Jump to content

Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knives.


Jack's Son
 Share

Recommended Posts

This is a nice thread and a very nice selection of F-S knives. Thanks!

 

I am not sure what you mean when you say they were to ornate for the job at hand. The knives you show with 'engraving' are Wilkinson made F-S knives and that was their makers mark. Several companies produced these knives during WWII and after. The WWII Wilkinson blades were certainly used in combat during the war.

 

Roy Shadbolt has an excellent site on these knives and he is documenting engraved blades.

 

Here is the link to his site;

 

http://wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinson...n.com/Home.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a nice thread and a very nice selection of F-S knives. Thanks!

 

Roy Shadbolt has an excellent site on these knives and he is documenting engraved blades.

 

Here is the link to his site;

 

http://wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinson...n.com/Home.html

 

Agree! :thumbsup: Thanks, JS! I will have to take pictures of some of the ones in my collection and add them to your post, as you asked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got da Penny

Thank You for this thread. Still looking to own my first one. :D

 

 

I see that you missed the "Rings & Beads" version ..... personally one of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

post-633-1335008524.jpg

 

 

Adding to JS's great thread, check out this LINK for MORE info and PATTERN breakdown.

 

 

FS Fighting Knife

 

 

Carey

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A very interesting and informative thread JS...and a fine collection of blades you have there! :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree! :thumbsup: Thanks, JS! I will have to take pictures of some of the ones in my collection and add them to your post, as you asked.

Please do GB! :thumbsup: There are so many variants, I only covered the ones in my collocation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a nice thread and a very nice selection of F-S knives. Thanks!

 

I am not sure what you mean when you say they were to ornate for the job at hand. The knives you show with 'engraving' are Wilkinson made F-S knives and that was their makers mark...... The WWII Wilkinson blades were certainly used in combat during the war.

I understand your point, but please allow me a bit of 'poetic license' here. The knives are very nicely done indeed, and I have no boubt the they were capable to performing the task at hand. I was just being a bit 'flowery' in thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JS...what are the two small leather tabs on the scabbards for? I assume to attach them to something...but what? :think:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Carey,

Thank you for adding the picture of the beaded handle style. I didn't omit them on purpose, I just haven't added one to my collection yet! :lol:

I hope other members will add some of theirs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JS...what are the two small leather tabs on the scabbards for? I assume to attach them to something...but what? :think:

The British camandos worked in plain cloths, or "quiet" field gear, and did not always have belts from which to attach the scabbard. The doctrine of the camandos was stealth and surprise, thus the tabs were sewn onto the scabbard so the knife could be concealed by sewing it in clothing, pack, or blanket, always at the ready, yet unseen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The British camandos worked in plain cloths, or "quiet" field gear, and did not always have belts from which to attach the scabbard. The doctrine of the camandos was stealth and surprise, thus the tabs were sewn onto the scabbard so the knife could be concealed by sewing it in clothing, pack, or blanket, always at the ready, yet unseen.

 

 

Right...got it. Thanks JS! :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got da Penny
I was just being a bit 'flowery' in thought

 

I would be too, if owned what you have .... :lol:

 

also, i didnt know these were in your collection ... "Doh" !!

 

CS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a very informative thread. Thank you for posting it.

Dick

 

+1, a very informative thread indeed.

 

Here is my daughter Alex's commando knife from her collection -

 

standfront.jpg

 

AlexandherF-SStiletto.jpg

 

And here is a Marine Corps Raider stiletto from my collection -

 

compositewithoveseasUSMCcapandmanual.jpg

 

Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, for the benefit of a non-blade man like me, what's the thinking behind that weird "flap-jack turner" scabbard? :think:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, for the benefit of a non-blade man like me, what's the thinking behind that weird "flap-jack turner" scabbard? :think:

One answer comes from the CIA site quoted below. It is fairly benign, no spy drama here! :lol:

"The knives were issued with an unusual “pancake flapper” sheath with an O-ring to hold the knife in place. The slots in the “pancake flapper” made it easy for belts of different widths to be woven through the sheath. At the time, Landers, Frary and Clark were the largest producers of kitchen utensils in America. Apparently the same molds the company used to make its pancake flappers were also used to make the sheath for the Fairbairn-Sykes OSS Stiletto".*

 

 

*https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/fairbairn-sykes-oss-stiletto.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One answer comes from the CIA site quoted below. It is fairly benign, no spy drama here! :lol:

"The knives were issued with an unusual “pancake flapper” sheath with an O-ring to hold the knife in place. The slots in the “pancake flapper” made it easy for belts of different widths to be woven through the sheath. At the time, Landers, Frary and Clark were the largest producers of kitchen utensils in America. Apparently the same molds the company used to make its pancake flappers were also used to make the sheath for the Fairbairn-Sykes OSS Stiletto".*

*https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/fairbairn-sykes-oss-stiletto.html

 

So...a dual purpose scabbard? It carries the blade, then, when you hunker down for the night you can rustle up some pancakes?! American ingenuity par excellence! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One answer comes from the CIA site quoted below. It is fairly benign, no spy drama here! :lol:

"The knives were issued with an unusual “pancake flapper” sheath with an O-ring to hold the knife in place. The slots in the “pancake flapper” made it easy for belts of different widths to be woven through the sheath. At the time, Landers, Frary and Clark were the largest producers of kitchen utensils in America. Apparently the same molds the company used to make its pancake flappers were also used to make the sheath for the Fairbairn-Sykes OSS Stiletto".*

*https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/fairbairn-sykes-oss-stiletto.html

 

 

Wow, what a fascinating piece of information/trivia. I knew about the versatility of allowing different sized belts to be threaded through the top of the scabbard, but I did not know the pancake flapper appearance was due to the fact a pancake flapper mold was used to make them :rolleyes: :thumbsup:.

 

Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, what a fascinating piece of information/trivia. I knew about the versatility of allowing different sized belts to be threaded through the top of the scabbard, but I did not know the pancake flapper appearance was due to the fact a pancake flapper mold was used to make them :rolleyes: :thumbsup:.

Tim

Tim,

I was hoping to make this thread 'informational', but I never anticipated it would become "THIS" informational! :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

blitzkrieg gsd

Nice thread full of good info thanks for posting it. My dad has had two in mint condition since i was a kid but i dont think he has scabards for either. They must be later models cause they dont have the scroll work on them that i remember. Were they being made all threw ww2 and even after? How about during Nam were they still being made then? I ask because dad was a Nam era Marine and i think he was looking for the perfect fighting knife to carry. His knife collection has many Nam era fighting knives including two of these. So im wondering if they are models that were made in the 60s and thats why the condition is so good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

........So im wondering if they are models that were made in the 60s and thats why the condition is so good.

F-S knives were still in use by the US Army special forces during the Vietnam war. In fact, the knife is still issued in several Armies of the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My thanks to everyone for all the positive comments. I hope the thread continues to develop as more members add pieces from their collections.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...