Sas Camando Knife

[john costa]

I HAD A CUSTOMER REQUEST A COPY OF A SAS BRITISH CAMANDO KNIFE. HE SAID IT WAS A DOUBLE EDGED DAGGER. DOES ANYONE HAVE A PICTURE AND ANY SUGGESTIONS ON LENGTH, BLADE MATERIAL, HANDLE MATERIAL, ECT? THANKS, john costa

[Roger Gregory]

Hi John

I wonder whether your customer means the Fairbairn-Sykes commando knife. The originals I believe had brass handles and brass guards, all blacked.

Roger

[Roger Gregory]

History of the Fairbairn-Sykes knife
http://www.bkcg.co.uk/guide/fsstory.html

A link to an expensive Wilkinson Sword version currently in production (sorry for the 'p' word)
http://www.bkcg.co.uk/products/manu/...son/ss082.html

Roger

[john costa]

ROGER, THAT LOOKS LIKE WHAT HE WANTS. WHAT THICKNESS SHOULD THE STEEL BE? I ASSUME IT SHOULD BE A LITTLE THICKER THAN NORMAL IN ORDER TO GET THE CENTER GRIND LINE TO LOOK CORRECT. john

[Sandy Morrissey]

John, my friend, if memory serves me right, go to search with the above description and there are many refereences to that knife, and its physical characteristics. It was extensively used by the British from 1941 through the 90's. Sandy

[Drummer]

Col. Applegate's book Kill or Get Killed has the blueprints in it for the Sykes-Fairbairn knife. The book is on the internet in a .pdf format, and is available for sale at the usual book stores.

The S-F knife had a brass handle that was knurled. If my memory serves, sometime in '43 or '44 the manufacturer started ribbing the handle. The knurled ones were preferred to the ribbed ones. Some of them were made blackened, some were not. I believe that the non-blackened were made in larger numbers than the blackened, but I'd have to look it up to be sure.

Here are some of the critical deminsions from Applegate's book.

Overall Weight: 8 oz.
Blade length: 6 9/16"
Overall Length: 11 9/16"
Handle Length: 5", including the 3/16" pommel nut
Guard: 1/8" thick; 2" tall (blade centered); 5/8" wide
Blade: 1/4" thick, tapering to 11/64" two inches from tip; 7/8" wide at widest point, tapering to 19/32" two inches from tip
Tang: 1/8" diameter
Handle: 13/16" diameter at widest point; 7/16" dia. at slimmest point; pommel is 19/32" dia.

David

[john costa]

Thanks David, and welcome to ckd! you can check out what I came up with in the display case under "stag dagger" Not exact ,but the customer was happy.------------jc

[Drummer]

Oops, I didn't look at the post dates. As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short.

I've lurked here a while, and I think I posted some under the old format. But, thanks for the welcome. You made a very nice knife. It looks a whole lot better than any original. I bet the new owner is proud.

David

[bernie]

Hi John, as the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife is a pation of mine I'd like to add the following.I've enclosed pic of my of my pride and joy a first pattern F-S Knife produced between January-April 1941 numbering 500-1,250 and a few variants were made,first had 3" S-shaped cross guard mine is the 2" as shown.
http://www.byphotos.com/public/detai...c_album=291425
Length Approx. 11 9/16" (293.6 mm) to 12 1/16" (306.3 mm)

[B]Blade[/B: High Carbon Steel. Construction Drop-forged ground and sharpened by hand.
Thickness: 1/8" (4.71 mm).
Shape. Tapered, double-edged dagger, diamond shaped cross section.
Length: Between 6 1/2" (165.1 mm) and 7" (177.8 mm).Variance in blade length due to hand-grinding and sharpening.
Ricasso: Square, flat ground "tablet" shape.
Finish: Brightly polished.

Crossguard: Material Steel.
Construction: Die-stamped by machine.
Shape: Oval, Recurved ("S" shaped).
Length: 2" (50.8 mm)
Width: 5/8" (3.1 mm).
Thickness: 1/8" (3.1 mm).
Finish: Nickel-plated.

Hilt: Material Bras.
Construction Possibly cast, then lathe-turned to shape.
Shape "Coke-Bottle" or "Bowling Pin" shaped,resembles a French style fencing foil.
Grip: Checkered or knurled.
Length: 4 3/4" (120.6 mm).
Finish: Nickel-plated.

Pommel-Nut: Material Steel or possibly Brass.
Shape: Small "Acorn" shaped.
Finish: Nickel-plated corresponds to the hilt finish.

If my Url does'nt work perhaps someone can advise me or I will happily email pic's and spec of variant you require, 7 being made during the War Years.
All the best Bernie

[Roger Gregory]

Very nice Bernie I might just have to see your knives sometime....

Roger

[Tod]

Probably the Sykes-Fairbairn.

You might let your customer know that this knife has a very weak tang. The Applegate-Fairbairn is a much better design.