Seitengewehr

 Bayonets of Japan by Raymond C LaBar.

Well, my copy of Bayonets of Japan arrived a day or two after I posted that I’d be writing a review on it.  To say I was very pleased with it would be a huge understatement.  Raymond LaBar has by far surpassed Larry Johnson’s Japanese Bayonets with a much more complete reference by including previously unwritten about discussion on japanese bayonets.

  While I certainly have never read Johnson’s Japanese Bayonets, it is clear that Bayonets of Japan has over twice the amount of pages and from what I’ve read about this book elsewhere, it’s been confirmed that LaBar has written about several variations of japanese bayonets that Johnson neglected to include.

The quality of Bayonets of Japan is amazing, with full color photographs of virtually every known variation of japanese bayonets.  The layout is in such a way that it’s simple to look up any variation by type or arsenal mark as this info is readily available in the corners of the pages, making it easy for you to thumb through to quickly find what you need.   

 Currently I only own 6 japanese bayonets and there’s a great deal of information  about japanese bayonets that I am not yet familiar with, so reading Bayonets of Japan was a great education and it was with great pleasure that I absorb this newly learned information on japanese bayonet variations as well as on variations that I never knew existed.    It was very interesting to learn about japanese enfield bayonets that japan acquired from britain, among some other foreign bayonets used by japan, such as Czech Vz24 bayonets.  Also of interest is of foreign countries use of japanese bayonets, such as Mexico, China, Russia, Austria, Finland, Korea & Siam to name a few.

This comprehensive reference on japanese bayonets is more like a single volume encyclopedia.  Bayonets of Japan even has chapters devoted to scabbard variations, chinese variations, training bayonets, childs bayonets, fighting knives as well as bayonet frogs, and even guidon staffs.   Simply put, this is a MUST HAVE book that belongs in the library of anyone whom considers themselves to be a collector of bayonets.

  Bayonets of Japan is a wealth of knowledge that’ll inspire beginner & novice collectors as well as solidify interest of more advanced collectors.  With Bayonets of Japan handy, I now feel more confident with collecting japanese bayonets as I’ll always have this fantastic reference available.  Bayonets of Japan was printed in limited quantity and at my last contact with the author, Raymond LaBar, only 600 copies remained available, but this number is certainly to be much lower at the time of this review, so do not hesitate & do buy your copy today because once all the copies are gone, that’s it.. and like Johnson’s Japanese Bayonets, this one is to be highly coveted & sought after for years to come.

  I own and have read several books on bayonets & edged weapons, mostly on german bayonets, but of all the books I own, or have read, I’d say Bayonets of Japan is the best I have seen in my 5 years of collecting.

Order your copy direct from the author at BayonetsOfJapan.com