Is there any value in folktales? How reliable is tribal knowledge? I guess like most things it depends on the source. Sometimes it all depends on our maturity, where we are on our path of discovery. For example I once believed there were only 500 first pattern knives ever made. My source was incorrect but only through time did I learn better. I also used to inspect every top nut for the magical crimp marks to ensure the knife was legitimate. Over a period of years and the purchase of many hundreds of knives I learned that there was no single style of top nut. I discovered there was no single or correct mark. Once I understood that the marks were caused by the jaws of a bench vise I knew that the positioning of the nut and the amount of force applied would indent the soft nut differently. The magic was gone, replaced by experience.

I think this learning process occurs in many spheres of our lives as we grow in knowledge. Differences in knurling or styles of crow’s feet (↑) bother me less now. I have discovered that there is no magic formula for what is a legitimate Fairbairn-Sykes of any style. Robert Wilkinson-Latham quoted Shop foreman Charlie Rose saying: “there was a war going on.” I have seen blades ground crooked, sheaths made over a ½ inch too long, handles with casting flaws, knurling that was botched, guards on upside down, a dozen varieties of top nuts, inspection stamps running off the edge of the guards or double stamped, and all sorts of anomalies. So what? This is what makes collecting interesting. What is more valuable a book of regular postage stamps or one stamp incorrectly printed? Literally hundreds of thousands of 3rd pattern knives were produced. Which is more valuable? The thousands of them with identical stamping or the oddball stamped A2, or A COY etc.

So, some of the folktales, like those about the “correct” top nut marks, or the “true” purpose of the triangle grind near the guard, are useless bits of folly. Blades got broken and replaced. This required removing the top nut.  The “mysterious” triangle grind simply tapers the blade to allow it to enter the opening in the guard. There was no magical clamp used to “draw the blades.” Wire is drawn, blades are either forged or stamped out. What is interesting is that many of the older folktales have proven true. For example the one about 1st pattern knives with 3 inch guards, Stephens had it right. The stories of commando daggers made from bayonets is also true and “WSC” stamped on certain blades is correct, Windrum had it right, (despite what other websites and forums might say). So it is erroneous to say that all folktales are untrue. It would also be incorrect to say they are all true. Only with time and familiarity, research and study, can you begin to sort the wheat from the chaff. Just do not get caught up in the minutia that obscures the bigger picture. And just because you have not seen it does not make it a fake.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it was brought to my attention there is another website out there whose webmaster, an authority on knives and the F-S in particular, has maligned my credibility. He does not name me but it is a small world when discussing Fairbairn websites. I visited there and found my website quite put down, and other authorities (dead and alive) being bad-mouthed. One in particular is condemned as an outright forger and faker. This vitriol is unbecoming and the reason why I have taken the position of not being judgmental of other’s opinions or questioning their correctness. At the age of 70 years, I have been collecting these knives probably as long as any person alive, that person included. His fascination, or obsession, with ferreting out what he considers fakes has poisoned the well of conversation. I have always respectfully credited him on this website with information he has provided, although I know behind my back he and his friends are saying rather unkind things about me and this website. That’s okay, that’s his prerogative. I shall refrain from following his lead and being baited into acting in a similar fashion.

It is my intention to give as much positive information as possible here. Yes I will make mistakes, but I am in no way profiting from purposely disseminating wrong information. My sole intent is to continue to provide an open forum for people to learn, discuss, and ask questions about the full story of the Fairbairn-Sykes knives. I believe that I have shared more openly and freely photos and information of some of the rarest F-S knives than any other website on the World Wide Web. Many times per week I assist visitors with identifying their knives and provide them with some idea of the value and rarity (or not) of the knife in question. And Yes, I try to steer them away from outright fakes. This is the way I will continue to operate, the other sites be damned with their malicious banter. The writer on the other website said you don't have to handle a knife to know its a fake. I say you don't have to be a herpetologist to know a snake. Thank you for being such loyal visitors and making this site the most visited ever on the F-S knife!

To conclude on a more positive note, here is an interesting gift to recently come into my possession. Wishing all of you a blessed and safe Thanksgiving.