As you know I never claim to be an expert, merely a collector. Being an expert is not an easy life. For example, it has been proven by experts that knives cannot be made from bayonets. Specifically commando knives cannot be made from 1888 or 1903 Lee-Metford bayonets. It is not possible, well almost not possible, kind of sort of hard to do. Someone should have told the man who made this exquisite agent's size dagger from a 1903 Metford bayonet. It has a nicely formed oval guard of nickle silver, a knurled brass handle, and highly polished, heat blued blade.
You can see the 1903 stamp on one side of the ricasso and the "X" bending test on the other side. The ricasso also has obvious marks left from where the original bayonet crossguard was removed. This is, according to some, another totally impossible task. I have some more interesting information on this knife and other knives (that supposedly do not exist). They will be posted on our website over the next few weeks and months at. http://www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com/
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4 comments:
Hello, Mr. Decker!
Well, what I don't get about this expert "no-no" is that daggers HAD been routinely made from bayonets before; one example that comes readily to mind is the Belgian trench stiletto from WWI, made in the UK, from discarded, reground and re-handled (british) bayonets :
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/deovolens/2Tranchee.jpg
http://img.2ememain.be/f/preview/128751191_1-poignard-de-tranchee-belge-14-18.jpg
http://users.skynet.be/fa826735/poignardtranchee/IM000100.JPG
In any case, great work! Hope you are fine,
Kevin Berger
FWIW, a training version :
http://www.naturabuy.fr/couteau-belge-entrainement-14-18-item-419820.html
(modern one :
http://www.delcampe.net/item.php?id=209174065&var=POIGNARD-DESCRIME-BELGE&language=E )
Kevin you are absolutely right but there are people who despite, the obvious evidence, have buggered with me and ridiculed my views and my website as being factually incorrect. The have done this on several forums without offering any proof of their own. It is my grumpy way of offering more physical proof which they will, in turn, deny based on their opinions. Thanks as always for sharing information and support.
One of these days I will finish my book on Fairbairn Sykes and tell the other side of the stories. I have learned when it comes to writers and experts that because there is a new story, it is not always the right story.
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