ORIGINAL THIRD PATTERN FAIRBAIRN SYKES FIGHTING KNIFE DAGGER WW2 COMMANDO SAS

Description

WW2 Fairbairn Sykes commando knife original "Commando Dagger " F-S Knife. Condition is "Used". Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.
Up for sale is this
stunning WW2 Fairbairn Sykes commando knife
original
"Commando Dagger " F-S Knife.
This example is what is commonly called the third pattern (3rd) of this iconic British WW11 knife.
The year of manufacture is from Oct 1943 - Feb 1944.
This dating is based on the blade ( Thick hand ground blade with the Y grind bordering the cross guard ..see pics ) .This knife carries the doughnut shaped pommel and characteristic vise marks. The Grip is marked with a #3 and refers to Walsall Die casting Ltd , is an alloy,
not bronze or brass as sometimes stated
.
The Knife also has the  capital letter I with an arrow underneath stamped on the cross guard signifying a batch of these knives ordered from Wilkinson on 17 Dec 1943 " The Indian contract " of
2,500 knives.
This is definitely a ww2 issued / used knife from ww2.
The blade is missing most of its original bluing , has very light surface rust and tiny Knicks in places .The blade is also very sharp.
Generally speaking after the above date in 1944 F-S knives were made with the thinner machine ground blades and a large variation in the design of the pommels, therefore this examples dating is easily identifiable . The Mid war 3rd pattern examples of the F-S as in this case are said to be the
last of the true examples to the purists
, due to the hand ground blades in particular.
The F-S knives vary considerably in blade size and as stated after 1944 in pommel design . This particular blade is
6 5/8 " long and approx. 7/8" wide .
The cross guard
" Lozenge type"
measures
2" x 5/8 x 1/8th thick .
The scabbard is in poor condition. See pics .
Please carefully inspect the pictures as these form part of the description.   Thanks for looking.  I ship FAST!!!!