The Italian M1938 Folding Bayonet

In this video I talk about the history and function of the Italian M1938 folding bayonet. It is one of the most unique bayonets of that period while also being fairly unknown outside of collector circles.
Picture and Information Sources:
www.exordinanza.net/schede/BAI...
ebayonet.com/ARTICLES/M38C/M1...
personal.stevens.edu/~glibera...
www.il91.it/
www.exordinanza.net/schede/BAI...

[@brucermarino]

Excellent. I appreciate your references to utility and manufacturing. Thank you!

[@MilitariaReviewed]

Glad you liked it!

[@Youcannotfalter]

Ive got this version of it on my Carcano M38. Its an amazing little bayonet.

[@coldwarmilitaria6593]

Really nice bayonet and awesome history on it!!

[@freewheelinfranklin6201]

Thank you for posting this video, I found it very interesting and helpful. About 30 years ago a work mate gave me a bayonet (no scabbard) that his grandma was about to throw out. The bayonet belonged to his grandad who had died several years earlier. The unusual thing about this bayonet was that it folded. I'd never seen anything like it before but because it was "junk" I thought I'd take it. I made a makeshift scabbard from the thumb of an old American baseball glove I had as a kid. Over the years I used and abused it without a care in the world. Here I am in June 2023 watching this video and realising this quite rare bayonet is the same as mine but in better condition. This has to be worth a few bob and I'm not a collector of military memrobilia.

[@ROOSTER333]

That 1st one is badass. The locking latch adds character

[@denniskappetijn1192]

I have an original M1938 captured in Ethiopia by South African forces. It also has a very low serial number ( #403) and has the original folding bayonet with matching number. This pristine weapon is the favourite in my collection and I love the bayonet design.

[@paogene1288]

Nice find.

[@csipawpaw7921]

My dad had something like this when I was a child. I think he brought it back from Europe after WW2. But as I recall it had a bone handle? I thought it was German. He fought from Normandy and into Germany. I never thought it was a bayonet. I thought it was either a paratroopers blade or a Hitler youth knife. I don't remember him saying how he got it. But I remember seeing him occasionally coming across it and he would stop and look at it for a time as if remembering something sad.

[@mthemouse2231]

Maybe it was a folding hunting knife known as "à la d'Estaing" (Long folding knife with a blade twice as long as the handle)

[@theotherJango]

Will this fit the older Carcanos or just the M38s? Obviously the M38 has the slot for the bayonet to be folded while mounted and the older rifles don't, but I'm curious.

[@garyallsebrook3493]

Bought one, from a surplus store, when I was a kid. I think I paid $5 for it! Still have it…

[@Freedomring-uk6yd]

plum bluing is factory original, combination of hardened alloy steel and temperature of the bluing salts

[@Alessandro-tf5xh]

Saluti from italy

[@fredferd965]

People who are taught to use firearms for serious use (handguns or rifles) are taught to learn how to use the weapon 200%, that's two hundred percent. That's because in a first time panic situation they will forget 100% of what they were taught. That's just normal human response. Some call it buck feaver. The problem with this Italian bayonet is that it has TWO buttons on the handle, one to remove the bayonet from the rifle, the other to unfold it. In a panic situation it would be very easy to hit the wrong button, thereby removing the bayonet from the weapon instead of unfolding it. I don't know if this has ever happened, but I think it was a weakness of the design.

[@angelparrilla2068]

Somebody wanted a meaty switchblade.

[@ismonousiainen785]

i got one from my grandpa, but no scabbard

[@sharonrigs7999]

I thought they had pizza cutter bayonets