~ Third Pattern Soviet AK-47/AKM Bayonet 6X4/6h4 (1965–1985) ~
This third pattern had 4 issues.
Bayonet 6X4 (1965–1985)
The production of 6X3 bayonets continued until the appearance of the so-called “new model” bayonet-knife, which received the index 6X4. Later, with the adoption of 5.45 mm caliber assault rifles (AK74 and AKS74), the 6X4 bayonet happily migrated from the AKM into the delivery kit for these assault rifles. The 6X4 bayonet was the most popular model of bayonet for Kalashnikov assault rifles and had a large number of varieties. This was due not only to the long period of production of bayonets of this model at two factories – Izhmash and TOZ – but also to the transition to the use of new metalworking technologies that took place during their production. During the production of 6X4, arms factories mastered the casting of steel parts, in some cases replacing the more expensive milling technology. Some of these cast parts were also introduced into the design of bayonets.
The blade of the 6X4 bayonet was shaped like the blade of its predecessor, the 6X3 bayonet, but in other respects the design was radically different. Instead of two separate handle plates, tightened with screws, a single handle appeared from the AG-4B press material, into which the blade shank was attached with glue. To securely fasten the blade in the handle, its shank was fixed with a transversely mounted fiberglass rod. On the back of the handle, a massive steel tip with a bayonet latch was installed on it. This design provided the 6X4 bayonet with better electrical insulation than the 6X3, since the metal blade and the tip of the handle were not in direct contact. The design of the mechanism for cutting through barbed wire in the connection between the bayonet and the scabbard in the 6X4 bayonet did not differ from that used in the 6X3 bayonet.
