About the Author

Ralph E. Cobb has been a militaria collector since the 1970s, and a bayonet collector since 1998. He has been a contributor to internet military firearms and bayonet collecting groups for more than 25 years, including: the Bayonet Collector’s Network, the U.S. Militaria Forum, and Facebook bayonet collecting groups.

He is currently a director of the Society of American Bayonet Collectors (SABC) and is a frequent contributor to the SABC Journal.

In 2006, Ralph created the worldbayonets.com website in order to give back to the collecting community and to inspire others to take up the bayonet collecting hobby. His site is a free, non-commercial, community education reference. It serves as a resource for collectors, curators, scholars, and anyone needing to identify a found bayonet. In its 20th year, worldbayonets.com has grown into a leading online bayonet reference with over 9 million visits since its founding.

In 2012, Ralph appeared on the popular Arts and Entertainment Network (A&E) television series, Storage Wars, where he conducted a bayonet appraisal. Demonstrating the adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, when the Simpsons’ television series did a satire of Storage Wars the following year, they included a bayonet appraisal in their episode.

Ralph has provided consultation and research assistance to authors of bayonet and firearms books, including Gary Cunningham. In addition, he has assisted staff at museums in the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia.

Ralph has identified bayonets for hundreds of people in the general public. It was others’ giving of their knowledge and time that caused him to be bitten by the “bayonet bug.” So, he continues paying it forward.

His collection includes bayonets and related items from some 68 countries, with all types of bayonets represented. His reference library of over 250 volumes includes more than 130 books on edged weapons. In addition to Ralph’s writings, bayonets and scabbards in the Cobb Collection are featured in many other published reference books and articles.

Ralph retired in 2017, after a 32-year career in state and local government, mostly in health care administration. He lives with his wife, Beth, in Texas.