RTR091112 Posted April 7, 2018 Share #1 Posted April 7, 2018 I have been looking around for an M4 bayonet and I ran across one that was manufactured by Kinfolks does anyone own one of these and what do you think of them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jw517 Posted April 7, 2018 Share #2 Posted April 7, 2018 Beautiful example of the M-4 and one of the more scarce makers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misfit 45 Posted April 7, 2018 Share #3 Posted April 7, 2018 A Kinfolks M4 is one that is sought after because it is well made and one of the smaller contracts. There are a couple of things to look for to make sure it has not been messed with. Make sure the latch plate has not been ground on. When a handle is replaced, many times they (a government or private person) will grind down the "star burst" peen to remove the latch plate. If that is the case, the latch plate will often be ground flat including the pins. Sometimes, the tang will be be welded in order the have enough length to peen. Unless they are trying to fake the repair, they do not even try to get that "starburst" shape of the original. If someone is trying to "restore" they will be careful not to damage the latch plate and simply grind away the tang part of the knife. Still the peen will look wrong. There are some are some plastic handled M4s marked "KI". Those are made in Korea, generally conceded to mean "Korean Industries", but is not known for sure. If you are looking at a WWII US M4. It will have the flaming bomb symbol on the reverse side of the cross guard. The leather handle will be leather with six grooves. Note the placement of the grooves and the shape of the handle. Kinfolks did a consistent job keeping their handles the same from one to another. Kinfolks did not use plastic spacers in their handle and during the shaping process, you can see in the picture of the flaming bomb, that they used a belt sander on the handle and as a consequence of shaping, they made lines in the leather near the guard with the edge of the belt. Kinfolks is the only M4 manufacturer that did this (that I have seen). Look for those lines, on a Kinfolks, to be sure it has an original handle. Hope this helps. Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misfit 45 Posted April 7, 2018 Share #4 Posted April 7, 2018 Here's a FAKE KI M4. Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKIPH Posted April 7, 2018 Share #5 Posted April 7, 2018 Just to add to Marv's great info. Note that Kinfolks M4s have a very narrow, almost delicate leather handle in comparison to say, Case, or any other makers. I have two. SKIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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