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The Swedish M96 Bayonet, a design far ahead of its time
The M96 was created in the late 1890s to fit the various newly adopted Swedish mauser rifles
The M96 was created in the late 1890s to fit the various newly adopted Swedish mauser rifles
The construction is quite forward thinking, instead of a typical full tang with wood scales the M96 is all steel with a self wedging, easily disassembled threaded bolt. The steel itself is of very high quality, a nickel alloy for increased toughness and corrosion resistance
Some more details. The sheath is brazed stamped steel, with a spring steel throat that provides very good retention. A small screw holds it together. The handle is all steel and hollow, with an oval cross section and knurling for a positive, comfortable grip
Despite its all steel construction, the M96 is fairly light and well balanced, with a usefully designed blade that actually functions as a combat or utility knife (unusually for bayonets, every M96 I've handled has been sharpened)
During the various Finn-Russian wars, small numbers of Swedish mausers were issued to Finnish soldiers. The Finns were prone to very sensibly discarding their issued bayonets as deadweight. Reportedly, due to its usefulness the M96 was an exception, and was generally retained
