collecting the F-S style knives challenge

In my last post I was talking about known author in the field of Fairbairn Sykes knives ,please don't get me wrong, I like his books and I learn a lot from them. His books are a good start for research BUT when you start to dig deeper into the fine details, you see that there is a gray area.

For example the F-S first pattern knives, are known to be made by the Wilkinson company. Although the first pattern knives were manufactured by the Wilkinson company BUT it was not designed by them. That might explain why there are  no known blue prints of the first pattern knife, only for the second pattern knives that were mass produced. The fact that the Wilkinson company only manufactured the knives but didn't design them is very important when we try to decipher who should be credited for the first pattern knife design.  Wilkinson ? Fairbairn ? going all the way back to the 1930's, the era associated with the development of the knife. To conclude the problem is-who is going to be credited for the development of the knives?
So there is a lot of misinformation spread by many people involved in the research of that knives. 

in order to establish their name and get the glory and fame not looking for the truth in that matter.

This is partially the reason that, the bayonet blade f-s style knives known as X daggers or pre f-s knives, are called "fake" by many people in the f-s community. Fake for that matter means that the knives are not from the WW 2 era.

The question that comes up all the time  is, who created theses knives? were they made by Wilkinson or not ? I believe that the answer to who made them is not important. The real question is whether these knives were made before 1945 or  not. Their source plays no role in the discussion surrounding whether they are "fake" or not, they could have been made in a small shade in a fish market and still considered to be genuine WW2 knives.

Another question that was left unanswered, maybe on purpose, is the place of these knives in the development of the f-s knives. Did they preceded the first pattern knives?maybe the first pattern knives are not the first or the only type of knives that were made during the war? is it possible that the first pattern knives are a copy of that style knife ? the answer is simple: we don't know.

There is a theory out there that all the X daggers/F-S style knives originated from one specific individual. I will write more about it in different post. But when you think about it from a bystander point of view, its almost impossible that one man made all of these knives that varies in style, shape and marking, but calling all of them "fake" knives, seems like taking the easy way out.

I think that the problem with the X-Daggers can be attributed partially to the fact that some historians/author's/collectors rather stay in their comfort zone and wouldn't like to be bothered with anything else that could prove that they have been wrong all along.   

             

where is Wilkinson Co in the drawing ? so it must be Fake  

W.E Fairbairn "Get Tough"1942 Paladin Press

Education

Like I said in my last post never judge a knife based on a picture. Here is an example of  how collectors are getting wrong and misleading information from so called "experts" with out even handling a knife. 

I saw in few forums and websites called f-s style knife made of bayonet a "fake" one of the conclusion was the fact that they got a 2nd  pattern handle so I will let you be the judge of that.

This claim came from a known author that never handled the knife.

This is part of reason that he came up with the wrong and misleading information about the knife, creating group of collectors behind him saying the same thing  based on nothing or in some cases luck of knowledge.

here is an interesting fact of why he came with 2nd pattern and not 1st pattern with out even

handling one? based on what looking at someones pictures and coming with conclusions ?  

              

i will not go here right now on the where ? why ? or more important who made it ? not one person that for sure. how do i know ? research- research -research .
i will go in to that in the future.my point is keep an open mind .do your research by doing so you
as collector be open to new and fascinating journey collecting knives.

welcome to my blog

let me start from the end ,why did i create this blog?
this blog was created as a place that knives can be shared , enjoyed and researched in honest way.
with out any hidden agenda of any kind .

i found out many times that you can not share "new " knife with out  forum/group "expert" trying to spread his knowledge with every body about the knife. in most cases i would say its pure speculation with out any real evidence.or  even worse is trying convince every body that his evaluation is correct and its the only one.this place created to be the other way,for any collector that feel the same way as me.i like to research my knives base on facts , if it can't be done then it can go ether way.
even if you are big author or internet "expert" unless you been there when the knife was made,then your theory is good as any "simple" collector . those people are not here to learn or help its only to make a name for them self  as experts or to make you buy knives from them.that is the hidden agenda .
my goal is to offer a different platform, specially in the Fairbairn-Sykes collectors community.
there are a lot of reproduction or not from the 'right era' knives on the market. this is where your research as collector come to play do it your self ,read ,learn, try to understand, ask questions .some times your answer could be as good as any other "expert". never say its not real because "he sad so..." in his website or book make your mind base on your feeling and what you learn .
if  you just looking at pictures and you can not hold the knife in your hand then you should be very careful making judgement. because you are missing the handling part of the knife . this part is where most internet "experts" are losing there value,its up to you as collector to make up your mind and not some else for you.       

my goal  is too build a place  that will respect other collectors property . learn and be open to new ideas.  bring collectors from all over the world together in a place that everybody can share and enjoy the journey into the past together.
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