Comments for Just sayin'

Just sayin'

2005-02-18T17:02:01Z

This is your collection. (The Arsenal at Castle Argghhh!)

This is your collection on a budget. (The basement at Outpost Neffi)

This is your collection on steroids. (Springfield Arsenal)

Click on the first and third pictures to take virtual tours of the Arsenal at Castle Argghhh! and the Springfield Armory museum.

Comment from CDR Salamander on 2005-02-21

2005-02-22T03:22:28Z

Hopps #9. That and the perfume of a girl I knew in High School.... � la recherche du temps perdu...... A little froggy for you... Very Proustian.

Comment from Neffi on 2005-02-19

2005-02-19T18:58:09Z

Chief, those blades in the socket row ain't warped- it's an hoptical allusion, caused by the lighting and the camera flash. And I know the slicks-on-sausages yer talking about, but I try not to chuckle too loud- I may someday be trying to signal one from a mountain-side, eh? 10-4 on the smell of WD40, John- and it's a dang good solvent when cleaning old grease out of the corners and crannies of an old military device (one of my favorite pastimes). Just don't get it in your eyes- trust me on this one...

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-19

2005-02-19T16:58:41Z

Knew I had this someplace... From the 2003 Darwin Awards Nomination Pool: Nominee #6 [The Indianapolis Star]: A cigarette lighter may have triggered a fatal explosion in Dunkirk, IN. A Jay County man, using a cigarette lighter to check the barrel of a muzzle loader was killed Monday night when the weapon discharged in his face. Sheriff's investigators said Gregory David Pryor, 19, died in his parents' rural Dunkirk home at about 11:30 PM. Pryor was cleaning a 54-caliber muzzle-loader that had not been firing properly. He was using the lighter to look into the barrel when the gunpowder ignited. Well, if the powder ignited while he was holding a lighter to the muzzle, it's fairly simple to figure out why the smoke-pole wasn't "firing properly"...

Comment from Boquisucio on 2005-02-19

2005-02-19T14:58:14Z

John, I'm with you. Ah, the sweet smell of gun mayo permeating the air.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-02-19

2005-02-19T14:35:11Z

emdfl - you're welcome. A service we at the Castle are happy to provide. CDR Salamander. Amateur. Amateurs always jump to conclusions. There's cleaning, there's lubrication, there's preservation - long term and short term. Absent demage done during - it's the final coating of whatever that matters. Besides. I like the smell. Many good memories associated with the smell.

Comment from emdfl on 2005-02-19

2005-02-19T10:31:49Z

Beautiful collection. I may have to bring my wife over to the site and show her just how well off she is with my two little safes,heh, heh, heh...

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T05:52:23Z

Well, thanks for the info on the yataknitanafghan-style blades, Neff, but I was referring to a couple of 'em in the socket row... BTW, ever aviate into Eagle County and chuckle at the Hueys-on-Skis at the HAATS?

Comment from CDR Salamander on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T04:41:36Z

Is that WD-40 I see???? Eeeekkkkk!!!!!! You gummed up dinosaur. Corrosion X my friend. Corrosion X. Once you use it, you will never go back. http://www.cbhobbies.com/corrosionx/forguns.html

Comment from Justthisguy on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T03:49:56Z

Ach! Those old-fashioned wapp I mean weapons are useless against high-explosives falling upon the Anglo-Saxons from great heights! Hark to the beating of the screws of our Zeppelin airships, and tremble!

Comment from J.M. Heinrichs on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T03:31:35Z

Humph! I'm not permitted to put a edge on my parade sword (Wilkinson, natch) so I would have to beat my opponent to death ... http://www.wilkinson-swords.co.uk/uk_swords/army/infantry.html Nice collection of blades! Cheers JMH

Comment from AFSister on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T03:17:46Z

Thanks Neffi!

Comment from Neffi on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T02:18:05Z

oh, bayonets- don't get me started!!! Too late- Chief, the curvature on some of those blades is called 'yataghan' style- after the Afghan sword blade that was designed to reach around a shield. But the bayonet blades with this shape were mostly those which replaced socket bayonets at a time when rifles were still muzzle-loaders... the off-set blade gave clearance for the ram-rod hand. Things were bad enough for the PBI without ripping up your hand on the reload... the yataghan blades were phased out as cartridge guns became the norm. oooooooooooo don't get me started... ;)

Comment from Neffi on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T01:14:36Z

SGT B.- google 'surplus military vehicles', and hang onto yer wallet! But most of the good stuff is in Europe (natch)... AFSis, from left to right is a British Infantry Officer's sword by Wilkinson, embossed on the blade with a family crest of a stag's head and laurel leaves, and the initials LMG in fancy script. Made in 1868, according to Wilkinson records (via the serial number). Next is a French artillery sidearm, made in Paris in first part of 19th century. These were for defense if enemy forces broke through, but were mostly used as machetes to clear brush etc in front of the guns... Patterned after the Roman gladius, the Springfield arsenal copied it for US issue- French weaponry was on the 'cutting edge' then hehe and the last one is a bayonet, the Enfield M1858 cutlass bayonet- probably the bulkiest bayo ever made. It was designed for boarding parties- very intimidating and useful if needed after firing your one shot- by dismounting it and swinging away! Gawd knows what it did to the barrel harmonics but boarding parties weren't concerned with long range accuracy anyhoo...

Comment from AFSister on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T00:46:55Z

Neffi- What are the three mounted horizontal near the ceiling? I know they're swords, not bayonettes, but what kind? What's the history there?

Comment from Sgt. B. on 2005-02-18

2005-02-19T00:29:18Z

While yer at it... Anyone know where I can find a BTR cheap... I'm serious, dammit... Ya'll can have all the guns in the world, but ya need to transport 'em to the front line... That's where MY collection comes into play...

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T22:15:19Z

Well, at $1 a pound shipping... I wonder if Dusty can call in any favors with the C5 guys? And there will definitely have to be a Castle Fund-Raiser...

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T22:01:02Z

Hey, go for the Bimp, too--make Monteith posilutely viridian...

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T21:59:15Z

Well, let's stand off 3,000 meters apart and see who--. Dang. Six tubes, zero missiles. Okay, then--bayonets at 3,000 meters...

Comment from Neffi on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T21:40:55Z

Boz is right John- as a miltary weapon, a finely-wrought bayonet is far superior to a generic machine gun. This was repeatedly proven in The Great War. Oh- wait a minute... doh!

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T20:36:07Z

Oh, and Bill - while there may be no TOWs, there is a LAAW, with rocket. And TWO 3.5 inch bazookas. And the Arsenal is in negotiations for a Sagger... on the rail, albeit sans box and sight/controller. Well, actually, this never would have had those, being the rail from a BMP. Of course, that will probably require a fund-raiser. Owner has some idea what it's worth, dang it.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T20:33:16Z

Boz - aren't you conflating *use* with construction? It's not like those bayonets weren't produced with machinery in their gazillions - especially after 1830.

Comment from Boquisucio on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T20:28:48Z

Certainly, the sight of all three collections makes me weak at the knees. But there is something to be said about the artisanal-craftmanlike pride found in Neffi's toolshoppe Sure; The Armourer and Springfield's tools are a sight to behold, but there is a certain "je-ne-sais-quois" lost amongst all those impersonal, mass produced power tools.

Comment from AFSister on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T20:28:35Z

Thanks Neffi- Cool idea. Too bad it didn't really work out. Sounds like a rare item you have there! My neighbors would like your collection. Their bedroom is decorated with blades of all sorts.

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T20:27:58Z

Looks like that was standard recreation, judging by the curvature on a few of 'em.

Comment from Neffi on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T20:13:53Z

As John sez, it is a trowel bayonet- Rice's Patent Entrenching bayonet. First issued on a trial basis in 1869, the idea was to enable an infantryman to quickly scrape a shallow furrow in which to lie prone, lending both cover and concealment... mine is the second model, with an improved locking latch. These were issued with a detachable handle to improve the grip when dismounted from the rifle. The idea was sound- and worked in field trials- but as a bayonet it was deemed to have too little penetration, due to the broad blade and thick edges. Production was cancelled and the trial pieces withdrawn from service... Lt. Rice's design was one of the earlier efforts to supply troops with a multi-functional bayonet, but it failed by sacrificing it's primary function, ie ramming a section of sharp steel into the torso of the Ungodly Foe [ewwwww]. This experiment soon followed by the Ramrod bayonet, which was suitable only for roasting hot dogs...

Comment from AFSister on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T19:37:25Z

Neffi- yes, please explain.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T19:35:48Z

The trowel is just that, a trowel bayonet, but I'll let Neffi explain that. And, Nefster, if you'd provided more pics, there'd be more pics... hardly dissed... just used as a "Compare and Contrast" is how I would prefer to put it. (Seriously, though, send me more pics and I'll add 'em to the Virtual Museums I'm building). And, send me yer dingle-dang-darned snailmail address, like I've asked for three times now! Sheesh!

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T19:16:26Z

Beanie Babies! That's what his collection needs! Impaled on the tips, just so folks walking too close to the wall don't get SangerM'd...

Comment from AFSister on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T19:08:04Z

Yeah, Neffi- what is that thing? I hadn't noticed it until Bill pointed it out. Definately looks like a garden trowel. Nice collection!! Puts my Beanie Baby collection to shame.

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T18:56:20Z

By the way, what's up with the trowel in the middle of all the petunia markers?

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T18:54:14Z

Neffi - I'm college educated--ya doesn't has ta call me "lug"...

Comment from Neffi on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T18:47:41Z

oooooh OW ! My collection of rare, antique and significant bayonets- DISSED ! Keep in mind, gentle reader, that photo is but one corner of the Bayonet Vault... and while it ain't the Imperial War Museum, it's prolly the best blade collection on my street! [sotto voice- Ill get you fer this, howitzerhead] ... Chief, Ida got a TOW tube but they don't have bayonet lugs...

Comment from Sgt. B. on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T18:45:06Z

Hmmm, it's nice to have goals we aspire to... Nice... Pretties...

Comment from cw4billt on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T18:34:35Z

I note, as James Earl Carter was wont to say, "with hevvuh hot," the conspicuous absence of TOW tube(s). Heh. Heh times six...

Comment from Barb on 2005-02-18

2005-02-18T18:05:43Z

The tours will have to wait until I get home - but I am intrigued by Neffi's collection! Our last discussion of methods of torture was illuminating - and I find the potential for blade work very enticing ;-)