Fairbairn sykes scabbard "w" marked

[Carl Ellingstad]

I have noticed that there exist FS scabbards who are stamped with the letter W. Can anyone tell me what it means? Below is a photo of one example of what I mean:





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[britpc]

The 'W' stamp on a FS scabbard was/is thought to signify 'Waterproof' but I don't think anyone really knows.

Sorry I can't help further.

This is my own opinion, but I don't buy into that suggestion.
Regards
Irv

[Carl Ellingstad]

Interesting theory! Curious what other collectors of FS have suggestions to what it means?

[Time Bandit]

I have no idea what it stands for but just out of interest I have a British 1907 Pattern bayonet made by Wilkinson and the scabbard for that also has a 'W' stamped into the leather (as well as the Enfield inspectors stamps on the metal locket).
I'd always guessed (more than likely wrongly) that maybe it had something to do with the fact that the bayonet was made by Wilkinson and the 'W' stood for Wilkinson but I couldn't really figure out why as whilst the bayonet/blade would of been made by Wilkinson I presumed the scabbards were made else where?

[grip3846]

My Understanding

These W's only seem to crop up on 3rd Pattern knives. It has always been my understanding that the various makers manufactured their own scabbards but I have no documentation to back this up.
Regards,Ivan.

[Carl Ellingstad]

These W's only seem to crop up on 3rd Pattern knives. It has always been my understanding that the various makers manufactured their own scabbards but I have no documentation to back this up.
Regards,Ivan.

I have noticed this marking on 1 B2 type.2 and on 1 B2 type.3 knife.

[Carl Ellingstad]

In the book "Wilkinson Sword and the FS Knife" 2nd edition I finally found the information about this marking. It means that the scabbard is coated with wax to make it more water resistant. Post war scabbards can be found with the letter Y which id some kind of water resistant liquid who starts the the letter Y, and who I dont remember the name of right now.