GENUINE BLACK COMMANDO KNIFE SHEFFIELD FAIRBAIRN SYKES J NOWILL AND SONS

This is a well made iconic British knife made by Britons with a 70 year link to its history. The fit and finish are excellent except for the fit between the blade and guard where they meet. Not bad but not perfect. The blade grinds are well executed. The handle heavy balance is true to the original.My only complaint is that the edges are not sharp enough to cut paper.

I was very disappointed with the over-all quality of the knife. The knife profile has two obvious errors; a longitudinal flat ground into the diamond profile and a dwell mark where the tool was allowed to hesitate. The edge is dull. The sheath is very flimsy. Quality control seems to be non-existent. I paid $120.00 for this knife. It's worth maybe $30.00

First, let me say that I DID receive this in a timely manner. I read the notes the maker wrote about the ridiculous laws in England (Great Britain) that do NOT allow these knives to be sold in the city or country where they are made. This is pitiful and I regret the situations that have made this happen.As I have seen in other knives of this type, it is well made and it also has historical significance. This is why I bought this knife. When I received the knife I opened it to find ... with the exception of the British proof and/or Army acceptance marks (broad arrow, crossed keys, "crow foot," etc.) this knife is identical to any number of imitation knives found all over the internet. And those others are HALF the price.I have no complaints about the quality and delivery whatsoever. I just expected more for my dollars.

High quality original issue. It was good to find a source for something other than cheap knock-offs.

Knife is great but hte sheath is not original...cheaply made and not the original design...I know because I carried one for years.

cheap.

i'm just looking,and by the specs, i have to offer some defense for the seller, if his specs are true.he lists the steel as carbon O-1, and that's the same steel randall uses, and i've got an 8" model model #1--the fighting kniv: and the steel is pretty good--once upon a time being excellent--but these days s35vn kicks the crap out of everything, and i've got a kevin john hinderoid too.i say that because, because, if you do not have a sharpening/emotional understanding of the steel, you may as well be cutting jello.i sound weird, because just recently, i entered into the sharpeners guild--i'm that good--that being skilled enough to be the lowest apprentice to the barely competent.and the reason it is hard to master this black art, is because-- --the reason reminds me of my novice framer days, and all the hung-over, ruptured romeos, and jobsite gurus kept all of pythagoras and his friends on the contractors code commitee, would actually spill any arboreal beans to any hardass newbie, because if you taught any one of them any tricks, you'd be the one pulling a pink slip on friday, because this is a young man's game, and if you had anything on the ball, you'd have been forebeak by now.so speaks the foreman, as you wonder how you can tell your girlfriend--you've been sacked.;there was a complaint about the lines of this knife, randall tells you that hand made knives are not perfect, and that's a good thing--they aren't tool cut--they're hammer formed.so if this knife is to claimed specs, it is not like other knives for half the price--unless they are good steel and hand forged.but they are probably 440 stainless or aus8 if you're lucky, and to me they are crap.i always hated stainless, but i'm an old recon marine, and i don't stare at knives, i bash them--even my s35vn. i've taken all my carbon blades, and chemically blacked them too--including my randall, except i used concentrated vinegar. you shelf types should see my service kbar, it's well worn, scarred and pitted just like its pappy.but i have found two types of stainless i now love, because these are truly high tech, 21st century gear. the s35--which will cost you four hundred bucks u.s. made, one fifty chinese.and the sandvik stainless. both surpass carbon steel--one a little, and the other a lot.sorry, i don't own the knife, but i couldn't see these specs take a kicking without a comment.froggy.

I just received this knife last week, directly from J. Nowill & Sons in Sheffield, and was initially disappointed in the overall quality of it. I really expected the fit and finish to have been so much better. The FS was completely dull, but sharpened up nicely. Those who keep saying that the FS is not a fighting knife have obviously not studied the methods of WE Fairbairn or Rex Applegate. Also, get a copy of the DVD "Gutterfighting" and watch Fairbairn demonstrate his technique and you'll realize how little you know of his method of using this knife. This knife has really grown on me and is now my personal carry knife. The materials are top notch and the balance and durability are excellent. I'm sure that it's pretty "bad ass", right out of the box, to a complete amateur, but those of us who have been around the block a time or two when it comes to the study and practice of knife fighting might expect that the "world famous" knife makers of Sheffield, England would've put more pride in their work and put out a blade to match that of Gerber, etc, especially for the price that they charge for them.