Ishapore Fairbairn Sykes 2nd Pattern

[Gil Boyd]

I presented a former Royal Marine who recieved the Legion de Honour for being the first man on Juno Beach with the Canadians on D-DAY with a Fairbairn copy from India inside a glazed plaque with Hitlers warning if Commandos were captured.

I have to say the quality was outstanding and would make an expert think twice, I was impressed, so it would appear they are getting better at their craft their in India copying the old favourite. The stamps in the metal were very good too.
Why not if there is a market for them!!

[Flying10uk]

Somewhere I did see a copy of a letter suggesting that a quantity of bare F/S blades were going to be or intending to be shipped out to India during WW2, if memory serves me correctly by Wilkinson.

One can imagine an enterprising Indian finding a create of rusty old knife blades in a warehouse, somewhere in India, and thinking, "If I can get some nice shiny brass handles turned up in the local workshop, I can sell them back to collectors from where the blades came.".

[Gil Boyd]

...............and they probably did, and the low sale price reflected it. Good luck to them.

[Scout Sniper]

I already have a 2nd pattern modern production from an original manufacturer which im more than happy with. Quality is top notch, can't fault it.

But for my collection i would like a good honest, ww2 original example.

[Flying10uk]

But for my collection i would like a good honest, ww2 original example.

It's going to be a lot more than £95, I'm afraid, for a 2nd pattern.

[Scout Sniper]

Im under no illusion on prices, thats just how much it was. It was listed as the real deal and i brought it, but i made a mistake.

I collect Militaria, im not afraid to pay real money for the good stuff.

[dcollector]

The India Fairbairn Knives have an "I" on the guard somewhat similar to this one.
"C" for Canada, and D and D either side of the board arrow for Australia.

The knives were made in the UK, not Ishapore.
The were destined to be sent to India, many were not sent and remained in the UK.

I have had several - mine are both styles of blade machine ground and hand drawn. Mine are all 3rd patterns (there are 2nd pattern India marked knives), mine have the same 1-4 wartime gang mold numbers on the top of the handles that all 3rd pattern WW2 knives have.
Many India marked knives (167,000) went to the USA after the war as reparation payment (wartime support) and are marked with ENGLAND stamps on the guard and sheath.
This means they had remained in UK stores immediately after the war.
The reparation knives (ENGLAND stamps) went to the USA in the late 40's-50's.

The knife in question is a well known copy style, has a fake fat-style 2nd pattern handle, a fairly obvious copy-cat fake etching which is stamped not etched - glad you only lost a few dollars.
There are several collector sites dedicated to Wilkinson Sword knives and a few good FB pages, but best of all there are a half dozen really useful books on collecting Fairbairn Sykes.