The Wilkinson Sword Third Pattern Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife

By

Roy Shadbolt

Introduction

May of 1943 is the likely date that ushered in the final era of the World War Two F-S Wilkinson trilogy (see comments below ‘The Wilkinson Mid-War Third Pattern’) but for now at least, this is where the surviving documents lead us. The Third Pattern as it has come to be known is an often maligned and overlooked F-S amongst some collectors but this is an unjust oversight, as the seemingly prolific Third Pattern is not only a fine representation of this iconic design but a truly fascinating and, with some rare exceptions an accessible area to collect and study. Unlike either the First of Second patterns, the Third would go on to be manufactured by dozens of different makers, the result being a fabulous array of subtle variations and of course official MoS (Ministry of Supply) inspection/ownership marks. For a full and comprehensive article on the expansive scope of the Third Pattern please see the dedicated article titled ‘The Third Pattern F-S’ which covers Government contract knives manufactured not just by Wilkinson but is inclusive of all over makers. However in this article we will take a more focused look (as the title suggests) at those Third Pattern F-S knives specifically manufactured by Wilkinson Sword Co. Ltd. be they private purchase (etched) or government contracts (Broad Arrow stamped).

A Knife Of Compromise

Once again the pressures of war, increased demand and restrictions on the supply of raw materials required more changes and compromises to the F-S design.   Yet again it was the hilt’s grip which was the focus of these changes. The previous material used for manufacturing the grip on Second Pattern knives had been brass, cast and then machine knurled to provide a non-slip purchase when in the hand. This was now changed altogether in favor of a non-strategic cast alloy having the original cross-hatched knurling replaced with 27 cast rings. This change not only removed the need for the use of strategically important and government controlled brass used on earlier grips but also dispensed with the machine knurling process, as the ‘rings’ were now an integral part of the casting. The result being a saving of both strategic material and time, the latter being an important consideration as Wilkinson (materials allowing) were now providing 1,000 knives per week.

Cast with 27 concentric rings, these grips were now outsourced from ‘four’ different foundries, three of which were based in England’s industrial heartland more commonly referred to as The Midlands; Wolverhampton, Walsall & Birmingham with the forth located in the capital (London). These four foundries would supply not just Wilkinson’s but all government contracted manufactures of the Third Pattern from 1943 right up until war’s end.

To comply with Ministry of Supply oversight and to ensure accountability for quality control each foundry would include a small single digit identification number as part of the castings mould, numbering 1, 2, 3 or 4, this was located centrally in the depression at the pommel. These numbers are very small measuring only around 3mm in hight and are easily overlooked but are in themselves an important indicator of wartime production. At war’s end the moulds were reportedly destroyed.

In the subsequent post-war production of F-S Knives, right up into modern times, mold numbers were never used, therefore a general rule of thumb, is that numbered grips are wartime production and un-numbered grips are post-war. There are, as always, rare exceptions though, as I have personally examined completely correct and untampered with wartime production knives ‘without’ a mould number. One possible reason for this is that on rare occasions the number was inadvertently removed during the cleaning up process of the cast grips. As the numbers are so small, it would seem a logical assumption. But it must be pointed out that I have only seen this on a handful of knives (out of thousands), so the general rule of thumb should remain, i.e. no number, then ‘not’ wartime production.

The four companies or foundries that produced the new style Third Pattern cast grip are listed below.

  Wolverhampton Die Casting Company ( confirmed as mould number ‘4’ )

    Walsall Die Casting Ltd ( possibly number ‘3’ )

    Perry Bar Metal Co of Birmingham ( possibly number ‘2’ )

    H. J. Maybry of London ( possibly number ‘1’ )

Research to date has not been able to conclusively link all of the mould number with a specific maker.  However the surviving Ministry of Supply memorandum dated 30th October 1943 details some quality issues with cast grips recently received from the Wolverhampton Die Casting Company.  Interestingly in the first paragraph, mould number ‘4‘ is mentioned.  From this we can conclude that those grips which carry the mould number ‘4’ originate from this company. Until further information surfaces it’s impossible to conclusively link the three remaining companies with any of the other numbers, however it is quite possible that mould number ‘1’ refers to H. J. Maybry of London. My reasoning for the latter statement is that within the British military establishment there is a long history of allocating numbers (both in regimental precedence and company manufacturing & supply) starting with the lowest number in the southern part of the country ascending northward geographically. If this theory is correct (and it may not be) and remembering that Wolverhampton Die Casting is confirmed as number ‘4’, then Walsall would likely be number ‘3’ and Perry Bar of Birmingham number ‘2’. Please note that this is pure speculation on my part and simply a working theory.

The resulting new grip design was a distinct departure from previous patterns both in material used and gripping surface.  Although the overall profile was not too dissimilar to the preceding patterns, to the eye it did lack the graceful lines of its predecessors.  The most visually distinct change was of course to the textured  portion of the grip which now allowed for a more robust grip retention during less than ideal conditions.  The original (brass) grips had been finely knurled resulting in a cross-hatching to the larger portion of the grip.  This was now replaced with a simplistic design of twenty seven concentric rings which covered a similar area. This change resulted in a very visually distinct pattern and in some criticism, particularly in the area of balance in the hand as it has been often (incorrectly) reported that the cast alloy grips resulted in a lighter ‘unbalanced’ knife, the is ‘not’ the case, as if anything the overall weight is more in keeping with the original First Pattern.

As a result of the new cast non-strategic alloy used for the grip, the finish had to be modified. It was found that when attempting to darken the grip as on previous knives, the coating would not suitably adhere to the alloy. A solution was found by first applying a light copper finish as an undercoat, this allowed the darker final finish to adhere properly. Of interest for todays collectors - over seven decades later - we see many Third Patterns where the top layer has all but disappeared resulting in a rather striking copper finish.

Blade Etchings

The best date we have for the introduction of the Wilkinson Third Pattern F-S is the order or October 1943 for Indian contract knives, which also indicated that ‘no addition trade marks’ be applied (see details below in the appropriate section). It is however likely that Third Pattern production started earlier that year but any evidence for this has thus far proved inconclusive. The conclusion being that at least for government contracts Wilkinson would no longer take the extra time or expense to apply acid-etching panels to those knives. This would not be the end of the Wilkinson ‘etched’ F-S, as knives could still be purchased direct from Wilkinson’s Pall Mall showroom ‘with’ the now familiar pair of etching panels.

Wilkinson had a long history of bespoke knife making and part of that service was to offer acid-etched panels that contained some unique personal details. This unique Wilkinson service can be traced as far back as the mid 1800’s where such scrolls (or banners) were applied to their high quality hand-made early hunting knives such as the iconic Shakespear dagger or their famous R.B.D Bowie (for further reading on Wilkinson’s Antique Knives, see the dedicated articles). This long tradition was continued into and throughout World War Two and such personal etchings are known on all patterns of the F-S Knife. It would be fair to say that etched First Patterns are almost unheard of with only two examples known (to me), this was almost certainly due to the desperate demand to supply official orders during the early days of F-S production, the likelihood being that very few (if any) First Pattern knives were ever sold privately. In fact during those early days of production one required an official ‘chit’ which was presented at Wilkinson’s Pall Mall showroom in order to acquire one’s knife. Those known First Pattern examples with personal etchings were almost certainly done at a later date. By the time the Second Pattern was in full production the early dire shortages of F-S Knives was over and Wilkinson now had the luxury to keep stocks of F-S Knives at their London showroom available for private purchase. This is substantiated by the prolific (relative) quantity of Second Patterns with personal etchings, clearly this was a popular option. This policy continued into Third Pattern production, although the extreme scarcity of this pattern containing personal etchings is interesting to ponder and can possibly be explained by a number of circumstances.

As mentioned earlier, the knives Wilkinson were now producing to fulfill MoS contracts were required to ‘not’ have any etching panels. It would seem prudent however for Wilkinsons to offer knives in their showroom ‘with’ etchings. This would mean that now they (Wilkinsons) would have to embark on a special run of knives just for their showroom to offer for private purchase. A special production run of etched knives is not unreasonably but certainly an added inconvenience apposed to just pulling a few dozen of a already established production line. One must also consider that although the Second Pattern had been replaced (with the Third Pattern) for official ordered knives, Wilkinson is known to have still produced Second Pattern knives not only up to war’s end but beyond - the Masonic and Beasley etched knives being proof of this. It is quite possible that Wilkinson assembled some of these knives from stock parts but it is very clear that Second Pattern was still available through the end of the war, as examples have been observed with etching panels containing dates post the introduction of the Third Pattern, with some non dated knives known to have been purchased prior to the Normandy landings of June 1944. When one takes all of this into consideration; having to specifically produce etched Third Patterns while there were still many Second Patterns still available, it does offers us a number of potential explanations as to why there are so few etched Third Patterns and even less examples with personal etchings.

Before we leave the topic of acid-etched blades, it may be prudent to identify the common types of etching plate used to enclose personal details. Of course this topic not only applies to Third Patterns but to all F-S blades and for a more in-depth discussion please refer to the dedicated article ‘The Etched Blade’. It’s become commonplace to call all etching panels that contain personal details ‘Banners’ but that is incorrect. In Wilkinson’s official internal documentation they used the term ‘Scroll’ and this referred to the more common foliate curvilinear scrolled etching panel of which there are a number of sub-variations. The second type and less often seen, is the 'Banner’ but rather than it being a curvilinear design with foliate accents, the Banner is in the form of a rectangular block, often with slight ornate designs at the extremities. Like the Scroll panels the Banner has a number of variations. Aside from these ‘two’ etching types one could make a case for a third type, that being anything especially different, unique or a combination (multiple etching), so we have Scroll, Banner & Special. If the variety seems endless one must remember that at this point in time Wilkinson had nearly a century of etching swords as well as knives and this provided them with a huge catalogue of etching panes from their master etching book, from which to choose from.

The ‘etched’ Wilkinson Third Pattern is a very rare knife but goes to show how unique, beautiful and exciting an area of collecting this is. There are even a number of rare etched example that were made post war but that’s a topic for a future article.

Ministry Of Supply Contract Knives 

The full story behind the Wilkinson MoS contract Third Pattern knives is and has always been somewhat elusive. Once a manufacture stops marking knives with their company trade mark, then the attribution of any given knife becomes challenging and as such any identification must be made using other sources. This is of course less than ideal and requires study, research, experience and at times some tentative hypothesis or conclusions.

To make this rather complicated topic more accessible, it is perhaps prudent to place the Third Pattern into two distinct sub-categories; Mid & Late War knives. The first and earliest being the Mid-War knife, as the name suggest these are the earliest version of the Third Pattern knives that we first see appear in 1943. These are identified by having the same hand-ground blades that were used on the earlier Second Pattern knives they replaced. These can be easily distinguished as they required a small triangular ‘v’ to be ground at the ricasso to facilitate assembly. The Late-War knives (1944/5) are those fitted with the more mass-produced machine ground blades. These are much thiner in profile, do not require a ‘v’ grind and often have lateral striations (from the grinding process) still visible. For a more comprehensive look into this topic please see the dedicated article ‘The Third Pattern F-S’.

The Wilkinson ‘Mid-War’ Third Pattern

Wilkinson completed two F-S orders in 1943. One in January for 38,700 knives and another in May for 10,000 knives. Both of these were priced at 17/9 (17 shilling and 9 pence). An order the following year (discussed later) saw a price reduction to 16/- (16 shillings). Due to the higher price of the two 1943 orders and their combined quantity numbering nearing 50,000 knives, one could speculate that these orders were for Second Pattern knives and more specifically those examples that we see marked ⩚B2. The fact that the order was so large and combined with how prolific the (Second Pattern) ⩚B2 mark is, such a conclusion seems reasonable (although unproved). However there are also Third Pattern knives that carry this same ⩚B2 marking, although example are very scarce indeed. The ⩚B2 ‘Second’ is likely one of the most common F-S Knives to encounter and yet the Third Pattern with the same marking is one of the scarcest. One explanation for this could be that the transition from Second Pattern production over to Third Pattern production, happened as the May 1943 order was being completed. This leading to a few of the new Third Patterns being used to compete that order. This would explain the extreme scarcity of ⩚B2 marked Third Patterns and also (if correct) place the introduction of this pattern in a reasonable and earlier timeline, in that later that year in October we see the Indian Stores order which by this time is the (Mid-War) Third Pattern. All this of course is speculation on my part but if true would place the introduction of the Third Pattern to May of 1943.

The India Stores Order

On the 17th December 1943 Wilkinson received an oder for 2,500 F-S Knives with specific instruction to have ‘no’ trade labels (etchings) but instead to be marked with the MoS inspection/ownership mark of ⩚I for India Stores. Although in the associated documents there is no reference to the fact that these are Third Pattens (a term ‘we’ created in modern times to distinguish between the two other main patterns) we do know that these knives were indeed Third Pattern knives as many examples have survived. It is worth pointing out, that I believe these knives were never actually issued to Indian troops and likely never left Britain. Every example I have ever seen carries the US import stamps of ‘England’, indicating that they were sold as surplus from Britain into the United States post war. For more reading not the topic of the US import stamp please see the dedicated article ‘The McKinley Tariff Act & The F-S Knife’.

The ⩚B2 Stamp & The Wilkinson Link

As mentioned previously, the ⩚B2 MoS stamp is likely the most prolific official marking encountered on F-S Knives ‘but’ that is only true for Second Pattern knives. Although we do indeed see it on Third Pattern knives it is really quite scarce. For many years the origin of the ⩚B2 stamp was hotly debated but through the diligent research by Robert Wilkinson-Latham and the discovery of some official internal documentation along with a rubber stamp bearing this marking, the speculation was finally put to rest and the link of the ⩚B2 mark was conclusively linked to Wilkinson Sword Co. Ltd.

Third Pattern F-S Knife that bear the official ⩚I or ⩚B2 MoS stamps on the crossguard are identical in every respect to each other (MoS markings accepting) and the etched examples by Wilkinson and all are usually finished to a very high standard. This includes having very think hand-ground and a high hand-polished finish. For a complete (relative) display of the wartime Wilkinson Third Pattern F-S it’s hard to image a finer quartet that an pair of private purchase (standard and scroll etched) and a pair of MoS contract (⩚I & ⩚B2) knives. Although it must be said that such a grouping would require some degree of patience to create but ‘patience’ is always the collectors friend and that has never been more true than for the F-S collector.

Late-War Third Patterns

In June of 1944 Wilkinson fulfilled another large order for the Ministry of Supply, however in this order the price had now been reduced to 16/- (16 shillings and no pence) which was a reduction from earlier contracts (no records are currently available for 1945 orders). As other manufactures were now producing an even more basic version of the Third Pattern - the Late-War style and charging even less, it is likely that Wilkinson also produced this less expensive style of knife. We know from general records that production continued up to war’s end and beyond and yet no conclusive evidence (that I am aware of) links any late-war style of F-S knife to Wilkinson. However Wilkinson had strong links with the Sheffield cutlery trade having owned their own Sheffield knife factory (formerly Pinder) some decades earlier, this may have resulted in sub-contracting work out. There is more circumstantial evidence to support this hypothesis, as Wilkinson is known to have constructed and used a pommel nut clamp with internal smooth sides, which would be a match for some late-war knives.

Research into this area of study is still in it’s infancy with much to still be done but it does raise the question that Wilkinson may have continued producing the higher quality Second and Third Pattern knives up war’s end for exclusive sale through their London Pall Mall showroom, while producing the less expensive late-war version (along with sourcing Sheffield made scabbards) to fulfill Government contract while still remaining competitive.

End Notes

The end of the war did not signal the end of the Wilkinson Third Pattern F-S Knife.  In fact this, the last of the wartime patterns, remained the standard design for many decades.  As Wilkinson continued to fulfill military contracts both at home and abroad, it seems that the Third Pattern through various evolutions remained the standard design for contract work.  Perhaps the last (that we know of) military contract was that to supply 295 F-S Knives for the Falkland’s War (1982). Post-War Wilkinson F-S Knives remain an elusive and fascinating area of study, however these are not the subject of this article, so perhaps best left for a future article.