Opinions on FS knife please

[radidas]

Hi all,
I have been offered this knife and know very little about them, it is marked A wright and sons, Sheffeild England on the hilt - Is it original WW2?

Thanks in advance for any input, Chris.

[edelweiss123]

Id probably say post war. Post war FS's tends to have black handles although this may be a generalization. Does it have a casting number on the handle?

[big ned]

It is post war made as edelweiss has stated, perhaps even 1980's as the scabbard is black rather than the earlier brown wartime issue. Wright's F-S knife is actually quite well made and balanced, unlike most others around these days, with the exception of John Nowill & Sons which are also pretty good.

[radidas]

Thanks for your reply, from what I can gather from information on the internet, the late war 3rd pattern FS knives were black? If anyone can confirm this or has any more opinions please chime in,
Best regards,
Chris.

- - Updated - -

Hi Ned,
You must have been typing at the same time as me! (I am a very slow typer)
Thanks for the info, greatly appreciated,
Chris.

[radidas]

Apparently the scabbard is actually brown, it doesn't look it to me but the photos aren't the best. Would this make it an earlier piece or are there other characteristics that date it post war?
thanks, Chris.

[Walkwolf]

Definitely post-war - don't get your hopes up. As Ned above has said,
it could easily be 1980's, and because the elastic on the sheath
is new and fresh, I'd say so as well.........

[radidas]

Always getting my hopes up.......then nearly always let down! Thats how it goes with this collecting lark!!
Thanks for your reply,
Chris.

[Walkwolf]

Occasionally you find a gem for a bargain price, but you have
to do a lot of searching to do so.........

[Martin Bull]

The wide elastic retaining strap on the sheath is another give-away. This is certainly a post-war F-S, albeit a quite nice one. F-S knives have become a bit of a 'minefield' and as with anything collectable, it's useful to have a book or two.

I have seen some expensive F-S books around, but the one I like ( and which has saved me a lot of money ! ) is 'Collector's Guide To The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife' by Alan W Locken (ISBN 0-9699764-0-2). It was self-published by the author in Winnipeg some years ago, but it has useful info in handy paperback size. A good quick reference guide.

[n0valyfe]

The wide elastic retaining strap on the sheath is another give-away.

They used elastic on 3rd and 2nd pattern sheaths during ww2