Canada, United Kingdom. Collector's Guide To The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife

Softcover, entitled "Collector's Guide to the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife" by Alan W. Locken of Winnipeg, Manitoba, published and copyrighted by the author, book production by Bunker to Bunker Books of Winnipeg, printed and bound by Hignell Printing Limited of Winnipeg in 1995, ISBN 0-9699764-0-2. As stated on the back cover: "The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, considered one of the most important knife designs of the 20th Century, is examined from a collector's point of view. A weapon, specifically designed for the commandos, was favoured and later issued to other special units including the S.A.S., S.B.S., S.O.E. and British Airborne Forces. It has seen action from the early years of World War II and as recently as "Desert Storm" by members of the S.A.S." The book begins with a Table of Contents, followed by a Quick Visual Index (Q.V.I.), a Foreword by the author and a two page Introduction. It is divided into sixteen sections: Historical Background; The Innovators (William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes); F-S Nomenclature; Assembly of the Knife; Early Issue Knives; The First Pattern F-S Knife; The Second Pattern F-S Knife; The Third Pattern F-S Knife; Beaded and Ribbed F-S Variant; Smooth Hilted of "Unribbed" F-S Variant; Wooden Hilted F-S Variant; Ribbed and Roped F-S Variant; Manufacturing, Ownership and Other War-Era Markings; Post-War F-S Style Knives; Avoiding the Fakes; Protecting Your Collection. It concludes with a Glossary and a Bibliography. The book contains 104 pages of text, along with being fully illustrated through the use of photographs and detailed diagrams, printed in black ink, on a white paper stock, the cover on a white card stock, measuring 152 mm (w) x 228 mm (h) x 7 mm (d). Near extremely fine.

Footnote: The Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife is a double-edged fighting knife resembling a dagger or poignard with a foil grip developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based on concepts which the two men initiated before the Second World War while serving on the Shanghai Municipal Police in China. The F-S fighting knife was made famous during the Second World War when issued to British Commandos, the Airborne Forces, the SAS and many other units, especially for the Normandy landings in June 1944. With its acutely tapered, sharply pointed blade, the F-S fighting knife is frequently described as a stiletto, a weapon optimized for thrusting, although the F-S knife is capable of being used to inflict slash cuts upon an opponent when its cutting edges are sharpened according to specification. The Wilkinson Sword Company made the knife with minor pommel and grip design variations. The F-S knife is strongly associated with the British commandos and the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Marine Raiders (who based their issued knife on the Fairbairn-Sykes), among other special forces/clandestine/raiding units. It features in the insignia of the British Royal Marines, the Belgian Commandos, the Dutch Commando Corps, founded in the UK during the Second World War, and the Australian 1st Commando and 2nd Commando Regiments, and the United States Army Rangers, both founded with the help of the British Commandos. Large numbers of Fairbairn Sykes knives of varying types, including some with wooden grips, were used by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division that landed on Juno Beach on "D" Day and by the men of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion who jumped and fought on the same day. A solid gold F-S fighting knife is part of the commandos' memorial at Westminster Abbey. The first batch of fifty F-S fighting knives were produced in January 1941 by Wilkinson Sword Ltd after Fairbairn and Sykes had travelled to their factory from the Special Training Centre at Lochailort in November 1940 to discuss their ideas for a fighting knife.

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