Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife
Dagger
費賽二氏戰鬥刀 · フェアバーン・サイクス戦闘ナイフ · 페어번-사이크스 전투용 단검
- Type
- dagger
- Place of origin
- United Kingdom
- Period of origin
- 1941
- Length
- 29 cm (11.4 in)
The Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife is a double-edged fighting knife resembling a dagger or poignard with a brass or wooden foil grip. It was developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based on ideas that the two men had while serving on the Shanghai Municipal Police in China before World War II.
The F-S fighting knife was made famous during World War II when issued to British Commandos, the Airborne Forces, the Special Air Service (SAS) and many other units, especially for the Normandy landings in June 1944. With its acutely tapered, sharply pointed blade, the F-S fighting knife is frequently described as a stiletto, a weapon optimised for thrusting, although the F-S knife can be used to inflict slash cuts upon an opponent when its cutting edges are sharpened according to specification. The Wilkinson Sword Company made the knife with minor pommel and grip design variations.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q196261 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.