How best to store a bayonet?

[IditarodJoe]

If a bayonet is not going to be used regularly (e.g., reenacting) or part of a display, how would you store it? Sheathed or unsheathed? Metal oiled, greased, waxed or dry? Wood or leather treatment? What about scabbards?

I would think someone who has serious $$ invested in bayonets (not me!) has given this some thought.

I'll share what I've done with mine, though I don't know that it's right. Parkerized metal gets a good soaking in gun oil, then I wipe off the excess and give it a light coat of grease (Plastilube). I do have one with a bright blade (chuckindenver is currently doing his magic on it). I'm still kind of stumped on that one.

I've treated leather with Picard's Antique Leather Dressing. The only wood grips I have were thoroughly cleaned and coated with good carnuba wax. I've been storing all of my bayonets in the scabbards - possibly not the best idea.

My metal scabbard throats, hangers and tips have all been cleaned and treated with Breakfree CLP. I haven't been doing anything with the fiberglass or webbing. I do have one of the wood, rawhide, and cloth M1910 scabbards (well, most of one) and have no idea what, if anything, should be done to preserve it other than keep it dry and out of the sun.

So . . . what am I doing right and where am I screwing up? :icon_scratch:

[John Sukey]

Just in case, IMA-USA still has new grips complete with the hardware on offer. Slazenger marked.

[thorin6]

Picards for leather, tung oil for wood, CLP for parkerized parts, reapplied about every six months, bayonets in fiberglass scabbards ok (some folks hang the bayonet and scabbard separately), never, ever, store a bayonet (or knife) in a leather sheath. I store the blade and leather sheaths together but not with the blade in the scabbard.
Actually, I think most of what you are doing will protect your collection. Good luck.

[IditarodJoe]

Thanks for your reply thorin6. I'm thinking CLP might be a good way to protect the "polished bright" 1905 blade.

A year or so back on the Springfield Armory National Historic Site's web page, the museum's curator had an article on the preservation of antique firearms. The article has since been taken down (probably replaced by "The Flora and Fauna of the Springfield Armory":icon_rolleyes:), but it is still available on the CTD site.

http://cheaperthandirtcom.blogspot.com/2009/10/preserving-your-antique-arms-collection.html

As the bayonets are rarely handled, the carnuba-wax-for-wood idea was borrowed from that article.

[Kirby]

Be careful with Pecards, this product contains petroleum products which will rot the threads. Connolly's Hide Care is a much better product for treating antique leather.

[thorin6]

In that the handle of the bayonet doesn't have any cotton threads, I'm not sure that's a potential problem. In addition, Pecards claims that the petroleum in their leather dressings doesn't adversely affects threads because its pH neutral, but I have no verification of that. There are several other products that protect leather and some of them don't have petroleum components (Obendorf?), and they all have their advocates. Stay away from Neatsfoot Oil and other leather conditioners that soften leather leather by breaking it down. As for me, I use Percards on my leather handles when necessary to preserve them, although I don't think leather conditioner is necessarily needed if the leather isn't in danger of drying out and the bayonet is kept in a good environment.