For most of us, the name of the legendary Soviet gunsmith Mikhail Kalashnikov is associated primarily with his famous machine guns. But not everyone knows that cold weapons can also be found among his masterpieces. In this case, we are talking about a hunting knife. However, unlike the assault rifles known all over the world, practically nothing is known about the Kalashnikov blades, and their number can hardly be digested in a couple of dozen.
The history of the appearance of this curious knife is somewhat vague. There is a legend that Kalashnikov took up edged weapons at the personal order of Leonid Brezhnev. However, it is refuted by information from the book of the gunsmith himself “Kalashnikov. The trajectory of fate ”. Although in fairness it should be noted that the future secretary general is still present there.
In 1960, the then Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Leonid Brezhnev, during a trip to Izhevsk, decides to stop by the Izhmash arms factory. The excursion for the future secretary general is conducted personally by the head of the design bureau of the plant - Mikhail Kalashnikov. During this visit, as the engineer later recalled, Brezhnev really liked the bayonet-knife of the machine gun, which was presented to him as a gift.
After this episode, the management of the plant decided to think over the creation of souvenirs specifically for such cases. Therefore, Kalashnikov was instructed to develop a "general" folding hunting knife. The result is a curious multifunctional blade.
The main part of the knife was a removable bayonet-knife, which, after pressing a special button, was separated from the handle and stored in a metal sheath on a suspension. The handle was a typical Soviet multifunctional folding, which included two extractors 12 and 16 gauges, folding blade, awl, small hacksaw for metal, corkscrew, corkscrew, and a screwdriver.
Also, the technical characteristics of this blade have been preserved: the length of the knife with the scabbard is 250 mm, without the scabbard - 245 mm, the length of the main blade is 144 mm, the width is 30 mm, the total weight of the knife with the scabbard is 420 grams.
READ ALSO: Why during the Revolution sailors were wrapped in machine-gun belts
More authentic information about the Kalashnikov knife has not survived. So, for example, the exact number of copies produced is not known: according to Novate.ru, the numbers vary from 12 to 50 units. Accordingly, it is impossible to name a complete list of those who received the weapon as a gift. However, several names were still found. The first to receive the knife was Marshal Nikolai Voronov, who was a good friend of the gunsmith. In addition to him, it is known for sure that the Kalashnikov knives were received by the USSR Defense Ministers - Marshal Malinovsky and Marshal Grechko.
>>>>Ideas for life | NOVATE.RU<<<
Today, there are serious discussions about the characteristics and functionality of the Kalashnikov knife. So, experts indicate the choice of metal sheaths as the disadvantages of weapons, which negatively affect on the quality of the sharpening of the blade, and also make rather loud sounds, which is not an advantage for hunting knives. However, the rarity and small number of copies make it attractive to weapon collectors.
Continuing the topic: The legend of the Soviet mercury knife: what is the secret of the weapon
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/181020/56426/