Engineering:6KH4 bayonet

6KH4
6Х4
6KH4; 6Х4
	A 6KH4 bayonet and its shaft
Type	Bayonet
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	Late 1960s - present
Production history
Designer	Izhmash
Manufacturer	Izhmash; Tula Arsenal
Produced	1960s - 1983

The 6KH4 bayonet (Russian: Изделие 6Х4, lit. 'Bayonet 6X4') is a bayonet produced by the Izhmash (now known as the Kalashnikov Concern).^[1]

History

The 6KH4 bayonet was adopted^[2] as a bayonet for the AK-47, AKM and the AK-74 rifles as a replacement of the 6KH3 bayonet.^[3]^[4]^[2]

Design

The 6KH4 bayonet was an improvement of the 6KH3 design.^[5]

The 6KH4 bayonet has a Bowie style (clip-point) blade with saw-teeth along the spine, and can be used as a multi-purpose survival knife and wire-cutter when combined with its steel scabbard.^[5]^[6]

The bayonet is installed by slipping the muzzle ring around the flash hider and latching the handle down on the bayonet lug under the front sight base.

The polymer grip and upper part of the 6KH4 scabbard provide insulation from the metal blade and bottom part of the metal scabbard, using a rubber insulator sleeve, to safely cut electrified wire.^[7]

Production

The Soviet Union allowed license production of the 6KH3 bayonet for Eastern Bloc countries and their AK rifles^[8]

Like the 6KH3, the Polish 6KH4 copy notably excluded the saw teeth on the blade. China produced them as the "Type 86".

Adoption

After the German reunification, there was little use of modified AKM type II knife bayonets from stocks of the former Nationale Volksarmee (National People's Army) of East Germany, for the H&K G36 rifle.

The original muzzle-ring was cut away and a new, large diameter muzzle ring welded in place. The original leather belt hanger was replaced by a complex web and plastic belt hanger designed to fit the West German load bearing equipment.^[9]