Help ID british commando knife

[fastprofessor]

I bought this Sheffield commando knife at a flea market for $10. As you can tell it is in rather poor condition=pommel is broken off, numerous scratches, no sheath. Anyway I bought it on a whim because I noticed that it was different from the other sheffield commando knives that I have seen because it has a curved hilt instead of a straight one. There are no markings other than the Sheffield England stamp on the hilt. Does anyone know approximately when this knife would have been produced?

[fastprofessor]

I also just noticed a very faint "2" on the handle by the hilt.

[Deltaten]

JUst a S.W.A.G. ; but "Fairbairn/Sykes" popped into my noggin...possibly Mod. 2?

HTH,
Paul

[yovinny]

Is the handle blackened brass, or some other metal ?

The first & second patern F/S knives had knurled handles.
The first patern also had a square blade shank (the sharpened blade didnt go completely to the guard) and had an "S" shaped guard.
The third patern had the grooved handle to match your's, but has a strait guard.
How does the guard fit the handle and blade ?? Any chance the guard could have been bent into that shape by a user ??
There are literally hundred's of different variation's of these knives, made over the course of the last 60+ years.
Anyway, it's a F/S third patern style knife, but I dont know enough to say much more than that.

Cheers, YOOO VINNY

[fastprofessor]

Originally posted by yovinny
Is the handle blackened brass, or some other metal ?

The handle appears to be some sort of a brass alloy mix


How does the guard fit the handle and blade ?? [/QUOTE]

The guard has arectangular hole in it and is just held up against the blade shank by the handle.


Any chance the guard could have been bent into that shape by a user ??[/QUOTE]

The thought had occurred to me, but I don't see any markings on the guard to suggest that it was altered in such a way. Of course if the person was careful there probably wouldn't be any marks.

Any idea as to its value? Did I pay $10 too much for it :uhoh:

[yovinny]

IIRC, a brass handle is a good thing, as most of the knockoff's use pot metal.

I'm sorry, I cant really say more, I've told you all I know. I never really thought much about the F/S and dont believe I've ever owned one, they always seemed to delicate to me. My uncle had quite a few and collected them for years, so a tiny bit of knowledge about them rubbed off, but that's about it.

I'm sure you cant go far wrong for $10. :wink: even with the broken off pommel. But I dont have a clue as to the prices on most of this stuff today, I've been away from it for too long.

You can try the military forum, inside the general forum, at knifeforums.com
There are a few very knowledgeable people who check in there, that might be more help.

Cheers, YOOO VINNY

[hardrada]

In the Wilkinson sword company websites faq, they had this Q&A that might helpout.


Q21. Can I find out more about my old Fairbairn Sykes Knife?
A21. Since the design of the First Pattern F-S knife in 1940, Wilkinson Sword Ltd has manufactured thousands of F-S Knives with many variations to the pattern, etching designs and method of manufacture so it is difficult to provide information on your F-S knife.

There are several books available, two of which are "British and Commonwealth Military Knives" by Ron Flook ISBN 1-58310-986-2, published 1999 and "Fighting Knives-An Illustrated Guide to Fighting Knives and Military Survival Weapons of the World" by Frederick J Stephens (No ISDN number available), published 1980.


I have a F-S commando knive I got from my father that has the Knurled brass grip and straight quillion.
Good luck with the hunt.

[fastprofessor]

Thanks for the suggestions Hardrada. I'm always lookin for new books.

[hardrada]

Fastprofessor:
website for you:
www.handtothand22.freehomepage.com
look fot the following:

http://w1.314 telia/~u31434620/index_g.htm
"swedish site on WWII weapons, including a detailed look at the F/S knife."

Fortunately, they do have an English language version of the site.

[fastprofessor]

Cool website. Thanks.

[Karsten]

I have two of these very close to what you discribe. One has a Brass handle and is stamped Sheffield England with the Arrowhead (the Arrowhead is the Broadarrow Proof Stamp). These were supposed to have made in Sheffield England then sent to India for some reason. It also has a slight curve in the hilt, I did this to get it to tighten up after having the blade sharpened.

The other is certainly a knock off made by Cooper Knives of Sheffield England with a pot metal handle, slightly thicker hilt and wider blade.

Not putting much salt into the story about being from India other than possibly assembled there I am sure they are both aftermarket repo's that sale for about $35.00 with new brass tipped leather sheath.

An genuine S/F Comando knife in poor condition will go for well over $100 with good condition with sheath for being $250-500.

I can't tell where the pommel is broken but the end of the tang is threaded and the Pommel screws on to that to hold the knife together.

Karsten