Fairbairn-Sykes 3rd Pattern Commando Knife by JOSEPH RODGERS

William Rodgers is a company which will forever be proudly associated with the British Commando Regiment and the iconic Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife.  Few knives have such an illustrious history. These authentic military masterpieces are made in Sheffield by our craftsmen.  The through-tang, diamond section blades are fully forged from carbon steel and the familiar ribbed handles are precision cast. An all-black, balanced and unmarked version made to NATO and British Ministry of Defence specification is available to government buying departments.

Sheffield is synonymous with steel and is the historic birthplace of knife making. In Sheffield the word ‘cutlery’ refers to ‘that which cuts’. For more than 700 years, Sheffield knives and cutlery have been created by highly skilled Sheffield craftsmen, and our company names are amongst the most famous in the industry’s history. The first reference to a Sheffield cutler dates to 1297. In the 1370s, Chaucer described a Sheffield ‘thwitel’ (a straight wooden-handled knife) on the belt of a Miller in The Reeve’s Tale.

William Rodgers is a company which will forever be proudly associated with the British Commando Regiment and the iconic Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife.  Few knives have such an illustrious history.

These authentic military masterpieces are made in Sheffield by our craftsmen.  The through-tang, diamond section blades are fully forged from carbon steel and the familiar ribbed handles are precision cast.

An all-black, balanced and unmarked version made to NATO and British Ministry of Defence specification is available to government buying departments.

William Rodgers Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife with forged carbon steel blade and ribbed handle.

All black version with “William Rodgers” markings to the cross guard.

With a leather sheath

9339039002664

History of the Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife
A historic meeting took place on 4 November 1940 when Wilkinson Sword designed the Commando Knife acting on the advice of William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes. Fairbairn and Sykes had become knife specialists working for the Shanghai Riot Police and they had returned to Britain earlier that year to train Commandos.

It is not clear why Wilkinsons were approached rather than one of the many Sheffield knife manufacturers in existence during 1940. It is true that Wilkinsons were already an important supplier to the government, making bayonets and swords, but so too were Sheffield’s knife makers. Furthermore, the great cutlers of Sheffield would have been more than capable of designing and manufacturing the F-S knife. Indeed, it is highly likely that they already made similar patterns. By way of an example, the image from Joseph Rodgers catalogue from the early 1900's shows a range of double edged daggers and dirks with blades strikingly similar in design to the F-S knife.

On 14 November 1940, The War Office placed contract 294/c/8512 with Wilkinsons for a total of 1500 Hunting Knives; a deliberately vague description to mask the true purpose of the knife. These knives are what came to be known as the First Pattern design.

First Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife (November 1940 – August 1941)
The initial batches were largely made by hand until Wilkinsons were able to set up to produce by machine. The first pattern daggers had drop-forged carbon steel blades characterised by a flat ricasso to the blade which was deep-etched with the “The F-S Fighting Knife” and “Wilkinson Sword”. The handle was best commercial brass and was knurled with a chequered pattern to aid grip. A mild steel s-shaped cross guard and a brass nut completed the knife. The mirror polished blade and nickel plated guard, grip and nut meant that the knife was of a “bright” appearance.
The knife was supplied in a leather scabbard with press-studded retaining loop and a brass chape to keep the wearer protected from the knife tip. Fairbairn himself remarked that in order to achieve a quick draw the sheath must be firmly secured, and as such the sheath was fitted with four tabs to enable it to be stitched to clothing or equipment. Wilkinson Sword is the only company known to have supplied the First Pattern dagger to The War Office.

Second Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife (August 1941 – October 1943)
As wartime demand increased, it was necessary to simplify and speed up production. Furthermore strategically important materials like brass were now in short supply. This meant that crucial changes were made to the knife design. Whilst the handle design remained the same, it was cast with a hollow core meaning that it could be made using less brass. The s-shaped guard was replaced by a simpler flat design and the flat ricasso was removed from the base of the blade, enabling a more straight forward grind which could be done by machine. The scabbard’s press-stud was replaced by an elastic retaining strap. It is important to note that as there was no official specification to cover the knife, many subtle variations from the period can be seen. In September 1942, the bright finish was replaced by the now more familiar blacked knife. The scabbard chape was also blacked to help prevent the metal from reflecting light.

A drawing of the knife and sheath was produced by Wilkinsons in October 1942, presumably to enable the Ministry of Supply to approach other manufacturers as the demand further increased with the war effort. This seems to mark the start of Sheffield’s involvement in the production of the F-S knife. John Clarke & Sons of Mowbray Street, Sheffield are a known recipient of Wilkinson’s drawing and producer of WWII-era second pattern F-S knives. Despite this, also in October 1942, Wilkinson received an order for 38,000 all black finish F-S knives from the Ministry of Supply. Unfortunately there are no surviving records which quantify John Clarke’s F-S knife output.

Third Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife (October 1943 – present day)
A full official specification for the knife would not be written until 1946, but manufacture continued at a number of companies, with more changes to the design being made as demand increased yet further, resulting in what is now known as the third pattern. Most manufacturers now favoured a fully machine ground blade such that the central grinding line ran the complete length of the blade. (More recently, the introduction of a small flat “v” shape enabled a better fit where the blade meets the guard). The chequered knurled handle was replaced by one with 27 concentric rings to aid grip, thought to be the idea of Joseph Rodgers of Sheffield. The brass handle material was replaced with a non-strategic alloy. The new handle would have been easier to cast and would have been requiring of little or no remedial work.

The current third pattern design is based on specification E/1323E which was issued on 30 November 1949 and it is covered by NATO Stock Number: 1095 99 963 2037. Specification E/1323E demands that the knife has no markings whatsoever and that it balances at particular point (1 1/32” plus or minus 1/16” from the underside of the cross guard). This balancing point however, was not as many believe, to aid the knife’s flight if used as a throwing knife; rather it is critical to enable it to be tossed from hand to hand without the user taking his eyes off his adversary.

The knife is still in use by British Commandos to this day and has been carried by countless heroes. So important and iconic has the knife become to the regiment that it even proudly appears on the Commando badge. It is inconceivable to think that the Commandos would ever enter a conflict without carrying their trusty F-S knife as their predecessors did in World War II.