I have been in the Army 17 years now and twice deployed to a combat zone and I have yet to be issued a bayonet. The reasons for this generally fall into two categories.
First, commanders consider the bayonet too dangerous to use (soldiers might hurt themselves), and second, the bayonet is accountable property and youll be paying for it if you break (read use) it.
Dont get me wrong, Im not all fired up to go out and stab someone with a bayonet, but there are times when you need a potentially sacrificial instrument to chop, hack, dig, probe, or test the proverbial waters with, and the last thing I want to do is get slapped with a $120 statement of charges because I used my shiny new M9 bayonet to probe a recently plastered section of brick wall looking for contraband and the tip broke.
Say hello to the kukri.
The kukri is the fighting knife of the Nepalese Gurkhas. A traditional kukri is hand-made in Nepal out of leaf spring steel (Im told that Mercedes-Benz springs are the best) and is a combination hatchet, short sword, and fighting knife.
While mine is by no means “traditional” (mine was made in India I believe) what it is, however, is a most excellent piece of kit, which I have used time and time again for all those jobs for which an issue bayonet would have been the ticket, were such a bayonet available. Moreover at $40 a shot (a traditional kukri will run you $150 or more)
I’m not losing any sleep if I chip the blade on my kukri (which I have done, trying to hack through a undiscovered piece of rebar.)
(Jam on lots more of Eric’s stuff at Kit Up! — the place where warfighters talk about the gear beyond standard issue.)
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Great recommendation. I keep one in the car/jeep and used it for years as an all purpose for camping. Between that and the old KBar style you can’t go wrong.
Can you recommend a good place to purchase one?
What? Our soldiers have to pay for a broken item like a bayonet? How on earth can they do their (highly dangerous) jobs? Sorry, but this comes as a surprise to a non-military fellow. I don’t like my tax dollars going to some hugely expensive airplane when that money could be used to buy all the bayonets our guys want to use (and break to their heart’s content). That’s my .02.
kevin – try http://www.khukuriknife.com/
I was in Nepal in November and met with the British logisitics chief for the Gurkhas..there are alot of variations of the knife and alot of phonies around Khatmandu, but a good one has one heavy blade. I’ve seen a sheep’s head lopped off in one go…effective.
WTF is the M9 good for anyhow? Even the wire cutter sucks.
I’d like to clarify my statement regarding having to pay for a broken bayonet.
I do not speak for the US Army nor for any unit commander. What my statement reflects is my experience during two deployments. I know for a fact that other soldiers, in other units, were issued, and did use bayonets, all with the approval and encouragement of their commands.
As for paying for it’s replacement, any time a piece of equipment is damaged or destroyed, it is up to the unit commander to decide whether or not the damage was duty related (normal wear and tear) or negligence. While some commanders are of the opinion that Army equipment is meant to be used in combat, and that such usage may result in damage to the equipment, others are not, and view equipment damage as a reflection of their command leadership (in some cases it may not even be the immediate commanders view, but the view of higher.) In any event, to what extent you use and abuse your gear is as much a reflection of your actual situation as it is command climate.
Also, as an aside, at one point I was carrying the USMC Ka-Bar, which I consider to be one of the finest field knives ever produced, because I couldn’t get a bayonet, but was told to ditch it as it was “Marine Corps” and that we in the Army did not use Marine Corps equipment. So I got the Kukri and my supervisor was happy with that.
While working at SERE in San Diego I carried the Cold Steel version of the Kukri. I used it as an axe/machete/shovel in the bush, and found it to be a terrific pice of kit. I recommend it for field/combat use as the blade is non-reflective, and the nylon sheath is weather resistant and easy to attatch to belt or pack. Mine is a factory second, so it was only around $30.00.
I also carried a Cold Steel Kukri with the San Mai blade….Ran me close to $300. I have two now and I love 'em….There may be cheaper options out there but my Cold Steel knives have served me faithfully for about 10 years now. Good Choice.
Over the years in my service I have used many knives….I am a big supporter of Chris Reeves knives having used 3 different models over the years and also Cold Steel Knives. Cold Steel is convenient to me as I am in Cali and they are based in Ventura. I have participated in a number of their events over the years and met Lynn Thompson. He is an extraordinary professional and martial artist. I definitely recommend their knives.