​"Sheng Tung, Chi Hsi:" Uproar in the East Strike in the West.
Sun Tzu
 
Old Sun Tzu knew a thing or two about strategy. His “The Art of War” is one of the oldest texts on combat strategy and like Musashi’s famous “Book of Five Rings” has been widely used for many applications, from one-on-one combat, to corporate sales strategy.
 
This particular saying, "Sheng Tung, Chi Hsi", popped up while I was reading the late Che Guevarra’s manual on Guerilla warfare. Now Che’ is quite popular with today’s youth, many of whom have no real idea who he was. He does make for great T-shirt graphics. But I come not to praise Che’, but to bury him. Well not exactly that either.
 
Che’ (and Sun Tzu) recognized the value of deception, the art of the feint, and that is what I really want to talk about. When you are outgunned, literally or figuratively, you may find a little deception extremely valuable. A small sleight of hand can gain you vital time or distance. Misdirection and distraction are also tools of the professional fighter. When you are practicing a kata or you are doing some sparring see how you can take advantage of these tools. Where are the logical points that you can break the pattern or disrupt the form or flow to create an opening for your true attack? Mao Tse Tung in his manifesto on Guerilla war said that the three ingredients to successfully fighting an asymmetrical war were: time, space, and will. All of these men knew the art of fighting “small” wars required the creative use of deception to gain time or space.
 
For a more concrete example in knife work, thrust right then cut left. Begin an assault with a large movement and stop. Just stop! Then continue onward in the same direction or a different direction at a different speed. Change your timing and break the rhythm. Cut high then drop to a low squat and thrust. Attack straight in and rotate around your opponent’s block. There are hundreds of ways to employ deception and you should explore as many as possible. Look one way cut another. The only restriction is they must work at least ONCE. They may not work a second time because your opponent/training partner will be ready for them. Abide by Musashi’s sage advice and never try the same technique three times. When finished our new book, “When Two Tigers Fight,” will talk in depth about the art of deception and sleight of hand. In the mean time get creative but do not make a game of it. Keep an eye to the reality of mortal combat. Take a bit of advice and be wary of the opponent who is not moved by your initial feints, he may be more skilled than you have reckoned. 

Well a friend pointed out to me that my book was indeeed abused on a fellow author's website. He scored it a 1 out of 5, although he wanted to give it a zero. This male of the species says that by not calling out "fakes" where we think they are, We do damage to history. Funny he would say such a thing, considering how many times his version of history and fakes has been totally wrong. Maybe he never heard the quote; "History is lies agreed to." We all have a certain slant on history and truth, what we will condone and what we will condemn. I like to fall on the side of not being judgemental, especially when I am not 100% sure. I am of the old belief, innocent until proven guilty. Of course olde England had it the other way 'round and you had to prove your innocence. Anyway, if I have to take a position on any of this, and I really don't, it is to stand in the light, and trust what people tell me, not the dark ugliness of accusations and condemnation.

I thank all of you who bought my book and found it to your liking. It was not intended to be an academic tome on the history of "clandestine stuff"  The definition of Clandestine is; "kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit:" Many of the truths about the weapons, manufacturers, operatives and operations are protected by a 100 year secrecy act. So, come 2045 maybe we will all know more about these things. I am now 74 and can hardly wait. It is too bad that we could not have worked together, him with his access to documents and me with access to an extensive collection of the knives. But our polar opposite views on "fakes", and how to deal with that topic,  makes it unlikely that will ever happen. This is one example of a knife he declared a fake, without ever examining it. I wish I could be equally prescient. It belonged to a veteran but according to this author the seller and the daughter of the veteran, and the veteran himself were all liars because it is clearly a fake. 

I am doing the final edit on my next book on 1933 - 1941 Shanghai daggers to First pattern. Here is the preface.

I must say I was very pleased with the sales of my book on Clandestine Knives. The reviews and emails were all positive and glowing, except one. That one came, not to me, but was posted on a website I left long ago because of the acrimony and backstabbing. I knew ahead of time what sort of review this man would leave, even though I have always reviewed his books positively. He is my gadfly in life. 

I refused to sell him a copy but he slunk around untill he found a "friend" to buy him one. Oh I knew eventually he would get a copy. Although he swore he would not leave me a bad review on his website. He chose to do so on this other site, where he is known for being the caped crusader, ferreting out "fakes". He lost no time bad mouthing my book, "said don't waste your money", so I was not terribly disappointed. Oddly enough most of the knives he decried as fakes were purchased from a dealer he calls friend. Most of his miserable life is spent slandering other dealers and collectors and puffing out his pigeon chest, I suppose..

No, I am not going to say who he is. He comes to this site regularly, looking for errors or fakes. I will list instead the people whom he has slandered, all good men and true.

• William Windrum:  Army veteran, Author /collector who helped him get noticed in the US market.
• Peter Mason: Captain in the SAS and collector/dealer of WW-II knives and spy paraphernalia.
• Clive MacPherson: Curator at the CMSM museum in Maldon, UK
• Herb Woodend: Curator of the museum at Enfield Small Arms
• All of the owners of Metford-Fairbairn knives and First Patterns w/3" guards.
• Even questioning the veracity of first person accounts of WW-II veterans and their heirs.
• Tried to elicit the name of an anonymouce source by using a fake name

There are many others who prefer I not use their names anywhere, lest he might read it and further annoy them. All I can say is I hope the ghosts of these great men who have passed visit him often and at all hours of the night. He has set himself on a pedestal by "standing on the shoulders of giants." And he wondered, very innocently, why I would accuse him of acting this way. Friends, a snake may shed its skin, but its still a snake.

When I got frustrated one of my sources advised me: "Stick to your guns, ignore _______. Your website is higher rated on Google than his. More people read your opinions than his. More people will read Leroy Thompson’s book than his. The prick is jealous.”  

Wow it has been a chore getting this blog to open. I am still working on volume II covering 1933-1941 roughly. It is about 90% finished and I hope to have it ready for the printers in January, 2023. It is right around 210 pages. I have decided on all volumes to generically cover the different patterns and then focus on the rarer models in my collection. This will be the same for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd patterns. Many of these are one-of-a-kiind or small batch productions. I have already started lining up material for Volume III which is the 2nd & 3rd pattern along with some variants. I hope to keep each volume at about 200 pages to hold the cost down. It is the full color photoos which drive the price up but I want to keep this format. I know some people have said they read the first book cover to cover but most people are more inclined to browse the text but return over and over to the pictures. 

This second volume also contains some pages dedicated to the new generation of F-S makers, people like Paul MacDonald, Harry Huyssen, Travis Evans, John Hamilton, Peter Parkinson and others you have seen featured in the pages of this website. The real value in the text is the quotes from other experts in the field, curators, armorers, and people from the past. Out of the chaos of Shanghai came one of the most iconic fighting knives the world has ever seen. How did it end up the way it is? Who were the persons responsible for its final shape? Why did the finished version not match the Shanghai Dagger? These were questions I always had and that I have set out to find answers for. Come along for the ride. 

Hello everyone. I am still being poked and prodded by doctors and totally fed up with appointments. In the mean time I am working diligently on converting my next volume into a better format. It is going to be on the subject of Shangahi daggers, X-daggers, semi-converted bayonets, and first pattern knives. It is controversial, as I challenge the experts modern version of events leading up to the meeting between John Wilkinson-Latham and W.E. Fairbairn.  There will be more text, but still lots of great photos, some never in print before. This is the book I started writing way back in 2015! Boy how time flies. It will be the same format and lots of color photos so it won't be cheap. There are quotes from many authorities some in support of and some not in favor of my theory. That's Okay we are open to congenial dialogue.  Even if you don't agree with my conlusions I think you will find it opens up new vistas. Here are a few photos to whet your interest.

I am about out of the first printing of Clandestine Knives of WW-II and have started a list of people interested in the second edition. There will be a few new pages added that I inadvertently forgot in the 1st edition. The price shouldn't change much but who knows with inflation as it is. So if you did not get a copy of the first printing please email me and I will put you on the short list for round two. 

In an earlier posting I mused whether the HN line of Channing Watson stilleto would penetrate soft body armor. Channiig took up the challenge and here are the, almost inevitable results. Actions do speak louder than words.

AS of this posting on 9/7/22 I have about ten (10) copies left.  

So after a hiatus of many years I am back hammering the x-dagger book into shape. There is so much info it is hard to put it all in a linear fashion and nail it down. There are names involved that no one ever heard of before. There are too many sources who have passed way in the last 5 years. Had I waited any longer i might never have gotten their stories. Several of them demanded anonymity because of the trolls on the internet forums. But I have quoted them with 100% accuracy, not my own version of what they said. I had to blank out some names of persons they mentioned for delicacy sake. We are all passionate about our collections and our visions of how things came down through the past 80 years. Some of the loudest voices have been the ones that were mostly wrong.There are quite a few revelations on the Shanghai daggers and their story leading up to the X-daggers. 

First Pattern daggers are wonderful. X-daggers are breathtaking by comparison. Unless you have the opportunity to compare them side by side you cannot fully appreciate the big difference.

So far sales of my book have been refreshing. One never knows how a book on as narrow a topic as Clandestine Knives will be received. I have already shipped copies to New Zealand, Scotland, the Netherlands and France. Thank you all for your support and especially those who paid the big bucks for overseas postage. The next volume, on X-daggers and Shanghai daggers, is progresssing rapidly, since now I know the process for getting a book in print. It will be more reading and close to 200 pages long, maybe more. There will still be plenty of photos of all those fabulouus "fake" bayonet conversions in my collection and in other collections. I have written about what I see as two possible paths to the final design of the First Pattern Wilkinson. Yes there will be outcies from some people, that's Okay I accept that there are strong opinions one way or another. The only people who know the 100% actual proof are all dead. We are left to sort it out from historical truths and some lesser, but intriguing,  tales. It has been a challenge sorting it all out. I think those of you who own Metford-Fairbairns, like this beautiful example, will be happy.