Polish AK47 Bayonet & Scabbard Variations

[Mr. B.]

Polish AK47 bayonets and scabbards are some of the easiest to identify. The Polish manufactured bayonets are arsenal and series marked on the cross guard and serial numbered on the bottom of the hilt. The scabbards are unmarked, but unique in style and manufacture. They are one smooth piece extrusion formed on a mandrel and have no seams, flanges, welds or drain holes. The have a small verticle bar with two small rings spot welded on the back to attach the leather hanger. I will picture the scabbards first as the are unchanged from the first to the last production. They vary only in finish, blued, phosphate, or painted. I also have a blued one that has wire brushed or rough sanded before bluing or re-bluing to give a non reflective surface. The tension spring is also of different design from other countries. Mike

[Mr. B.]

Poland began production of the AK47 bayonet and scabbard in 1956. These first bayonets were a typical pattern. They had stamped markings on the left side of the cross guard including an oval containing an "11", (Radom Arsenal), over "1957". They also had serial numbers on the bottom of hilt similar to the later production. I don't have one of these, so no picture. Mike

[Mr. B.]

The next production series of the Polish AK47 bayonet is the same basic pattern as the 1957. The left side of the cross guard still has the "oval 11" arsenal mark, but the year "1958" has been moved to the right side of the pommel. There are two different series of the 1958 bayonet. One has an "A" prefix serial number on the bottom of the hilt the other has a "Z" prefix. These 1958 pattern bayonets and scabbards come in a variety of finishes including smooth blued, scratched blue (non-reflective), painted and phosphate. Also note the different hangers, sewn vs riveted, different embossing and colors. I don't know what if anything the differences mean and just try display a variety of them. Mike

[Mr. B.]

The final pattern of the Polish AK47 bayonet and scabbard is the 1970 pattern. these are basically the same as the previous ones. This time the "oval 11" has been moved to the right side of the cross guard and the "1970" is on the left. The serial numbers on the bottom of the hilt have 4-5 numbers and no letters. Again a variety of finishes including, blued, painted and phosphate. Shown below are a phosphate and a non reflective black painted one. Mike

[Mr. B.]

This is an unusual bayonet that I believe to be Polish issued but may not be Polish made. It came with a standard Polish scabbard and hanger and was with a lot of other Polish bayonets. It has no markings other than a serial number, "K" and 5 numbers, in the Polish position on the bottom of the hilt. Note that the dies used to stamp the numbers were too large and caused small chips in the grips. The grip panels themselves appear to be similar to the Polish ones. The final exterior machining on the cross guard and pommel is rougher than the normal smooth Polish ones. Whether this bayonet was supplied by another country, (i.e. Bulgaria?), as a completed item or parts is unknown. Also unknown is if it was pre-Polish production or to supplement Polish production. I have seen pictures of a similar bayonet with the Russian Izhevsk mark on the cross guard of a Polish bayonet as well. Mike

[Trombi]

Mike I think You have polish bayonet from Bulgaria. Here are pictures of serial numbers from polish bayonets came from Bulgaria. Pictures do not belong to me.

[Mr. B.]

I agree! That is what I was thinking when I examined it. Thanks for helping confirm it. Mike

[modellkm87]

Here are two 1957's that I have. I had several of each of these, but I think some folks on this forum ended up with my extras.

[Brian]

Damn Roger, there you go making us jealous. Still need a 1957.
Is that P089? Odd number

[Mr. B.]

I would also like to have a 1957, have been trying to find one for years. I passed on one about 15-20 years ago when there were a lot of Polish AK47 bayonets on the market. Gun show dealer had a mixed box, wanted $50.. I didn't realize the '57s were that rare, was more interested in an original hanger which was rare at the time.

Mike

[MDIvie]

Guys, I need to look at my Polish AK Bayonet books (or one of you can do it) to confirm, but I believe the P serial number is from a prototype batch and the A serial number is for a full issue piece. My 1957 is an A serial number - A 00025 and came in a scabbard with a dark brown hanger.

[Mr. B.]

Here are some better pictures of the three finishes found on the 1970 version of the Polish AK47 bayonets and scabbards. They are from top to bottom and left to right: Blued - Phosphate - Painted Black. These same finishes are found on the 1958 series bayonets as well. Mike

[Dragur2791]

Beautiful examples!!

Which of the Polish ak47 bayonets are said to be the most rare?

Here is the one i got in my collection. A 1970 example.

[MDIvie]

My take on rarity is as follows:

P prefix 1957 rarest
A prefix 1957 rare
A prefix 1970 scarce
A prefix 1958 common

As to where non-Polish produced bayonets issued in Polish scabbards come in I would say maybe between the two 1957 variations or between the A prefix 1957 and the A prefix 1970. Russian marked maybe a little more rare than ones that were made in Bulgaria.
I am open for debate on these assessments.

MDI

[Mr. B.]

I agree as far as the list goes. What about the Z prefix 1958? I have never seen a letter code 1970. My phosphate one has what appears to 4 numbers, the painted one 5 numbers and blued one has no serial numbers. The 1970 numbers are in a different location than the 1958 ones. See the pictures of my 1970s and 1958 Z in the thread above. Mike

[MDIvie]

You are right Mike. 1970's do not have the A prefix.

My adjusted take on rarity is as follows:

P prefix 1957 rarest
A prefix 1957 rare
Z Prefix 1958 rare
1970 scarce
A prefix 1958 common

s to where non-Polish produced bayonets issued in Polish scabbards come in I would say maybe between the two 1957 variations or between the A prefix 1957 and the A prefix 1970. Russian marked maybe a little more rare than ones that were made in Bulgaria.
I am open for debate on these assessments.

[Mr. B.]

I wouldn't even want to guess which finish, (Bluing, Phosphate, or Paint), is rarest on any of the 1958s or 1970s. I would guess the one(s) that a collector doesn't have would be the rarest one(s). I do not have a 1957. They appear to be blued in pictures, is this correct and the only finish found? The finishes seem to be random on the 1958s. On the 1970s, the earliest ones seem to be blued, (old style sewn hanger) the phosphate came next, (low 4 digit number and later style riveted hanger. The black painted one was last produced, (5 digit number and riveted hanger). I have found references that document that the old style sewn hangers were used when production was resumed with the 1970 version. When existing supplies of the sewn ones were exhausted the newly designed and approve ones with rivets were used. Therefor it is correct for a sewn hanger to be on a 1970, but the riveted ones should only be considered original on a 1970. Riveted one on a 1957 or 1958 would be as a replacement. Just had a thought, is it possible that the different finishes on the bayonets could be from rework/refinishing? Hard to explain as my 1970s are in like New condition. Mike

[Mr. B.]

Here is a different "finish" on one of my Polish AK47s. I am not sure if this is an official or field application. The entire exposed metal on the bayonet hilt and scabbard appear to have been rough sanded or wire brushed before being reblued. This leaves a rough non-relective textured appearance which reduces glare. I have seen this finish on several others so it does not seem to be a one off type of thing. Does anyone have any information about this type of finish? Mike

[Dange]

Saw this earlier today and wanted to run this by the group. This is the first time I have seen a green bakelite 1970 bayonet. Has anyone seen these before? Were there any other countries that made green grips for the 6X2 style bayonets and this could be a replacement?

eBay Listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/145715769055

Wayback Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20240411134 ... 5715769055

[Mr. B.]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your very interesting post! I have said, “always something new to learn”, and this is proof. To my knowledge no one has ever mentioned the “Green” grips. No, I have not seen this green on any other countries AK47 6X2 bayonets. I did not even notice it on one in my collection. Mine is also a Polish 1970 variation. You can see more pictures of it at the beginning of this heading.
I have done a lot of research on Polish AK bayonets and missed the green grips. The 1970 version was an abnormality in there usual production. The original VZ58 rifles and bayonets were long out of production by 1970. The rifles were still in use and being recycled but they ran out of bayonets to issue with them. The 1970 were made up with a combination of old left over and new parts. These seemed to have been made by several different suppliers. They can be found in three different metal finishes, painted, blued and posphate and no consistent markings / numbering. It appears most of us assumed they used the same grips as the old 1957/58 series. My best guess is that they ran out of the old brown grips and ordered new ones as needed without attention to color.
I’ll try posting this find in various places and see what others have to say, Mike

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