The restoration of a bent and twisted ersatz bayonet blade

For any collector, there are times before buying a bayonet where often arises the question whether it's worth buying a piece in poor condition, rusted, bent, twisted. But sometimes the choice is easier when we find a rare one and even if it is damaged, we buy it. This is the case for this interesting regimental marked ersatz bayonet.

This ersatz bayonet has a rusty, bent and twisted blade. We notice the remarkable conservation of the paint which indicates that it hasn’t been used a lot.

In this page, we will see that there are some opportunities to straighten the blade and the scabbard, but also to release the press stud blocked by the rust : (click on pictures for details). We are going to start with the scabbard which is made of a thin steel sheet. It is easier to straighten. I began to use a wooden vice .

But the resistance of the scabbard was stronger and I had to use a steel vice with wooden protections to prevent from scratches. Then, I hit slowly with a hammer and a piece of wood.

It is important to go slowly step by step to prevent the breakage of the scabbard welding.

It is strictly forbidden to tighten the jaws of the vice to try to straighten a V shape. It would flatten the curve.

We must put the side of the V along the vice as shown on the right photo to prevent any irreversible damage on other parts. I use a softer wood on the side where the pressure is exercised.

Now the scabbard is almost straightened and I have to restore the inner curve.

I used a steel mandrel but the mandrels for ersatz bayonets are rare and I had to use a French sword mandrel which gave a correct shape to the scabbard.

The result is quite conclusive. Use lead or copper protections on the jaws.

I stopped when I saw the paint off the scabbard which began to remove.
It looks a little bumpy but it is acceptable.

In a first time, I focussed on the handle which shown an angle to the left with the blade.

A simple clamp of the blade in the vice is enough.
We hit with a big hammer on the wooden block.
At this point the strength of the blade is quite soft.
It is the easiest point to work because the blade is fairly elastic.
It is certainly made of molten mixture of mild steel and carbon around 18% before being soaked in water or oil, making it brittle if you hit too strongly.

The press stud was blocked by the rust. It was impossible to hit without breaking something.
A night long soaked with releasing product was not enough.
The only way was to use the strength of the jaws of the vice with using a wooden piece not to mark the handle.
As the crank turns, the press stud is released.
Otherwise a nail has to be heated to expand the nut.

We used a oak wood piece on the side of the press stud so that it didn’t penetrate into the wood fibers.

We notice in these photos of the thickness of the rust that blocked the press stud.

We will not forget to clean with a flexible threads brush around the press stud and to oil the spring in the handle.

The blade was bent and twisted and I firstly worked on the bent part because the twisted part threatened the disruption of the blade.

I tried several solutions but the best was the use of an anvil. I didn’t want to red heated this blade because it would have affected the hardness.

The work with an anvil is a delicate task and it requires some experience. We can get satisfaction if we hit carefully with a hammer. We often check the shape without any chances to remove totally the twisted part.

When we are satisfied of the final result we can use a drum to clean the surface rust and the dried grease.

I use a brush that does not scratch as a sponge dishes.

This brush, which rotates rapidly, has to be already used, avoiding a polishing which would make the blade bright.

It use the brush along the blade length being careful not to dull the edges of the the crossguard.

We do the same for the blade edges. We hold the blade horizontal and we manipulate it or we hold it in an upright position by tilting it slightly.

This is the only way to avoid rounding the angles.

The blade is nearly straightened even if there is still a small spin but it fits the scabbard now.

A little bit of oil on all the surface to neutralize the rust that I usually do not remove on the ersatz bayonets.

To find this bayonet in the ersatz bayonets table, you can click here.