View Full Version : Best price for an F&S British Army fighting knife.
Iam trying to find a genuine issue British Army F&S fighting knife for a friend(its not for me,honest)what is the best and cheapest place to buy one.And does anyone know if its legal to post knives to Norway.As i do not want to shell out,post it only for it to be impounded by Norwegian customs ect.
Paganwolf
12-11-2004, 20:23
they sell them on www.BKCG.co.uk or in silvermans (www.military.co.uk) the BB guys may have the answer though :wink:
Are you looking for a new one or one of the old origional ones?
Ed
Are you looking for a new one or one of the old origional ones?
Ed
A new one.
Try www.heinnie.com ... look under Wilkinson Sword.
Thanks Adi007,but £160 is a little more than what i had in mind. :shock:
Thanks Adi007,but £160 is a little more than what i had in mind. :shock:
Wilkinson Sword are the only makers of the "real" FS knife (http://www.wilkinson-swords.co.uk/knives/fairbairn.html) - all the others are copies. If you want the genuine article, you'll have to pay for it. If you're happy with a cheap copy, take your pick from the plethora of Chinese knives out there. :wink:
Wilkinson was the contractor for the original MOD Type D military knife. IMO, they made far and away the best (full convex grind; fully tempered; comfortable handle). However, other makers (e.g., Rogers, Hopkinson) got the contract later (lower bid, no doubt) and made/make fullly "official" Type D knives. A site noted above sells one such for 40 GBP. These later versions get progressivly more horrible reviews as weapons and tools.
Wilkinson Sword are the only makers of the "real" FS knife (http://www.wilkinson-swords.co.uk/knives/fairbairn.html) - all the others are copies. If you want the genuine article, you'll have to pay for it. If you're happy with a cheap copy, take your pick from the plethora of Chinese knives out there. :wink:
I've been told Reg Cooper has the contract (from a mate of his who sells knives). I would also like to say that there is middle ground in the way of the more expenive models made by Reg Cooper and Jack Adams. These come in at about £60 and sem nice to me. They are also british rather then a chinese copy.
iv never seen one before.. what are they for? are they just decrative!
tomtom, it is the world war two commando knife, the Royal Marines have an embroidered image of it on a shoulder patch.
The handle is wasp bodied, straight crossgaurd and stilleto blade. It has absolutely no use in Bushcraft and was intended for one thing alone as are all stilleto's (they used to be used to defeat the multiple layers of clothing that people wore to protect against a slashing attack in the old days). :-)
Originals are quite highly prized by collectors, but it is also one of the most heavilly copied knives in the world and as such copies are freely available pretty much anywhere in the world. :wave:
Wilkinson Sword are the only makers of the "real" FS knife (http://www.wilkinson-swords.co.uk/knives/fairbairn.html) - all the others are copies. If you want the genuine article, you'll have to pay for it. If you're happy with a cheap copy, take your pick from the plethora of Chinese knives out there. :wink:I should have wrote,its a little more than my budget will allow.
Anyone know if the FS from www.sheffieldknives.co.uk is a real one or a replica.Its for a mate of mine in the Norwegian army,hes a real British Army enthusiast,reckons our forces are the best in the world and was all set to move to England,live here for the time needed and then enlist,but you know how plans are and how they can be altered by our better halves :o): .
The ones from there clem are blades which come from one forge (as most do) The forge is owned by J Rodgers of sheffield. A few makers have ben given the right to make MOD issue stuff. I could go into a fair amount of detail with this as I've delt with a few of them. I don't thick this is the place to do it though so if you want to talk about it feel free to pm me any questions.
.......And does anyone know if its legal to post knives to Norway.As i do not want to shell out,post it only for it to be impounded by Norwegian customs ect.
Perfectly legal. Shouldn't be a problem, as long as you dont send butterfly knives, flickknives, stilletos etc. There have been talk about putting restrictions on large "Rambo knives" too, but there's nothing of that sort yet.
Anything with a value of above 250 Norwegian Kroner (about £ 21) will have vat added, if you mark the package as a "gift" then the item can have a value of 500 Norwegian Kroner (£ 42) before vat is added. Mind you that the values are including postage though.
Perfectly legal. Shouldn't be a problem, as long as you dont send butterfly knives, flickknives, stilletos etc. There have been talk about putting restrictions on large "Rambo knives" too, but there's nothing of that sort yet.
Anything with a value of above 250 Norwegian Kroner (about £ 21) will have vat added, if you mark the package as a "gift" then the item can have a value of 500 Norwegian Kroner (£ 42) before vat is added. Mind you that the values are including postage though.Thanks Tvividr. :-)
tenbears10
16-11-2004, 09:49
Perfectly legal. Shouldn't be a problem, as long as you dont send butterfly knives, flickknives, stilletos etc.
Surely that is exactly what an F&S knife is :?:
Bill
stilleto knives aren't a problem I checked it out to make sure I was braking any laws before I started selling FS knives and other stilleto knives
I should have wrote,its a little more than my budget will allow.
Anyone know if the FS from www.sheffieldknives.co.uk is a real one or a replica.Its for a mate of mine in the Norwegian army,hes a real British Army enthusiast,reckons our forces are the best in the world and was all set to move to England,live here for the time needed and then enlist,but you know how plans are and how they can be altered by our better halves :o): .
If he just wants a FS style knife, then that would be fine. If your mate wants a piece of Brtitish history, then it has to be Wilkinjson Sword. In conjuction with Fairbairn and Sykes, Wilkinson made and issued the first FS knife to British Commando's. It may be that many people have a licence to make them today, they are also hundreds of unlicenced copies - but there is only one original. If you cant afford that, just buy the best value for money copy you can find - if it inst Wilkinson Sword, it's a copy of a Wilkinson Sword. ;)
If it was made to the same quality and cost less to get one from else where, would you still get the WS one?
If you were a collector of Knives, then yes. If you were a re-enactor of WWII no.
The question is why would you want one as they are highly impractical for anything other than thier intended use :roll:.
Surely that is exactly what an F&S knife is :?:
Bill
I suppose so, but the customs officer I asked said that some stillettos are classified as flickknives :?:
The FS is not one of them :?: Seems as if some things depend largely on how the individual customs officer interprets the law...
The one thing that is certain though, is that any flickknife or butterfly knife is strictly forbidden !
rapidboy
16-11-2004, 19:59
I suppose so, but the customs officer I asked said that some stillettos are classified as flickknives :?:
The FS is not one of them :?: Seems as if some things depend largely on how the individual customs officer interprets the law...
The one thing that is certain though, is that any flickknife or butterfly knife is strictly forbidden !
This is an automatic Stiletto or "flick knife"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/rapidboy1/400_0016_1.jpg
This is a manual Stiletto
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/rapidboy1/390_9044_1.jpg
A FS is a fixed blade
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v76/rapidboy1/britmodcomm.jpg
"Stiletto" simply describe's the blade style ,(long ,thin and often double edged).
rb
This is an automatic Stiletto or "flick knife"
............."Stiletto" simply describe's the blade style ,(long ,thin and often double edged). rb
Yep, but in our language we don't really differentiate between the types of stiletto knives like that. When speaking about a stiletto it usually implies a fixed blade only - an automatic stiletto is just an auto no matter what bladestyle it has.
It might be different in "customs legal language" though.
If you were a collector of Knives, then yes. If you were a re-enactor of WWII no.
The question is why would you want one as they are highly impractical for anything other than thier intended use :roll:.
That's what I was trying to say. The only reason I can think of, is as a collector. If that is the reason for buying, then I would say buy Wilkinson Sword or dont bother, because none of the others have a collectable interest or value.
That's what I was trying to say. The only reason I can think of, is as a collector. If that is the reason for buying, then I would say buy Wilkinson Sword or dont bother, because none of the others have a collectable interest or value.
Lord yes. If you find any marked "J.Clarke and Sons," they are purest trash, and I would take them off your hands for a modest sum strictly in the interests of quality control -- improving the breed and all that.
Lord yes. If you find any marked "J.Clarke and Sons," they are purest trash, and I would take them off your hands for a modest sum strictly in the interests of quality control -- improving the breed and all that.
:roll:
OK, ya made ya point.
J. Clarke & Sons, William Rodgers, Wilkinson Sword & George Wostenholm & Son are probably the only collectable makers of the FS knife. I can see a debate running on this ...and the other makers are collectable to a FS enthusiast, agreed (though they'd probably have the Boker Applegate as well), but the WS model is the only one with widespread appeal and easy resale value. If I were only buying one, I would get the Wilkinson knife. It's the one with true history, as it was Wilkinson who developed the pattern one knife and developed it into the more famous pattern three knife, in collaboration with Fairbairn and Sykes.
:roll:
OK, ya made ya point.
J. Clarke & Sons, William Rodgers, Wilkinson Sword & George Wostenholm & Son are probably the only collectable makers of the FS knife. I can see a debate running on this ...and the other makers are collectable to a FS enthusiast, agreed (though they'd probably have the Boker Applegate as well), but the WS model is the only one with widespread appeal and easy resale value. If I were only buying one, I would get the Wilkinson knife. It's the one with true history, as it was Wilkinson who developed the pattern one knife and developed it into the more famous pattern three knife, in collaboration with Fairbairn and Sykes.
I must admit that I am surprised that both Ek and Gerber don't do repro's of this as well, but that is probably because their versions that have been produced are superior in many ways (controversial, but true).
C_Claycomb
17-11-2004, 08:52
Gents, I know that this is interesting and all, but the FS dagger isn't really anything to do with bushcraft. Even remotely. This is meant to be the Edged TOOLS forum. Not edged weapons, and that is what this dagger was designed for.
This discussion is straying a long way from the purpose of this forum. There are lots of places around to talk about daggers and stilettos and the relative merit of one make over another.
Personally I am not a fan of the FS design and far prefer the Ek, better balance, stronger and so on, but if I wanted to discuss collecting military knives I would be over on British Blades where there is even greater expertise.
I made this post to ask some questions about the F&S knife because i want to get one as a gift for a Norwegian mate of mine who is serving in his countrys forces.I do not want one of these daggers for myself,well ive not wanted one since i was about 10 years old anyway :o): .I figured that since we have many members of this forum who make and design their own knives and who are very knowledgeable on this whole subject,i thought it would be as a good a place to ask as any.In hindsite maybe the British blades would have been a better place to post my question,but i dident think of that site untill after making my post.
I agree my post is not about Bushcraft and if ive caused any offence i apologise.
Squidders
04-12-2004, 23:53
Clem, This may or may not be of interest to you but it's a genuine SOE one... not cheap but it *IS* the real thing...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4719&item=2288890368&rd=1
Joe