The M6 bayonet-knife was used as a bayonet on the M14 series rifle and as a hand weapon. The M7 bayonet-knife was used as a bayonet on the M16 series rifle, the M4 carbine and as a hand weapon.

The M14 was designed in 1954 and officially became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. Armed Forces from 1959 to 1964, with over 1 million units produced over that relatively short span of time.