104-C-176 East German AK Bayonet with Scabbard

The Russians opted for a bayonet. The AK47 bayonet hilt borrows heavily from the Swedish M1914 bayonet, another example where the bayonet was added as an afterthought. Both the AK47 bayonet and scabbard were patterned after Russia’s first knife bayonet, the M1940 bayonet used with the 7.62 mm Tokarev SVT–40 self–loading rifle. Although adequate, the dual muzzle-ring arrangement made the AK47 bayonet awkward, at best, for any other use. This was copied by East Germany amongst others.