I was looking on ebay for F-S knives and found one quite by accident. Well more accurately by using random selection of words to reach a broader scope than just typing "Commando Dagger or fairbairn Sykes". Sometimes you have to get very creative with your search descriptions. I have found F-S under fairbarn, fairborn, fairbain and Sikes, etc It all depends on how creative you want to get. Sometimes I use the term stiletto, of various spellings. Not every dealer is an English major or an arms expert. But this knife was also illustrated with a dark and shadowy photo. You almost needed to be able to discern the profile to know what it was.

The knife came with the original owners boy scout papers, ration card, high school grades, silk scarf, and wool navy blanket. It also included a 1927 copy of the biography of the WW-I Ace Red Baron's story and a 1940 Blue Jackets manual. So if you keep your eyes open, and your search broad enough, there are still knives out there to be found. Good luck hunting!

Hello folks. So my initial excitement with Amazon has turned to crap. I have paid over $120 in fees, had my credit card locked twice because of their billing process and I haven't sold a single book. I am going to cancel my "Seller" account and try again under an "Author's " account. But I want to see if I lose control over the quality. If I do, it is not worth it. I have also checked into selling my books on Ebay and they would charge me 15% on each book sold plus a listing fee. That means that they would take $8.25 for each book sold. I am already making a minimal profit and this would kill it for me. I think "Author on Amazon" will also charge about the same amount. Wow is this the capitalist free-market dream? Not for me it isn't. When I can sell my books direct, you save and I save.  So I am back to the drawing board trying to figure out a way to get my books to you and not get scammed. Anyone got any ideas? I never intended to make a lot of money selling books but I don't want to lose money either. In the mean time I keep working on my volume two and three. 

I have been working daily on Volume Three and I am really excited about the way it is shaping up. This is a pictorial extravaganza. As I get one knife out to photograph I find another one that should be included. I am up to over 120 pages and each page has multiple photos in color with closeup shots of stamps and etchings. The difficulty is when you have nearly 400 specimens to choose from, what ones to leave out.

This volume includes 2nd and 3rd patterns along with Fatman and Beaded and Ribbed. But the diversity of 2nd patterns boggles the mind. Its not just B-2 knives but also different grip shapes and plating. There is an array of Wilkinson blade etches, including the Beasley knives and Marshall knives. I have also included 2nd Pattern knives with field modified grips of plexiglas, aluminum and other materials. There are numerous examples of smooth-gripped knives and an explanation of why they are not "fakes." 

My aunt asked me how did I come to own so many rare knives. I told her it took almost 50 years. I spent a ton of money, a willingness to extend myself when money was tight. One time I even took out a small loan, I went to gun shows, knife shows, followed Ebay auctions from when it was in its beginning days, Became friends with other collectors and dealers of note, some of infamy. I bought knives that people could not give away, because some experts said they were fakes. Wood gripped knives could be bought for $25-35 and now dealers are asking several hundreds of dollars for them. It has been a life long journey for sure. I am pleased to be able to share with you knives that may not be on the market for another 50 or more years because my daughter will inherit the entire collection. Hopefully she will pass it on to her son. We have even talked of opening a museum. That would be great, but I don't have the funds for that. Any investors/enthusiasts out there?

So anyway, my books are your one chance to see the collection and learn what a huge variety of F-S knives exists. I wish I had such reference books available when I started collecting. I bought every book in print on F-S knives, even ones in foreign languages, even from the jerks who said my books were filled with fakes. Some books, Like Robert Buerlein's and Leroy Thompson's, are still classics. Thanks to all of you for visiting my website, whether you buy any books or not. You're welcome here.

By the way my second printing of "Clandestine Knives of WW2" is here and I have already sold three copies.

This knife is a product of Crown Sword company.

Postwar Wilkinson Sword company Second Pattern

Here is just a taste of what I am working on for Volume 3. Yes it is primarily a photo heavy book like Volume 1. There are some wonderful knives in large full color print. In addition I have inserted the details of markings and background as available. There are a dozen "Named Knives" with some biographical sketches.

I have just ordered a reprinting of my popular book on Clandestine Knives of WW-II.  It will be a couple weeks before they are ready to pick up. The bad news is my costs for printing them has gone up. BUT if you wanted a copy and missed the first printing this maybe your only chance to get a copy. I have added about 4 pages including photos of some of the best of modern makers covert knives. It is the same full size format in full color with tons of photos and 172 pages long. I just got confirmation that the price increase is real,I didn't make a mistake in the order form. Thank you Joe Biden and Bidenflation! So as they say, it is what it is. I cannot control inflation and I refuse to lower the quality of my work. I do this as a "Labor of Love" not to get rich. I am happy to share my collection with those of you who appreciate the blades carried in the war. 

​
Volume !!! is coming right along. Volume II is still with my daughter being edited. That volume has a larger percentage of text and fewer photos since it offers a new perspective on the evolution of the F-S knife from the 1930s Shanghai daggers. BUT the knives illustrated are exceptionally rare and important links in the history of the F-S knife. What do you think of this cute little Khukri? 

In my next volume there are listed and illustrated many "named Knives". These are Wilkinson Sword etched blades. If you would like to be a part of the publishing process I need help researching these names. I cannot pay you for your time but I will give you credits in the book. I know whoopeee! But if you are good at this sort of thing, have some spare time and are internet savvy it would be a big help and make the book much more interesting.

Here is the list and what little info I have:

• Col S.A. Decker (no known relation to the author)
  • Commander of a US Army Transport Depot
• Marion Del Buono, modified Second Pattern
  • No data found
• H.B. Tumin
  • Lt. Col. with Engineer Div. ETOUSA (European Theater of Operations USA)
• Col G.P. Grabfield
  • Seems to have been a medical expert pre-war and medical researcher afterwards
• Harley B. Britton
  • Ser. Number 35680341
  • b. 1912 Franklin County Ohio
  • Enlisted Dec 30 1942, served for the duration of the war plus 6 months
  • Private US Army
  • Bookkeeper and cashier, except bank cashiers pre-enlistment
• -- Sargent (no first name or initial given)
  • No data found

• Harold Anthony Brown (X-Dagger)
  • Born in 1917, in or near Providence, Rhode Island.
  • He was working in the textile trade when he enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard in 1941 for a period of one year.
  • He was inducted, became a Private First Class (PFC) and was assigned to a Field Artillery Battery.
  • He mustered out as a Corporal and died in 2002, in Providence Rhode Island.
• Harry Harding
  • No data found
• Charles Barrett
  • No data found
• R.S. Davey
  • No data found
• Billy Watson
  • ​no data
• Capt. G. Withnell
  • ​no data
• Thelma Friedman WAC
  • ​no data
• Capt. J.D. Lemay
  • ​​no data
    
• Hibby from Thelma
  • ​no data

Email me if you are interested and maybe we can work together on finding info. Thanks
​[email protected] 

Don't Panic, you didn't miss Volume 2 it is still being edited by my daughter. She's an extremely busy girl, new mother, working on our new house, and working full time so it is taking her a while.  In the mean time, I am plugging away on the third volume on Second Patterns, Third Patterns, Fatman and Beaded and Ribbed to name a few types. I thought I'd share a few page views just so you know I'm not telling stories. Its already up to about 120 pages. Like the others in our series it will be 8.5 x 11 inches, soft cover, glossy paper and lots of full color photos. Yes our nemesis has written more pages and has more details because he lives in England and has the contacts. His books are filled with small B&W photos. He says mine are filled with fakes. What a guy!

I am including photos of rare knives like the J. Clarke & Sons, J&I Marshall, McLeod Metallurgy, an aluminum P-2 possibly made by Wilkinson, Fatman knives, smooth gripped knives, and much more. Like I said all in full color. They are not cheap to print but what would be the sense in doing this with lousy photos? Ever see a 7/8ths size Fatman? You will in this book. 

There are several true stories of men, and women, who carried the knives and photos of them, like this one. 

There are even a few post-war knives which you will not find in any other book on F-S knives. A small section on relic or damaged knives and modified ones. And I will include close-ups of many of the inspection stamps and etches so you can tell real ones from fake one.

All of this takes a lot of time and any photos that I don't feel are good enough means I have to dig out the knives again and re-shoot them. Here in NY finding a sunny day for photos is harder than finding a cheap First Pattern. Things like these detailed photos are very hard to get clear images of. Many of the etchings are nearly worn away or damaged by rust. So anyway, you see I am making progress, and I would like to get two volumes in print before the end of 2024.Save up your pennies. What would be awesome is to find a wealthy patron to fund the printing of the series in hardbound format. Can you imagine? That would be about 600 + pages of full color F-S knives! I can only dream.

I received an email from a visitor wanting to know how to remove the top nut on a second pattern relic. His idea was to "restore it!" I suggested he leave it alone or sell it to me. His decision was to sell it to me. I paid him a fair price, which was a lot more than he had invested, just to keep it from being destroyed. This is not the first time I have been in this position. Please think about what you are doing before messing up an un-restorable knife. Before he emailed me, he had already used pliers or some tool to badly chew up the top nut. I am just glad he didn't snap the blade off trying to take it apart. These nuts are screwed down tight and the end of the tang is peened over to prevent them from coming loose. So, you cannot remove the nut without destroying it, or the tang, or both. 

Does this knife look like a candidate for restoration? Seriously folks. Before you do something stupid like this, just buy a new J. Nowill F-S knife or one by H.G. Long and preserve the historical value of a relic like this. The knife had obviously lain in mud or clay or something for a very long time to corrode to this extent. My only regret is that I don't have any provenance for it. Was it found in the USA or overseas? It would be nice to know. 

I am working on the third volume of my books on F-S which is focused primarily on Second and Third Pattern knives. I will illustrate this knife along with a couple other relics I have acquired in the past. For example, this is another knife the owner tried to grind the blade to improve it!

Here is one that was found on the beach at Dieppe, 50 years after the battle. Again the owner tried to remove the top nut, unsuccessfully of course. Please, Please just leave them alone and do what you can to conserve or preserve them, not butcher them. Contact me and I may make you an offer for your relic knife. 

With all of my talk about Bowies, you might be thinking I have gone over to the dark side. Its two different worlds and two different tactical approaches. The techniques are likewise totally different. I have trained with both, and I appreciate the strengths and shortcomings of each. Each one has a certain aura attached to it rising from different periods of history. The F-S is undoubtedly the iconic knife of WW-II, only paralleled perhaps by the KaBar. 

The Bowie's fame (like the Fairbairn) is also attached to a man's name, James and also his brother Rezin Bowie. The peak of its social status came in the mid to late 1800s and, unlike the Fairbairn, it was considered an accoutrement suitable for a gentleman to wear in public. Duels and quarrels were settled by flashing steel on the streets, in alleys, and wilderness alike. The extreme violence eventually led to banning the wearing of the Bowie in many states. Carrying a double-edged blade, like a Fairbairn, has been illegal in most states for many years. I have ranted about this before so I won't go into the idiocy of such laws again. 

I think this photo clearly shows the attributes of the two knife styles and illustrates the major differences in potential. Despite its broader tip, the Bowie's ability to penetrate equals that of the F-S. The wound channel created by a Bowie is massive, in comparison to the F-S. As a matter of semantics, I would classify the F-S as a killing knife, and the Bowie as more of a fighting knife. In a one on one combat which would I prefer to have? Without a doubt, the Bowie.