I did my research and it appears I have found a 3rd pattern knife manufactured during WWII for $150.
It only has two markings that I can find. A 4 mold marking on the handle and ENGLAND stamped on the cross guard.
No broad arrow. I read that this might make it one of 167,000 exported to the USA after the war as a payment toward wartime support.
So, is this all correct and would it be worth the $150 if in otherwise decent shape? I can probably get it for $135 with their discount. It does not have a sheath. The no broad arrow is bugging me a bit. They say the molds were destroyed after the war so a post war knife would not have the number.
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Last edited by Aragorn243; 01-01-2022 at 01:58 PM.
I have had this example for a very long time, not being knowledgeable about these, I was told it is a third pattern and original. Many fakes were manufactured starting with Spain and so forth into Asia over the years. I have the scabbard.
I went back up, here are some pics. My price would be $135. Seems to be an OK price, not great but not horrible. It does not appear to be a Wilkenson. It still has the mold marks. The hand guard seems to be the thick type. The blade, guard and handle are all very tight, no movement. Stratches on the blade and light rust in spots on the edge. It has clamp marks and the No 4 mold stamp. Only other marks is the ENGLAND. Assuming it is machine ground. No scabbard. I'm just looking for an example to have that is a genuine WWII knife. This has no acceptance marks so I assume that means it was never issued. If it's a decent price, I'll get it, just don't want to take a bath on it.
Man you guys are tough for advice today. I think I'm going to purchase it tomorrow morning if it's still there. I have concluded it's the real deal and the price is within my budget for one of these. I couldn't find my old thread asking about these yesterday but did find it today and between it and two other older threads, I'm confident this is a real WWII piece, part of the 167,000 imported after the war as reparations.
If I'm wrong or you suspect I'm wrong, please let me know ASAP as I'll be heading out around 10:00 tomorrow.
Yes, I checked thst out. For as collectible as these things are and the high prices they get , the public information on them really sucks. With 167,000 of these sent to the US, you would think there would be a better explanation on this batch at least. I get that there are hundreds of different manufacturers and many individual one offs of the first two patterns but the third? It’s frustrating.
As I said befoe, I am far from an expert on these Fairbairn Sykes knifes but notice the rings on your handle don't match up.
Like the handle was cast in two separate parts, I checked my knifle (second posting) and the handle is one piece and the rings
are perfect. Also the stamp ENGLAND is very faint.
You probably have a Wilkenson knife. These were not made in two pieces, but they were made in two-piece molds. Most manufacturers didn't take the extra step to polish out the mold line, Wilkenson did.
I think that the post war makers normally stamped their name on the cross piece or they have on the 3rd pattern examples that I have, in my collection. In any case at that price I wouldn't worry too much, when you compare it to the price of a good reproduction F/S knife. If there is no acceptance mark/broad arrow it could indicate "private purchase".
Looks very similar to my 3rd pattern (apart from the mis alignment of the moulded rings as noted,
Some other thoughts, apologies if going over old ground:
I understood the marking England was on all knifes exported from the UK to the US post war as a payback for debts owed, so mostly likely not issued before being sent over - some info towards the bottom of this page
after the war as a payment toward wartime support.
PM
Originally Posted by 
