I want to buy a Krag bayonet.  Any tips on what to look for/avoid would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Hi bote, since no one has commented I'll take a stab at helping you.  ::)

1. If you haven't already done so I would suggest educating yourself about Krag bayonets.  The following sites are good places to start:

  (You need to Login

  (You need to Login

2. How much are willing to spend? Simple enough... you want the good stuff than your going to pay the big bucks most of the time.  Not saying that good deals aren't out there.

3. The usual places like Ebay and Gun Broker are good places to see what's available.  Also, other online sites like KCA might provide opportunities to purchase Krag bayonets.  Just type "Krag bayonet" in your favorite search engine and all kinds of stuff will pop-up.

4. More specific stuff would be:

a. Most of the time look for two rivets that attach the walnut handle grips to the tang not screws.

b. Look for a pommel shaped like a birds head.

c. Most blades had a grove or fuller on both sides.

d. The part of the blade near the hand guard or ricasso will have the date of manufacture on one side and a US on the other.

5. These are just a few things to look for

Thanks for the tips!  There appear to be a lot of variations in the ones listed online.  I'm looking for something $200 or less.

'bote' - Unless you are trying to match a Krag bayonet to the approximate acceptance or production time of a specific rifle, or one that was likely used in the SAW, the date is not too important.

The Krag bayonets were issued 'in the white' (no metal finish). The edge was not sharpened.

Look for one that has a pleasing clean appearance or patina and precise 'blood groove' & manufactured surfaces.

Avoid 'polished', chromed, wire-wheeled, bent or damaged tip, sharpened blade, heavily rusted or pitted, and specimens with sanded or badly damaged grips.

Minor surface rust can be removed with #0000 steel-wool saturated with Hoppe's #9.

Buy an example that comes with a scabbard.

The metal scabbard should be free of dents and have a 'browned' (blued) finish. Type of scabbard should be appropriate for the bayonet date.

Very early scabbards had a simple 'hook'. Most scabbards have a more complicated sheet-metal & dual spring-wire hanger. This allowed the two ends of the heavy wire 'bail' to be released and then secured over the canvas Mills Belt and snapped back into place.

The rivet anchoring the hanger to the scabbard should be tight, so that rotation of the scabbard on the hanger is limited.

Krag bayonets were never carried in leather picket-pin cases. (Sellers often have this arrangement For-Sale and it is Bogus)!

It is realistic to obtain a nice Krag Bayonet and Scabbard for under $200. This is probably best done at a decent Gun Show.

From my experience, Krag bayonets are a lot more common than the scabbards to hold them.

FWIW - Some photos to show things I look for:

#8478 - Two Krag bayonets, the top one has more grip damage, but, the blade edge is correct and the scabbard retains its finish and 'hanger' rivet is tight.

#8479 - This scabbard no longer has its finish and the loose rivet allows too much 'hanger' rotation.

#8481 - 1899 marked bayonet has nice grips and surface rust could be removed, but, blade has been sharpened.

#8482 - Damage done by sharpening the 1899 blade.

#8485 - 1899 and 1902 compared.

'bote' it is always best to buy in person and know if you like it.

---

Unfortunately, there are a lot of little details that can seemingly only confuse.   "Always" and "Never" are always dangerous and should never be used.
The earliest blades are dated 1894 and were actually blued originally (like the 1873's).  Many or most were eventually refurbished and the blades stripped to bright.  I have a couple that show some degree of blue, but both are sharpened and probably should have been returned for refurbishing - or maybe they were too far gone to be worth the effort.
There are essentially 4 models of scabbards and all were blued. The earliest was a hook to simply fit over the belt.  There was no limiter rivet, so the rotation potential was 360 degrees and the opening for the blade was actually slightly tapered to match the blade.  The second model was still a hook, but the rivet was added to limit the rotation.  The hole became a simple rectangle.  The Third used two wires to serve as a spring attachment.  The wires were "pinched" to fit between two cartridge loops of a Mills style canvas belt.  The last type still used the two wires, but they were not "pinched" so that they would straddle an actual cartridge loop (containing a cartridge) in order to be the tightest hold of all. 
The rivets used for the wood handles show two variations.  The original style from 1894 to, I think, 1898 or 99, had the domes of the rivet ground flat.  After that time, the domes were left intact to simplify production.  If a blade dated with the earlier years shows the domes present, it's just an indication that the bayonet had gone back to the arsenal for repair or refurbishing.  It has always been a puzzle for me as to why a sharpened blade is such an anathema to collectors, when it is a sign that the bayonet had possibly been used in the field.  We've had photos on this forum showing troops with Krags nearby while they were sharpening their bayonets..

'olderthansome' - I hope I didn't come across as sounding too dogmatic. I was simply trying to give some basic collecting advice.

Thanks for pointing out some of the features on early Krag bayonets. It would be a shame for a surviving early finish to be removed in error or a rare scabbard to be shunned.

I think the main problem with sharpened blades is that they are often crudely done and effect the tempering of the blade.

IMHO - Sometimes, the pictures of soldiers "sharpening blades" appear be 'showboating' and 'hamming it up' for the camera.

I recall the British having a "Bayonet Scandal" during one of the Sudan Campaigns. Over-sized triangular blades, made on contract in Solingen, Germany, had been ground down to gauge properly. In use, they bent like corkscrews, because the surface hardening had been compromised!

I think it's great to have some discussion of Krag bayonets. It is an area not often covered on the KCA.

(It is also probably good to mention, as an aside, that the original influence for the U.S. Krag bayonet was the contemporary Swiss bayonet for the Schmidt-Rubin rifle).

Ultimately, it is the Collector, who has to define, refine and decide what he wants.

I kind of like the Andy Warhol look:

---

  (You need to Login

Butlersrangers.
Oh dear, I hope that I, too, didn't seem to be correcting or criticizing you in any way.  I truly enjoy all the insights that you offer us so often and I know that you have a store of knowledge that I could never match.  My comment about always and never was actually intended as a self defense preface against some of the critics who i seem to attract when i post.  I have liked Krag bayonets for a long while and I like to share a few things about what is often considered a routine topic.  I agree that many photos of soldiers sharpening their bayonets might be for show, but it seems that it has long been so.  Just this summer, I saw several programs showing Marines, especially, sharpening their blades on board their ships before landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Besides, I try never to offend other Michiganders.

'olderthansome' - Thanks, No offense taken. We are all learning from each other.

IMHO - Answering the questions of fellow KCA members should cause us to review our 'facts' and be open to new information and details.

'Culpeper' - Thanks for the link to Donald Hartman's 'lecture' on U.S. Krag Bayonets. It was worth the 32 minute time investment to view it.

..... and of course, it was always a good idea to sharpen your bayonet for 'Hunting'.

---

Thanks guys!  I feel like crap today because I stayed up in my hotel last night reading this.  Prolly do it again tonite.   

Good luck in your quest 'bote'.

(p.s. W. Stokes Kirk is no longer in business).

---

Thanks for posting the video Culpeper.  I plan on buying the book.   

You're welcome guys.  The video is very informative.

See anything wrong with this one?

  (You need to Login

Looks like a dandy bote!

Have you made an offer yet?

BTW: Hartman's The US Entrenching Tools and The U.S. Krag Bayonets can be purchased at this site for a total of $130 plus $12 shipping when you buy both books.  It says until May 31st but didn't specify what year? I have received both copies and have thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

  (You need to Login

On a similar note, what's wrong with this fellow:

  (You need to Login

That's a crazy looking bayonet.  Prolly go out of my reach, especially with the 23% buyers premium.  I made an offer on the one, prolly should just buy it.

Just wanted some other inputs since The Krag bowie listed on Evil Bay looks like a fake to me.

The real deal normally goes for $2000 to $3000 or more now days.

Although, sometimes I think a fake one would be cool to have.

Is super fake.  As fake as CNN.  Do not buy one unless it has the scabard making the chance of it being a fake is a lot less.

  (You need to Login

Notice his phrase "Bowie style"  and not plain "Bowie"  Dead giveaway that he knows it is not the real deal.

Here is another fake.
  (You need to Login

other krag photos

  (You need to Login

  (You need to Login

  (You need to Login

  (You need to Login

Thanks Culpeper! I agree it is super fake.

Here's more fake Krag Bowie style bayonets for your viewing pleasure:

  (You need to Login

  (You need to Login

You have to watch out for super duper fake 1902 bolo bayonets also.

The seller accepted my offer for the bayonet and it's on it's way.  I used the tips and web links from this site to educate myself.  These things are never at the gun shows I go to but I've never travelled more than a couple hours to attend one.  Thanks for all the tips.

Received the bayonet yesterday and it was nicer than expected.  I actually selected it due to the apparent condition of the scabbard.  There are no dents, the swivel is tight, just a little surface rust with much of the blueing still present.  The blade has it's original profile and there are no nicks.

Thanks for the help!

Seven hundred bucks for a fake bowie.  Sheesh.

  (You need to Login

P. T. Barnum is alive and well.

Hello, just got my first krag! New to the boards and of course I have questions. Specifically if anyone knows where I can get a lock for an 1898 bayonet. I have the bayonet, spring and the actual button, but can't locate a lock for it anywhere! Really hoping not to have to cannibalize it from another. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here’s my 10 foot reproduction, I left all the Bolo markings on it.

---

Fletch42 wrote on Dec 12^th, 2018 at 12:34am:

Hello, just got my first krag! New to the boards and of course I have questions. Specifically if anyone knows where I can get a lock for an 1898 bayonet. I have the bayonet, spring and the actual button, but can't locate a lock for it anywhere! Really hoping not to have to cannibalize it from another. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the kragdom.  Pull up an ammo crate and sit a spell

You might as well get a complete bayonet instead of running down windmills.  Chances are, there are more loose bayonets with scabbards than the one part you seek.

Soooooo.  Tell us about the rifle.  Is it pretty?  (in my worst valley girl lingo)

Do ya have enough ammo?  Remember you can never have TOO MUCH ammo.  Only ammo you haven't got around to shootin' jest yet.

I measure the worth of a man by the amount of ammo the next of kin has to sell off after he is dead.    I'm not talking two packs of twenty-two long rifle and a few boxes of twelve gauge bird loads.  I'm talking tonnage. :o ;)

Seriously, Grab a case of ten boxes and learn to reload if you do not already have that skill set.  Don't go through a Great Barky Dry Spell (Grrrrrrrrr >:() like many of the other Krag owners. 

Someone say "Bolo"?

---

Thanks for the welcome Culpeper! She's an 1898 that a friend of mine got as a wall hangar. Traded a 42 mosin for it and got her running with a few parts from grandpa's  gun parts. Not "bubba'd" and except for the broken parts I replaced seems all original. Cartouche is from 1898 and she's double p stamped by the trigger guard. I have a few rounds and I'm headed to the range next week to see how she fires. Can't wait!

Welcome the World of Krag!
Keep us posted on the range performance.
Pics are always good.
Vic