Hand-Forged Bayonet Fighting Knife, Fullered Blade

A bayonet is a blade fitted to a firearm so it can be used as a spear, and the design has been through four clear generations. The plug bayonet came first — a dagger with a tapered handle rammed into the muzzle, which turned the musket into a short pike but stopped you firing it. The socket bayonet solved that in the late seventeenth century with a sleeve that slid over the barrel and offset the blade, leaving the bore clear, and that arrangement dominated for around two hundred years. Sword bayonets followed: long single-edged blades that were meant to serve as a sidearm when detached. And from the early twentieth century the knife bayonet took over, a short broad practical blade that spends most of its service life opening ration tins and cutting cord rather than fixed to a rifle. This knife borrows the shape of that last generation.

No. It is a fighting knife built in the bayonet style, not a functioning bayonet, and it will not attach to any firearm. Three things prevent it: there is no lug slot or catch in the pommel, which is what actually locks a bayonet to the rifle; the ring in the guard is decorative and is not cut to any particular barrel diameter; and at 12 inches the blade is roughly twice the length of an issued knife bayonet, which would make it unwieldy on a rifle even if it did mount. We would rather tell you this on the product page than have you find out. It also matters legally — in a number of countries something that can be fixed to a firearm is regulated differently from a knife, and this is unambiguously a knife.

On a real bayonet that is the muzzle ring, and it does exactly what the name says: the rifle barrel passes through it, which locates the blade and takes the sideways load when the bayonet is used to thrust. It works together with a catch in the pommel that engages a lug on the rifle — the ring positions, the catch locks. It is the single most recognisable feature of a bayonet silhouette, which is why it is here. On this knife it is decorative: it gives the blade its bayonet character but it does not mount to anything. Some owners find it useful as a lanyard point. If you would rather have a plain crossguard without it, that is a no-cost custom option.

On the military bayonets this pattern draws from, that hole is a wire cutter. The blade is laid across the scabbard, a stud on the scabbard passes through the hole to form a pivot, and the two together work as shears — strong enough to cut barbed wire, which is a genuinely useful thing for a soldier to be able to do with equipment already on his belt. It is one of the more elegant pieces of military design, getting a second tool out of two objects that were being carried anyway. On this knife the hole is a styling feature: our sheath has no matching stud, so it will not cut wire. It does take a little weight out of the blade and it makes a serviceable lanyard hole. We have not pretended otherwise anywhere on this page.

Shape and intent. This one has a 12-inch clip-point blade with a fuller and a full crossguard, which makes it the most military-looking knife we make and the one with the most hand protection. Our fantasy bowie has a 13-inch blade with a stacked horn and bone handle and a through-tang, built as a classic bowie rather than a military pattern. Our curved hunting knife has a longer 15-inch sweeping blade and is built for chopping. Buy this one for the bayonet silhouette and the guard, the bowie for a traditional big-knife look, and the hunting knife if you want a chopper.

Yes. It is hand-forged from 5160 high-carbon spring steel, oil-tempered, sharpened, and built on a full tang. It cuts, holds an edge and takes normal hard use. The crossguard gives it more hand protection than most large knives, which is worth having on a blade this size. Do not use it on stone, metal, nails hidden in old timber, or as a pry bar — the clip point is the part most likely to break under a bad angle.

The blade is forged from 5160 high-carbon spring steel, the same alloy used in heavy-duty truck leaf springs, prized for toughness and edge retention. It is oil-tempered for a hard cutting edge backed by a flexible, shock-absorbent spine. That combination is what military knives have always wanted: an edge that stays sharp through hard use, on a blade that bends rather than snapping when it is asked to do something a knife was never designed for.

Yes. The tang runs the full length of the handle, so the crossguard and grip are mechanically captured on the steel rather than held by adhesive. There is no narrow tang hidden inside a hollow grip. On a knife with a crossguard this matters more than it might seem, because a guard concentrates load right at the front of the handle — that is precisely where a weak tang gives way.

The grip is rosewood with grooves cut across it, which is the traditional bayonet grip treatment and a genuinely functional one — the ridges give the hand something to key against so the knife stays put when your grip is wet, cold or gloved. The crossguard and butt fitting are polished steel. The sheath is brown leather with belt fittings, cut and stitched by hand to fit the blade you order, which is why a custom blade length always means a custom sheath and adds to the lead time. Rosewood is a natural material, so grain and colour vary between pieces.

Yes, sharpened along the main edge as standard, finished by hand. The clip along the top of the point is left unsharpened; a sharpened false edge can be ground on request, though note a double-edged point changes the legal position in some countries. If you need the knife blunt for display or to satisfy import rules where you live, choose the display-blunt option or say so in your order notes, at no extra charge.

Yes to both, and the service size is worth considering. An issued knife bayonet runs around six to seven inches of blade, which is a far more practical everyday knife than twelve inches and closer to the real thing if the military pattern is what appeals to you. A plain crossguard without the muzzle ring is also available at no extra cost, and it makes the knife read as a fighting knife rather than a bayonet, which is simpler in jurisdictions where the word itself causes problems. Grip material, finish and fuller are all adjustable too.

Yes. We ship worldwide from Nepal by DHL or FedEx in 7 to 14 business days with tracking. In-stock specs dispatch within 2 to 3 business days; fully custom builds take roughly 4 to 6 weeks to forge first. Import and blade laws vary by country, and items described as bayonets can be treated differently from knives in some jurisdictions even when they cannot be fitted to a firearm, so please check your local rules carefully before ordering.