USMC Stiletto:
Made in Camillus, NY by Camillus Cutlery, the Marine Corps stiletto had its proponents and detractors. Many servicemen found it to be too fragile for their common tasks. Those mundane tasks were more likely to be their daily fare as opposed to slitting throats. Not all of the men were properly trained in its use and typically preferred the more rugged and ubiquitous KaBar fighting knife over the thin bladed stiletto. The approximately seven inch blade is very similar in profie to the P-3 F~S.

The USMC Stilletto's F~S parentage is quite obvious but its construction included a few major design and materials flaws not common to the F~S. Primary among these is the thin blade which tended to snap off, as you will note in one of the knives shown here. This wreck of a knife (Below) also has had the ends of the guard broken off. The handle material is an alloy which tended to continues to age harden, making it brittle. The handle shape is excellent and cast directly onto the tang with an integral guard, eliminating the need for a top nut and expediting production. The handle has cast-in checkering.  Brass was a strategic metal so it was not used. The alloy of the P-3 F~S handles, by comparison, is soft, and remains so even today. The blades of these knives are unmarked. The top one has remnants of an Olive drab green paint near the guard. The bottom knife is fitted into a metal German sheath.

There were two versions of the Stiletto issued, the US Marine Corps version with the "USMC" monogram etched into a scroll on the blade, and the unmarked Canadian version.

The M-6 sheath (on the OSS Stiletto column to the right) was commonly used for these knives, M-3 trench knives, and some V-42 stilettos. The reproduction sheath (top photo) is equipped with the GI style metal hanger allowing it to be attached to the pistol web-belt of the era. The sheath with the OSS stiletto looks to have once been one of the very long V-42 sheaths, or one that has had the metal hanger cut off. Some of the sheaths had a metal plate rivetted to the bottom  to prevent the blade from piercing the sheath, and some also had metal staples at the throat to prevent the blade from cutting it during insertion. Today the M-6 sheaths are almost as valuable as the knives they housed.

OSS Stiletto:
Here is an example of a rare WW-II OSS Stiltto and its equally rare M-6 sheath. Many of these knives came with the odd-looking "pancake flapper" sheath which is quite desireable as a collector's piece but probably not as desireable for actual field use. The OSS stiletto was manufactured by Landers, Frary, and Clark in New Britain, CT.

Soft blades plagued the early OSS knives and they had to be re-heat treated. Subsequently, the following batches had their hardness tested using a Brinell tester. The instrument left a tiny punch mark about one half inch from the guard. The OSS blades are thinner and a bit shorter than the standard F~S knife. Another way to immediately identify one is by the coarse knurling on the handle which extends all the way to the guard. The handles appear to be made from a bronze material, rather than a yellow brass. This gives them a more reddish tint. The cross guard is stamped steel very similar to the F~S. They are completely sterile, devoid of any markings. The last known issue of these knives was during the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Smaller, clandestine, OSS thumb and lapel knives and "nails," "hatpins" etc. fulfilled other puposes. These weapons of last resort were often carried by SOE and other special-ops agents to aid them in escaping capture.

SOE – OSS:
The world of the SOE or OSS agent was one entirely detached from
that of the typical army trooper and therefore their weapons needs were quite different. None of the thumb daggers, hatpins, needles, nails etc, that are in my photos are original. Many of them are very accurate copies. While they might not look as intimidating as a Fairbairn Sykes, they were well suited for their purpose. The primary function was to create enough pain and distraction for the agent to either escape, retrieve their opponent’s weapon, or in some cases to terminate the enemy. Indeed, a few of them are capable of inflicting deadly injuries.

More than one person has been “iced” in gangland tradition, using
nothing more than a cheap, disposable, icepick. Essentially this is what you have with the longer SOE weapons. They could create small surface wounds by raking them across a person’s body, but their forte’ was stabbing to vital areas including the heart, kidneys, and the brain. The blades on most of these are from 3.5 to 5 inches long, long enough to reach most vital organs. Because of the very small handles they could be driven deeper than that.

Obviously the lapel daggers and thumb daggers have knife-like edges for cutting and because of their shorter length would be used more in that
fashion than for stabbing. The triangular cross-sectional blades are suitable for both styles of fighting and their design also makes them very rigid. There are many fakes on the market as well as quality reproductions. Be sure you know your source before paying a lot of money for any clandestine weapon.