Original Bayonet - Wondering If It's Worth Purchasing

[kb4xley]

Hi folks,

About 3 years ago I purchased a De-farbed Armi-Sport '53 Enfield. The base model is Euroarms. The owner threw in an import repro bayonet. At the time, I decided to just use the bayonet until it broke / fell apart. It didn't take long. Three years later, that time has arrived. I'm now in the hunt for an original Enfield bayonet. I ran across this one on Ebay this week and I'm wondering if it would be worth purchasing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Civil-War-Enfield-Rifle-Musket-577-Caliber-Socket-Bayonet/264677176632?hash=item3d9ffd3538:g:9scAAOSw0nleeNnt

Thanks for any advice!

[Cumpston1862]

Re: Original Bayonet - Wondering If It's Worth Purchasing

Sir-

There is nothing more authentic than having an original piece of kit in the field. You would be hard pressed to find anyone on here that hasn't or considered carrying at least something original to the period. There are also those that would say that it is a high crime to do so as the possibility of that item being, lost, broken or unnecessarily worn is an eventuality that should be avoided. Once that original item is gone...its gone. When the centennial of the Civil War came around there was little choice and many of the lads at the time did use original pieces of uniforms, weapons, etc and a lot of those items were damaged or destroyed entirely. I have been in the field and seen guys with original pieces of kit fretting because it was about to rain or something and they did not want their original "ITEM" to get wet, rusted, etc. Quite frankly that can be the case for an expensive repro piece of kit as well, namely headgear. Having said all of that it is not always possible to buy a repro item or good repro item to complete your kit. In the end its your money and you can do what you please and it is what you are comfortable with doing. For me, once I am at an event I want to enjoy it not have to worry about getting something back to a safe place so it won't be destroyed by rain, etc. Anyway my 3 cent piece has been presented. I see the auction has ended however so not sure what your decision was on this but as they say "there is always something coming down the pike".

[kb4xley]

Re: Original Bayonet - Wondering If It's Worth Purchasing

Thanks!

I also just realized that I used Armi-Sport and Euroarms in the same post (cone of shame). That's what I get for being in a hurry. The base model is indeed a Euroarms.

Anyway, I decided to forgo that particular bayonet. Others that I showed the item to remarked that it was a great historic specimen for the price, but, advised against purchasing it for my intended purposes. The unavoidable filing and fitting that would most likely be required to make the bayonet work on my weapon would ruin the value of it.

Given that info, I decided to purchase one of the Nepalese bayonets from IMA.

Thank you, again, for your feedback!