William Rodgers of Sheffield, F-S Fighting Knife (Commando Dagger)

The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting knife or Commando Dagger is an iconic piece or History. Born during the early British Commando raids of WWII; the knife still issued over 80 years later. The 3rd Pattern Fighting Knives have been in continuous production since the last days of WWII. In this video I take a look at the Dagger and its construction.
check out: FS Dagger at Knife Life: • The World War 2 Fairba...
still being issued
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[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Check out the FS dagger at: The Knife Life: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4GYhmWnn76Eb6ssi=dAOBvo3BNBsOr7vB Scholaladitoria: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jn-lknhvnsuga5Ysi=SJXyK1Ufs8_pZuDa Ulysses Files: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYHCg5ZobJh1gZosi=jjEB7hdizoyF5nGi

[@deniskozlowski9370]

Ive got one of these when i was deployed to the UK when i was in the Air Force in the 1980s. I traded an M7 bayonet to a member of the RAF Regiment for it. I was told that the reason they were so easily disassembled was due to the that they were initially issued to the RoyalMarine Commandos and the Special Boat Service. They would sew the sheaths to their pants legs(thats what the funky tabs on the sides of the sheath were for). Because most of their misdions involved amphibious landings the were worried that the tangs would rust and corrode from being immersed in salt water and or bodily fluids. They could take them apart and toss them into a vat of boiling water and soap to clean them. Great video.

[@GenWivern2]

Thanks Tobias. Whilst the fetishisation of these knives seems silly to me, as a Brit I do feel that the crudeness demonstrates a certain national aptitude for doing mayhem on the cheap. The Sten gun was another example.

[@gizmocarr3093]

It seems that British Commandos chose the knife as one for stealth and penetration over robust multiple uses. It was specialized to remove threats as silent as possible during covert missions.

[@IanRosie-mx6rn]

Like the E-Type Jaguar (XK-E), a beautiful design that certainly did the job, but not a lot of money thrown at it.

[@willwilson2502]

My weakness. I have 6 original ww2 third pattern and a 2nd pattern on the way. It is definitely a fairbairn Sykes. My father use to get me digging up weeds from his lawn with an original 3rd pattern. Very good at getting deep enough to bring out the roots. Many hours of fun lol. Just to up date you there were many Sheffield makers that made the third pattern. If you ever get an original one please don’t ever take it apart , it will devalue it. 👍👊🤟👌❤️ you can see a difference in quality with the original ones.. it wasn’t William Rodger’s that came out with the last handle. It was a company in Wolverhampton that made the handles that all the Sheffield companies used

[@RandysWSG]

Really cool Tobias!

[@The-Armed-Pacifist]

2024 A Knife Odyssey

[@robshirewood5060]

It might be of interest to know that the original Commando instructors did not have these but used a hunting knife my great uncle was a Royal Marine Commando in ww2 (before D-Day and on the Normandy landings through to Germany) and had one of the original sheath knives as well as an FS knife. They were originally designed to penetrate a soviet wool greatcoat according to one history that i read.

[@ericstarr9399]

Thank you for sharing the history behind this knife! Very interesting.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Thanks. I'm glade you found it helpful.

[@mangojack1]

Neat piece of history, thanks Tobias 👍

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Thanks. I'm glade you found it helpful.

[@bdh3949]

Right, worth a high price for a WWII one, not so much for others. Nevertheless it is a wonderful piece of history no matter it's lineage. Thanks Tobias, sometimes simpler is better,

[@beaurex4756]

Being able to remove traces of precious bodily fluids from a 'working knife' is made simple with disassembly. Who likes a groaty knife?

[@davidkurle5418]

I'm really glad you got your hands on that one, buddy! It's a wicked cool piece of fighting knife history!

[@terrillschneider3778]

Excellent piece

[@richardmcginnis5344]

I have the j knowall or knowell or however you spell it and a wm Rogers both Sheffield the Rogers I noticed uses brass pieces guard nut point cover at the bottom of the sheath. The j knowell - spelled right I took them out and looked I paid 150 for at the mystic CT military surplus and I paid 70 for the Rogers at the pawn shop I regularly buy knives from, weird story I saved for a long time to get the knowell new hoping it came in a nice box but like the k55k it came in a bag, the Rogers came in a wooden box that I guess someone bought

[@flitdek]

Hi Tobias

[@The-Armed-Pacifist]

Was the FS dagger as prone to snapping where the blade met the tang as the US issued knife?

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Most any knife is most prone to snapping where it meets the guard. The thinner the tang the more likely to snap. I don't know if the FS was more or less prone to snapping than US issued knives simply because of the number of variety of US issued knives during WWII. I also know that the FS daggers made numerous changes as to the way the tang entered the handle and the example I have is not as a robust as the way some others one mate up.

[@furyxan]

I couldn't tell from the video, is the handle round or oval? It has always looked round in pictures I've seen but that is terrible for feeling that you have proper edge alignment so I feel like it can't actually be like that.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Round. It was one of the most common complaints about the knife and it was never corrected. Flattening out the handle would do wonders to improve the knife.

[@richardmcginnis5344]

The knowell knife has the keys the crowsfoot stamp on the guard opposite the brand name and on the handle but nothing at all on either blade

[@richardmcginnis5344]

I also have a valor 120 it's a late 1960s Japan version of the same knife with similar parts but the guard the pommel nut are smaller the handle is wood and the one I have with the original sheath is a valid ear relic that has provenance and it's NOT for sale

[@hleeky]

the reproductions are better quality lol

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Not the ones made in Pakistan or China. Or at least the not the ones I've encountered. But the Gil Hibben Single Shadow is pretty well made compared to the William Rodgers.

[@allancrotch2953]

Do you want to buy a bridge?

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

Americans already bought the London Bridge?

[@allancrotch2953]

@@KnifeChatswithTobias Well remembered I took the Queens shilling in 1972 and still have my Rodgers FS Although I was in a spear head regiment we had to buy better equipment issued was crap boots without sown tongue caused trench foot in Falklands war