. Indeed, I've been looking for some of the once-common M7 bayonets for the M16 that had been *demilitarized* by chopping their blades off; I'd figured on mounting a section of Weaver mount rail to the bottom of the grip as an interface for the varipus *tactical lights* and lasers now available without mounting same to the sight mount or on the accessory handguards some use for that purpose.
Too, though I don't care much for the tubular-handle FAL bayonet as used on the South African R1 and Brazilian Imbel versions, with the blade removed it makes a dandy mounting point for a detatchable bipod.
-archy-/-
I've used a knife *in anger* twice. And a GI entrenching tool once.
Should history repeat itself, I'd prefer to use the little shovel again, though they're less convenient to carry in a pocket.
Strange huh?
The Koreans purchased tons of the Japanese copies of the US WWII M4 carbine bayonet, and found them so suitable that they milled the blades of WWII M1 Garand bayonets to the same dimensions so that the same M8A1 bayonet scabbard could be used. As the leather handle *washers* would rot and fall off, the Koreans would replace them with black plastic grip panels, then began manufacturing their own bayonets.
Through the 1970s, the Japanese carbine bayonet copies turned up worldwide, in South Vietnam and Thailand where the carbine was common, of course, but also in Holland, who also began manufacturing their own leather and rubber-handled versions- and Germany. I had one in Munich with a folding stock M1A1 carbine in 1972- and in South and Central America as well. And they were common in surplus shops and from the few mail-order knife outlets around then, as I ordered one from Atlanta Cutlery around 1975 to replace the one left behind with the carbine in Germany.
-archy-/-
Thank you for taking the time to post that great info archy, you just blew me away.
FReepers are better than any encyclopedia I've seen. I'm guessing this probably came from someone who was stationed in Korea during or after the hostilities.
You are not alone, but newer, "powdered metal" and other exotic stainless steels like 154CM, ATS34, CMP440V, VG10 and CPMS30V are overwhelming favorites for high end folding knives today.
These steels are much tougher, and hold an edge better, than older stainless like AUS6 or 440A.
Chris Reeve uses A2(tool steel), BG42 and S30V for most of his knives; Strider uses ATS34 and S30V; Busse uses a proprietary "super steel" called INFI; Spyderco uses VG10 and S30V for most of their upscale folders. Randall used to use 440B for their stainless knives, I *think* they use ATS34 now? Their tool steel blades have always been Swedish 01.
"Stainless Steel" has come a long, long way in the past 10 years.
Try a VG10 or S30V folder and you'll be impressed with the sharpness and edge retention.
My brother who was chief engineer at a chemical plant once showed me some metal they used in the plant which was one of those ultra strong extremely expensive materials. He said it was difficult to machine but he had made a knife of it and said it was well suited for that purpose.
I was visiting the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola and they have some jet engine cutaways on display. Those tines on the inside of the engines look like they would make great knives. I bet they are really strong and they just look right.
We provided literally tons of surplus U.S. M1 carbines to our Korean allies, who initially used them in Vietnam when they sent their *Tiger Division and certain other troops to assist there, and when our supplies of carbine bayonets began to run out, since we'd been passing them out all over the world. I first began running into the Japanese carbine bayonet copies in the early 1970s or late '60s at the earliest, but a few examples likely were turned out for domestic use before then- interesting that the Japanese produced copies of both the M1 carbine and its bayonet, while the South Koreans produced the bayonet for use as replacements and spares, but never manufactured the rifle itself- though the Daewoo company makes fine M16 copies and their own variants- which use the M16 bayonet, of course.
Someone stationed in Korea, Japan or possibly Okinawa [Seventh, pre-Vietnam Fifth and First SF groups and the 173rd Airborne pre-Vietnam, 1963-1965] is indeed a possibile source of your bayonet, but not exclusively so. It's one of the not uncommon situations of having sich an inanimate item and beginning that conveersation that starts out if only it could talk....
-archy-/-
Thanks for trying.....Stay Safe !
Low crawl on your back putting your weapon between you and the wire. Still not a whole lot of fun though, and getting the hang of it can be painful.
Stay Safe
There's something in me that hopes, oh so much, that you ran down a carjacker with a 1970s Plymouth Roadrunner, and the last sound the squished badguy heard was it's horn mocking his demise with a Beep! Beep! farewell salute....
-archy-/-
Knives, guns, AP mines and concertina - what more could a thread need?
There are a few flavors of "razor wire", AKA concertina - the military stuff is lean, mean and nasty, but there is a double wound, "anti theft" shiny-nickel steel razor wire I've seen that has longer, evil looking razors - might be what you used; it's a smaller cirumference loop (18" or so) but OMG sharp, I can't imagine how badly it would shred you if you got into it.
Military concertina is about a 36" loop with relatively small cutting surfaces, although you still don't want to get stuck in it, it's fairly easy to work with with heavy gloves.
See also #95.
EKI CQC7
EKI Commander
Personally, as a Naval Aircrewman, I carry an Ontario Cutlery Aircrew Survival knife on my survival vest, and during my last trip overseas to operation ENDURING FREEDOM, I never boarded an airplane without my Leatherman Supertool, my Benchmade Stryker, and my Ontario "RAIDER" strapped to my leg. That, BTW, is a ten-inch-by-1/4 inch Bowie.
Why so many? well, you see, we weren't issued any firearms, for one thing, the Navy being leery of them in anyone's hands except SEALs and officers. Also, that huge Bowie was fully capable of busting out a window in a P-3, which might have been necessary.
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