Bulgarian AKM 6X4 Type II Inspection & Acceptance Marks

[Mr. B.]

The Bulgarian AKM 6X4 Type II bayonets and scabbards display simple and consistent hand stamped paint or ink markings. These can be from manufacturing and assembly inspection or from military acceptance. I believe the white paint oval OTK and possibly the "K" are military acceptance marks similar to their Russian counterparts. The early scabbards with the flush ground welds on the cutter plate are found with a white "K" on the cutter plate stop and a separate OTK on the lower scabbard body. On later versions the was simplified to just the OTK on the cutter plate stop. Note the two later versions pictured have the hand etched matching numbers on the cutter plate. This is unusual and similar to numbering found on some Yugoslavian akm scabbards. Mike

[Mr. B.]

All the AKM Type II scabbards also have black ink marking that seem to wear away easily. There is a large Cyrillic De (looks like "A"?) on the lower front of the scabbard body. I believe this is the final inspection mark of the scabbard molding process. This mark is in the same area as the scabbard numbers and may be partially wiped away during numbering. The scabbards also have a black "E" on the upper front indicating that it passed the electrical resistance test. Mike

[Mr. B.]

The AKM type II bayonets have few stamped marking. The most consistent is the black "E" on top of the grip behind the muzzle ring. This indicates it has passed the electrical conduction test. There also appears to be a white "K" stamped on top of the muzzle ring. The is evidence of this on most samples but is often wore away. This could be from a mounting test. There is also a undeciphered stamping on the right side of the grip that I believe may be a military acceptance stamp. It is white on the early bayonets and black on later ones. Again this mark is often smudged and worn away. Note the evidence of white marking on the top of the muzzle rings in the first picture Mike

[Dragur2791]

Great insight! Thanks for illustraiting the details Mike