Our Book

Today the weather is so beautiful I could have done anything. Instead I sort of did nothing and just enjoyed it. Why are we compelled to make lists of things to do so we can cross them off? Oh I did a couple loads of laundry (yes my wife is out of town), I buried a dead bird I found in the back yard and I have lounged on the porch with our cat and worked on my book. See cats are smart, no lists of things to do, just live life. Which book you ask? Well today I focused on my book about commando knives. It is really taking shape. What to name it?? It needs to be catchy and interesting not just another "Commando Dagger/Knife//etc/etc." book.

I am sitting here with two original WW-II X-daggers right beside me. They are awesome fighting knives. If you have ever held a First Pattern Fairbairn, then imagine a knife about 25% more fulfilling. It has more blade length, more handle, and more attitude. They are the equivalent of a small Arkansas Toothpick! The additional weight really adds to the feeling of lethality. You just know they are going to penetrate anything you choose, Soft body armor included. I think a 10 inch bowie is optimal. Here we have about an 8 inch dagger and that is a good size too. I have bigger daggers and dirks but they are full out medieval sort of weapons. X-daggers are almost a  transitional weapon between the renaissance and modernity.

I hope you are having as nice a day as I am. I'm sure my wife will want a full accounting of what I got done while she was away. I'm just going to send her to ask the cat.

knives for sale and more

There will be two new rare knives on our website in about two weeks. I have been doing a balancing act paying for the knives I have on reserve. To top it off knife sales have been pitiful. I have some very nice knives on our website for sale and I am not sure why they are not selling. If a knife is there it is available. No bidding and getting beat at the last second by someone using software that locks you out from the bidding. That happened to me enough times that I don’t bid there as often anymore. One of the knives coming is a WW-II X-dagger made from a bayonet (as usual) but it is slightly different. It is a suicide knife with a screw-apart handle to conceal a lethal cyanide capsule. It has a beautiful Camp-X style sheath. The other one is equally rare, or maybe even more so. It is an SOE insole dagger with the leather insole “sheath.” The insole has a pocket sewn into it to house the knife. The knife is curved to supposedly fit the curve of one’s arch. I’m willing to bet these proved to be very uncomfortable unless the shoe was also recessed to allow the knife to push down in. It is stamped J.P for the Glasgow silversmith John Paisley. So keep checking our Fairbairn-Sykes website for their arrival. I also have to pay off a knife already pictured on the website but not yet in my possession. That is the brass handled agent’s dagger stamped #4. Now you see why I am pushing knife “sales.” Luckily my friends who are selling these knives are quite patient and want to see them on our site. I have not shown them yet but I also have some new “old stock” Hanwei Japanese swords. These are remaining stock from our old webstore. They are new in their original boxes and some are not even being made anymore. I will be listing them but if you want a jump on buying one email me for photos and prices. I am cutting the prices to just above dealer plus shipping. Email me at ghdave2@hotmail.com to buy any of the knives or swords. Since I have been collecting fighting knives since I was about 13 years old I have a lot of other knives not listed for sale. If you are looking for something unusual, or a knife you are not finding on that auction site email me. I might just have one, or two. Here is a photo of the suicide dagger. For more info check our website in a week to ten days. While you’re there please buy a knife, pretty please. http://www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com/fighting-knives-for-sale.html

Generosity

(Image of three agent's daggers we have on our web site. The brass handled one will be partly paid for by a generous donation from a visitor to the website) Who ever heard of someone donating something as payment for free information? I have! I have been the recipient of numerous donation of fighting knives. Several were donated to be posted on my website as a pat of our collection, http://www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com/ and just recently another man donated three knives for me to sell to raise money to further our collection. In today’s economy all of those donations are amazing examples of humanity at its best. When I started my web site it was with the simple intent of sharing our collection with people who were similarly attracted to British Commando Knives. After all, I had been collecting them for over 40 years and thought maybe someone else would find them interesting. Well so far we have had 40,000 visits to our site. Many people are return customers, but what is most amazing to me is how many are first time visitors. Where do they hear about us and where do they come from? Unfortunately our counter does not give us demographics other than return visitors and first-time ones. Whoever you are, we appreciate your interest and spending time on our site. Please continue with us on our journey of exploration. One of the more popular activities has been people emailing me with questions on grandpa’s knife or one they found in the attic or flea market. Some people contact us wanting to sell a knife, or buy a knife. They ask for appraisals on a knife they own or suggestions on what to pay for a knife. We are always glad to offer any help or information we can. Our page dedicated to “what is it, who made it” has a couple knives of interest from visitors. People have said if I collected a dollar from every visitor I could have easily paid for all of my purchases in the last couple years. I suppose that’s true. What we have collected is a great number of friends, known and unknown, who come to visit and share our passion for Fairbairn Sykes fighting knives. Thanks for coming and please continue to do so as we add more interesting examples to our collection and work to share them with you. There are three new knives listed on the following web site page for sale due to the generosity of our friend Malcolm. http://www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com/fighting-knives-for-sale.html