Quiet

[Brian]

Quiet lately. Is everyone hibernating?
There must be some new acquisitions out there? Bought a collection last week, most of which I have, but will be selling off the rest locally. Nothing fantastic, but did have a black and orange Chinese AKM (orange with the brass pin and star screw) and a few others.
Overseas prices continue to climb.
Had a chance to pull my collection out and lay it on the bed. Seems I need a bigger bed.
Pride of place remains the NR Scout knife, Russian trial/early 6X5/Proto bayonet and the Romy Type II's. Also the R4 bayonets, of which I picked up one with this collection.
Main ones I need are Russian pebble handle, North Korean early AK47's and transitionals, Tabuks, Valmet no maker mark and a few others.
Let's get some discussion going here...

Brian

[MDIvie]

I have a non-serial numbered Tabuk I might be talked out of.

[Mr. B.]

Not actually hibernating, but away from home on the road for the month of June. Will have things to add when I return.

Enjoyed seeing your collection Brian, lots of very nice items there. I would to be fun to see detailed pictures and descriptions of individual items by country, so we could all compare and note similarities and differences. Mike

[FirearmFrank]

wow Brian great collection! I actually forgot the web address to the forum i picked up a few new goodies.

2 Blue Egyptian Maadi Bayonet 1 with Leather Frog
1 Double Stamped Tula Bayonet
1 Double Stamped Izzy Bayonet
3 different Romanian Nylon Frogs 1 Solid Brown Nylon Frog, Green with Tan Leather, Green with Red Leather
1 Leather Romanian Frog marked 1970
1 Super Orange Bulgarian Bayonet

Also picked up a Romanian AK Parts Kit

[pwcosol]

Well, it seems by the first part of June, things begin to slow down somewhat in the collecting field (least that is typical for the USA). Kids are out of school, summer vacations and activities planned...particularly in areas of the country where they have longer and more severe winters. This year the weather has been quite bad so far as storms and rain are concerned in the eastern part of the nation.

As for myself, I live in the southwest, where high temperatures and fires have been a recent issue. Today we got the first of the monsoon rains, with more to come in the next few days...a welcome relief! This has not prevented me from keeping an eye peeled for AK bayonets, with my most recent acquisition arriving just last week. It is now my #1 AK bayonet: Soviet 6H5 first pattern/"Trials" model. Condition is as new with matched serial numbers. Now I need to track down a Finnish M62...something I have put off for awhile. I just don't care to put out $250.00 for one (had three a few years back and just prior to getting into the AK bayonet field, and sold them for one-third of that). Think I might know where one is which can be had reasonably, so am going to work on that. Otherwise, I have been picking up a lot of miscellaneous field gear, weapons parts/accessories, ammo, etc. at my local swapmeet.

[MDIvie]

Does you 6x5 trials bayonet have the correct hanger with no D-ring?

[pwcosol]

Strangely, the hanger I received with the bayonet is equally unusual. I was informed it is a early variant for the Russian 6x3 (see last 3 photos). Since the first-pattern 6x5s have been knocking around for over a quarter of a century, I guess just about any suspension type might now be encountered on one. In examining the suspension you mentioned (from photos I have found online & posted below), it looks like the typical, later one of brown, pebble-grain leather. It appears the metal clip used to rivet the belt loop and cross-strap together, had two rectangular holes punched out on three sides (L, R. & upper), leaving two flaps. My guess is one flap was removed and the other rolled down to form a rounded surface for the suspension clip to hinge upon (unless both flaps remained intact and one was rolled down over the other). Not having physically examined this hanger, and with the hanger clip obscuring this area, I am unsure exactly what was done. Since this hanger was apparently made in limited numbers, the elimination of the D-ring proved problematical. Perhaps this was attributable to less flexibility in the design and/or the riveted metal clip coming into too close a proximity to the bayonet.

[Brian]

Your hanger is the same as the one on mine.
I hear there were about 10 of these trials bayonets that just came out of Russia, and these are the source of Martin's, mine, yours probably and the ones on eBay? Came via Latvia from Russia?
Not sure, hopefully there were only 10 and not hundreds. Spoke to someone in Russia who said they come up for sale occasionally. Price he quoted was very fair, so will advise if he ever comes up with any. Also the highlight of my collection aside from the NR knife.
Now to find those pebble grip ones...

[pwcosol]

Thanks Brian for LMK about the suspension on your first pattern 6X5. Yes, mine came from Latvia via Ebay. The mold number is 1-1 on the bayonet & 1-2 on the matching scabbard. I do not know what the production threshold is for number of components before a mold becomes worn out. I also suspect, like with the somewhat intricate design of the first pattern scabbard, any weaknesses or potential defects might be revealed in the initial run of components. So, a new, improved mold redressing those concerns would likely introduced as soon as possible.

As for the number and availability of the first pattern 6x5s...well, if one looks back on what many of these Soviet and Warsaw Pact nation AK bayonets once were valued at in the 1980s, and ten years later after the fall of the Iron Curtain, only rare exceptions retained anything close to their earlier values. That being said, the first pattern 6x5s have had 25+ years of exposure and possible attrition. Also, considering the size of the former CCCP, quantities could have been scattered throughout the Soviet Union...then being a huge geographic domain of 22,402,200 Sq KM (roughly one-sixth of the earth's land surface). I doubt we will ever see even the "tip of the iceberg" so far as Soviet bayonets are concerned, and with Putin at the helm, seems likely these bayonets will remain relatively scarce. However, the financial incentive for enterprising people in positions where such treasures might be liberated and make it westward, is perhaps the number one factor in why the few that have turned up have done so.