A knife bayonet is a knife which can be used both as a

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

, combat knife, or utility

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

. The knife bayonet became the almost universal form of bayonet in the 20th century due to its versatility and effectiveness.

Spike bayonet A spike bayonet, also known as a ''pigsticker'' in informal contexts, is a blade attachment for a firearm taking the form of a pointed spike rather than a knife. Description Most early musket bayonets were of this type. Beginning in the early 1 ...

s proved useless when separated from the rifle and useless in

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

; and while versatile,

sword bayonet A sword bayonet is any long, knife-bladed bayonet designed for mounting on a musket or rifle. Its use is thought to have begun in the 18th century and to have reached its height of popularity throughout the 19th and into the early 20th centuries. W ...

s proved to be impractical weapons in trench warfare because of their length. The first knife bayonet to see widespread service was the 10 inch (25.4 cm) blade Seitengewehr 1871/84, which became the standard German infantry bayonet in 1884. Its derivative, the Seitengewehr 1884/98, would go on in use until 1945 in German service. The knife bayonets are basically fighting knives or utility knives with a lug and/or muzzle ring to attach to the barrel of a firearm such as an assault rifle or submachine gun. Almost all bayonets today are knife bayonets that are designed for use in hand-to-hand fighting and as utility knives. Some have serrated (saw-blade) back edges for utility and be usable as wire cutters (when used in conjunction with fittings on the sheath). Modern knife bayonets have 6 inch (15.24 cm) to 8 inch (20.3 cm) long and .75 (1.905 cm) inch to 1.5 (3.81 cm) inch wide blades, and are often fullered. They have been tempered for durability so as not to break when twisting; this was often the problem with long and slender

spike bayonet A spike bayonet, also known as a ''pigsticker'' in informal contexts, is a blade attachment for a firearm taking the form of a pointed spike rather than a knife. Description Most early musket bayonets were of this type. Beginning in the early 1 ...

s. Like sword bayonets, they can be used not only for thrusting, but also for cutting.

External links

World Bayonets
Knife bayonet Blade weapons de:Bajonett