POTD: Rare U.S. 1900 Krag Bowie Bayonet – Now That’s a Knife!
Sam.S 11.17.21
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The United States has a weird history of being very indecisive on its bayonets for the service rifles at the time. At one point there was the cleaning rod spike bayonet that I previously listed on Photo of the Day and even a trowel bayonet. These all seemed to be attempts to improve military efficiency. Have a cleaning rod that just cleans guns? Make it pointy. Have a bayonet that does not dig holes real well? Make it shaped like a trowel. You get the point. The Bowie bayonet is no different from the rest and its introduction came to be for the unjustified need for an all-in-one tool that was also a bayonet. This bowie bayonet was intended to be a bayonet, fighting knife/hacking weapon, and also an entrenching tool like the trowel bayonet before it. That is right, folks! Soldiers were expected to dig with a very knife like a bayonet.
“This rare Krag Bowie bayonet features a 9 inch blade with a clip point. The right ricasso is marked “US” with the date “1900” on the left. The hilt is of the standard Krag pattern, and the grips are smooth two piece walnut. Complete with an original Krag Bowie metal scabbard that features the distinct ball tip and metal belt swivel.”
Lot 3209: Rare U.S. 1900 Krag Bowie Bayonet with Scabbard. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/63/3209/rare-us-1900-krag-bowie-bayonet-with-scabbard.
