Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
Moderator: Mr. B.
Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
I recently acquired this Egyptian AKM 6X4 Type II Bayonet and Type I scabbard because of the different numbering variation. On closer examination I believe this is the absolute lowest overall quality bayonet and scabbard I have ever seen. We have all seen all sorts of damage from use and abuse, beat-up, broken, bent, corroded re-sharpened, repaired etc.. However. this one was made this way and shows little wear or use. Virtually no sign of any inspection or quality control during manufacture, assembly or finish. Functional maybe, ugly positively!
I'll start with the bayonet pommel and work my way to the point. The pommel appears to have been roughly cast with a low grade of metal with lot's of surface pitting/bubbling. The machining is crudely done and in some places appears done by hand with a coarse file. It is finished with a thin coat of black paint. The rest of the issues are pretty obvious, even the staking on the machine screws misses the mark.
I'll start with the bayonet pommel and work my way to the point. The pommel appears to have been roughly cast with a low grade of metal with lot's of surface pitting/bubbling. The machining is crudely done and in some places appears done by hand with a coarse file. It is finished with a thin coat of black paint. The rest of the issues are pretty obvious, even the staking on the machine screws misses the mark.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
More pommel pictures. Notice the too long pommel attaching screw and the too wide slot on the release button. Also the misfit and miss-aligned lock plate. However the locking assembly does function.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
The synthetic black, (actually very dark blue), plastic grip is poorly molded and appears to be shrunken on the sides and does not fit the pommel correctly. At the front the grip is tight against the crossguard on one side and there is a large gap on the other. This is not necessarily th fault of the grip, but a miss-alignment of the blade and crossguard. The grip has been roughly ground or filed to remove flash and other molding faults. The color of the plugs as well as the filling of the tang retaining pin holes is poorly finished. As usual with Egyptian bayonets the is evidence of large amounts of excess glue/epoxy used to secure the grip to the tang and fill the gaps at the pommel.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
Next is the crossguard which was made with the molds misaligned leaving a ridge around the edges. The machining is crudely done on both sides and the muzzle ring hole is drilled off center. The entire crossguard is misaligned on the blade/tang, angled to one side. This can be seen from the top and rear where the flat behind the muzzle ring covers the rear of the top of the blade.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
Here are more pictures of the problems with the crossguard. There are lot's of gaps where it fits around the blade and a gap in the front of the grip. Also notice no glue on the right side to fil the gaps at the crossguard and grip where they are tight together.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
Next comes the blade. Over all, it is more of a clip point profile then the usual bowie style blade found on most AKM 6X3 & 6X4 bayonets. The blade flats have a dull brushed finish. The main edge is roughly and irregularly vertically ground but is sharp. The false edge is circularly ground but is dull at the edge. The wire cutting edge is also coarsely ventricularly ground and is also dull at the edge. The saw teeth cuts are irregularly cut, (no two cuts the same?), and are dull at the top. The blade point is non-existent. and in different places on either side. It ends up being rounded and dull. Still it is functional as a knife, spear and wire cutter,
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
More blade pictures and a couple overall pictures. It doesn't look so bad from a distance.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
A couple more pictures of the blade saw teeth. Also pictures showing how the bayonet is out of alignment from the pommel to the point leaving the point off to the right of the rifle bore. Also a side note, the muzzle ring hole has only a slight bevel or chamfering but it's on the front. The chamfering should be on the rear making the bayonet easier to mount on the muzzle of the rifle.
- Dragur2791
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Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
Excellent illustrative information!
Thanks Mike!!
Thanks Mike!!
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
There's more, the Type I scabbard is a good match for the bayonet. As usual for Egypt, the scabbard body is made from a flattened welded seam tube. This seam leaves a noticeable ridged affect. The wire cutter plate is a stamped steel plate secured on the end of the body with a filler piece by two rivets. In this case the cutter plate is misaligned causing bulges on both sides of the scabbard body. One of the rivets was set on the welded seam causing it to split. The painted black finish is of poor quality with lot's of rough areas.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
The scabbard also had another noticeable defect. The insulator stop that is spot welded to the front side of the body is miss-placed. This bayonet and scabbard came to me with out the rubber insulator and hilt strap. I installed a spare Egyptian black rubber insulator and a too short spare hilt strap that I had on hand. When I installed the insulator it seamed too long by about 3/8th inch. I measured the insulator and it was OK. Measuring the scabbard confirmed the insulator stop was welded in place 3/8" too high. When the insulator is against the stop the top is too high. Seating the bayonet completely in the scabbard forces the insulator over the stop.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
This is the hanger that came with this bayonet and scabbard. When I received it the snap hook was reversed with it being attached to the scabbard and hooking to the hanger. I corrected this, but noticed the black painted snap hook and loop were both crudely made to start with. The leather is typical for an Egyptian hanger and to me appears to be made of pig skin. When the hanger was formed the belt loop part was left too short in the riveted sheet meta bracket and only secured with one of the two rivets. Note the appearance of the rivets.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
One last thing. The bayonet came without a hilt strap. I had one spare Egyptian I had replaced because it was made too short. It hade the glue or sealant on the loose end, but about 1-2 inches shorter than most and barely reached the crossguard hook. Also the buckle was weakly plated and had some corrosion. I thought it was only fitting to display on this bayonet.
Re: Egyptian AKM Quality Control Sample !?
Wow, Mike I thought mine was bad. This was definitely put together by a hungover retarded monkey at about 4 pm on a Friday before three day weekend. Just didn't give a sh--t.