Never Trust a Pawn Shop

Well, the title pretty much says it all. Last Wednesday Friday I bought a WWII bayonet at the pawn shop down the street from college, and the guy I bought it from gave me a bull story about where it came from. He said that he knew the guy that had it originally, and that he used it in England and France against the Germans. He also told me that he had to sand down the handle to get the blood out. Now I don't know about you, but for a sword/knife collector like me, it was like finding a holy grail. It is in great condition for the time, and when else would I be able to get a piece of history like this?

I went ahead and bought it, figuring that it was that awesome. Well, once I got it home on Saturday, I started to really look at the knife. It was definitely a WWII issue, that was obvious. I'd done some independent research on my own prior to this and I knew that the WWII part was true, but I hadn't done any real work with bayonets so I couldn't be certain. I knew it wasn't a U.S. issue as I figured it would have had to be, since the whole thing just didn't look like anything the U.S. would issue. I also knew it wouldn't be French since French bayonets from the time are more likely than not to have a slight re-curve style to the blade, and this bayonet's blade was straight. The British part didn't seem right either, but I didn't know for certain. Then I noticed the handle. It wasn't sanded at all. There were obvious dents and such in the handle, which obviously meant that the handle hadn't been sanded. Then I looked at the scabbard. There was obviously some residue from the sticker that they'd put on it, but there was some slight residue, almost completely gone, from a sticker that had been on it previously. Which to me hints that it had traded hands before. After I did some research, I found that the bayonet was actually Japanese and not European or American as he had me believe. I even know who made it, when, what type of gun it went on, all that good stuff. If he'd only done the research, he'd have known what he was selling and then maybe not have given me that crap story.

I'm still very happy that I'd bought it (it was only $40). The knife may have been sold for $40, but for me the history it carries is priceless so I had to have it. I just wish the guy actually knew what he was talking about, or at least told me he didn't know and not have told me all that about Europe, the sanding down, and all that. Just a word from the experienced, if you buy anything from a pawn shop, just make sure that you know what you're getting or take everything they say with a grain of salt.