For Sale

Extraordinary & Important W.E. Fairbairn Owned Wilkinson Second Pattern F-S Fighting Knife

It is hard to imagine a more historically important or rarer Wilkinson F-S Knife than this extraordinary example. On the 21st May 1942 Wilkinson Sword processed order number 1193 for; “2 doz. F.S. Fighting Knife - Nickel. Blades etched Full Trade Mark and Warrant as Masonic Blades one side only. Special order Major W.E. Fairbairn.” This special and unique order by Fairbairn himself was for his personal use and to provide him with a small quantity of ‘his’ knife to give out as personal gifts, as such it is reasonable to conclude that those knives were actually in his personal possession and handled by Fairbairn himself, something that is so historically important, it’s hard to quantify. This knife is one of those knives..!

After Wilkinson Sword closed the knife making side of the business in 2005, my mentor and dear friend Robert (Wilkinson-Latham) spent weeks in the cellar frantically scanning all the historical documents pertaining to the production of the F-S Knife before they were all destroyed, he very generously shared all those scans with me. One of the more interesting finds was a Wilkinson internal memo (#22283) dated 21st May 1942 which clearly detailed the particulars of this special order for Major W.E. Fairbairn (see inset). I will share the full scan sent to me by Robert with the new owner of this important Wilkinson F-S Knife.

Only very few examples of a knife from this order have ever surfaces - this is only the third example I have ever personally seen and by far the finest condition to date.

Price: $8,500

Items Code: #00900

Shipping is charged at a flat rare of $25 within the US or $40 for international (outside of the US). Tracking will be provided once shipped.