A military fighting knife is a combat knife designed to kill or gravely incapacitate an enemy soldier at close quarters. These knives was developed in response to a need for a close combat weapon for soldiers conducting assaults and raids. The famous Fairbairn Sykes commando knife was more often than not, a private purchase item by soldiers during WW2 but often these weapons were made by the troops themselves from cut down bayonets. Later, company armourers undertook the task of shortening bayonets for use by the troops.
This is a rare and nicely made trench knife fashioned from a Wilkinson P1907 bayonet. It is likely that this knife was made by a regimental armourer as opposed to by Wilkinson themselves.
The 144mm blade has a Bowie style point and a sharp single edge. The blade is in fair to good condition with small areas of cleaned shallow pitting and a small patch of deep pitting on the spine. The ricasso bears a faint crowned GR cypher above the pattern date of 1907. The production date of 12 ’42 (December 1942) is stamped below, along with the WSC mark of the Wilkinson Sword Company. The obverse ricasso is stamped with the War Department arrow, an Enfield inspection mark, bend test X and an additional stamp that I am unable to identify.
The steel pommel retains its original blued finish and has had the attachment mechanism removed, providing a hole through the pommel for the attachment of a lanyard. The muzzle ring has been removed.
The bayonet’s original scabbard was adapted to accommodate the shortened blade. The scabbard is in fair condition with a tear in the leather below the locket. The stitching of the seam is intact. The throat and chape retain most of their original blueing and the knife sheathes and draws smoothly and is held firmly within the scabbard.
This is an interesting and rare WW2 fighting knife.
