Geeking out over this seemingly perfect symmetrical knife I've just discovered but being discouraged by the price- and then I come across this video. It was great to learn about the history and work surrounding this knife. Thanks for the info and for sharing your collection with us.
Great video. Didn’t know there was so many variants. I’m getting a Desert Storm model soon (Boker) with the same sand coloured handle as the one in the video. Thanks for showing these.
Good buy, the desert storm! A few new limited models have been released recently, incl. a grey handled partially serrated model (think "SOG desert dagger") and a burl-handled semi polished luxury variant.
I own a Boker AF that's about 20 years old, serial number 250. It has a polished blade not the grey beadblast blade like others, has original box. I also have a Boker smatchet limited edition number 208 of 1200 and it's slightly younger than the AF. Thinking about selling them.
Hey Buddy, great video! The Böker A/F is for sure a great combat dagger. The historical Background (the Evolution from the FS to the AF) is quite interesting.
Erik1970Viking Thanks for your kind words! I hope to do a special about Walter Brend Protech daggers this summer. However, the AF history us much longer.
Excellent and impressive video. Thank you. I would like to ask a question. I see your knives are symmetrical, but when I bought mine from Boker it came with one side flat. I feel like it makes it pretty useless as a field knife as cutting even an apple proves difficult and frustrating.
Hi! Thanks for the compliment. Did you buy a serrated or mini version? All other full size Boeker models that I saw (and used to sell) were symmetrical.
That must be the boot knife version. It is intended for anti-personal use and it is a stabbing implement. I own the boot knife, the single edged version and the double edged version with one partly serrated edge. The single edged version is the best of this bunch for field knife use. My current regular carry is the Eickhorn SEK II. It is a sturdy versatile knife, legal to carry in my jurisdiction and it is marketed as a rescue tool.
Good looking but flawed design with the handle, what do you think are some of the best current combat daggers?My pick is the Ka-bar EK model 4 although I would have preferred they kept the original EK blade shape and offered a stainless version also.
I had a Faorburn dagger. I have a hand with a big palm and relativly short fingers. I found the original handle was too thin. I built mine up with black paint soaked heavy twine. The result was a knife that fit my hand perfectly.
@@jeannaimarre I got two in very like new condition and actually one is new because it only been out the box for photos, but I what to have extra handles if that possible for my Boker AF Combat II Daggers , so would you have any idea where I can should look ? I tried Boker Website.
I have the black handled Blackjack. Dark grey powder coated blade. Custom leather sheath. I got it from a friend who was an Al Mar collector. He had 2 of almost every folding knife made by Al Mar. Can only imagine what his collection is worth today...
theses are my favorite combat knifes love them all,i like all of FS Knifes,but my favorite would have to be Applegate Fairbairn daggers.I have a gerber mk 1 dagger boot knife :) one day i will have me one of Applegate Fairbairn daggers.Hard to find in my country new zealand :( im lucky to find my gerber mk1 dagger :).But yeah one day i will find me one ,until that day.thankyou for making this awesome video,cheers mate.
Thank you Joe Joe, I hope that it will work out there in NZ. As far as I know the import of double edged knives there is prohibited. Could you confirm this?
Hi Patrick, it was intended to adjust the balance of the knife to the individual user. A bit nitpicky or gimmicky to some, it became a trademark feature in its own right, leading to all sorts of handle problems.
Thanks for your answer. I am looking for the dagger, made by Al Mar. I am considering asking a knife maker to do one like the Bill Harsey hand made one. I like the hollow grounded blade style. I am a knife fighting instructor and I wrote one of the first K-F book in spanish. Now I am working on the english version of it. I used to have the Boker version and in my opinion, that knife is too thin. I live in Miami, FL
Ah, I cannot sell my Al Mar, unfortunately. Bill Harsey is difficult to get in touch with, I tried two times: no reply. You'd best ask a knife maker whom you personally know.
I also try to contact Bill, without luck. I already made a drawing of the A-F knife with the improvements I think are worth having. And I am tempting Macdonald Armouries to do the job. Are you in the US?
Very nice review. I am a big fan of Applegate-Fairbairn knife. William Harsey made me a custom A-F knife with modifications I have requested many years ago. It has a micarta handle and stainless guard. The blade is 154 CM.
Greetings from Alaska__ for $50.00 Northern Knives in Anchorage scrapped the broken handle from my Blackjack __they custom made a one off micarta handle
Is it possible to purchase extra or replacement handles from Boker for the AF Combat II Dagger 🗡️, ?? or do you know of any other places to get original style Boker handles?
Can you actually get one if these badboys sharp though? These all look like they have high angles set on each cutting edge. How do the edges actually perform? Thanx brother. :).
@@jeannaimarre I think I'm gonna hold off on the Rexy for a while and grab an OKC M10 off of eBay. Still want one though just because it looks so kick ass. Thanks brother. :).
@@jeannaimarre someguy was selling items he bought from an estate sale. It's serial number 02288. How uncommon are the blackjack models? Do you know the production numbers?
@@MrJerry160 blackjack's are fairly common but not too. Their A2 models are more limited. I'll look for the auction catalogue and get back to you. Any other details on the handle/blade?
Easiest ways are to contact your boker importer and ask for existing wooden scales. Otherwise, unscrew the plastic ones and take them to a woodcrafter to make custom copies.
Very good video. The lack of strong pommel was a serious oversight. My favourite dagger is the Al Mar Shadow IV, although it needs re-bevelling. Sharpest dagger I've owned is the Gerber Guardian II, because the edge is essentially zero edged, with almost no secondary bevel. However they are not all made the same in sharpness. Extreme sharpness is essential in a dagger, as was pointed out by Fairbairn. The Gerber Applegate folder has pressed-in pivot pin masquerading as a screw: I would not recommend it...
Thanks Jean. It was, they never truly fixed that pommel, strangely enough. That Shadow looks great, Al Mar had a couple of nice daggers, like the Fang, be it in the "glossy" mirror polish era. Ah yes, the classic guardian. Too bad Gerber has had quality inconsistencies. I remember the hex grip screws of my combat folder falling out time and again. I had to superglue them in but it never felt like the knife I thought it would be and gave it away.
where did you buy the extra boker handle grips for the blackjack A2 blade? Does Boker sell some of their handle grips separately by any chance? Maybe you just took the handle grips off from another Boker that you already owned.
Hi, I got them trough their brand representative in the Netherlands. I suspect that if you explain your need to your national importer, you have a fair chance of getting to buy a pair.
Thanks! Yeah, at the time I only had a potato to film with. If you google the forumthread mentioned in the description, you can find some detailed pictures.
@@jeannaimarre There is only 1 YT review of the Boker variant and I haven't been able to find it anywhere even on Ebay. Other version popup with some regularity on Ebay.
@@jeannaimarre No, mine came with a factory polymer holster. Interesting way for retention in that it has two nubs that block the guard. To get it out you have to push the knife away from the body and pull. I replaced it with a custom leather sheath. The plastic sheath on every draw I would get some material on the knife.
Hi, unfortunately not. The Al Mar are half to 3/4 tang and the Black Jack are what the manufacturers called "supported tang" (more or less a 3/4 to 4/5 tang), if I remember correctly.
I think the Applegate Fairbairn was not just " invented" by Applegate since it has Fairbairns name on it too 😂. The Fairbairn Sykes dagger was invented by F and S when they worked for the Shanghai police to defeat the Chinese Tong gangs since the firearms back then were unreliable and many police were being killed. F and S developed their fighting skills and were wounded many times themselves. Later they would teach the British Army and in WW2 the Americans too. Their police daggers were adopted by the brits and copied by the Americans of the OSS who made their own. Collaboration between Applegate and Fairbairn developed the AF dagger since the FS dagger was too delicate for grunt use 😂
Its a reproduction, doesnt have 6 key features of the FS knife, probably more I cant see right off the bat. 1. Slim linearly tapering blade 2. Half to full inch ricasso 3. Curved guards (asymetric) 4. Impact balls on guards 5. Impact ball on pommel 6. Steel grip
Hi W?W? You aptly distinguished all the differences right there, but the AF was not meant to be or look like the FS. It is almost a stand alone design to improve on the tasks the FS had to be able to perform, with but scarce input from Fairbairn himself. You could consider it a further evolution. Curious: do you have some FS daggers yourself?
Danni 1) "Its a reproduction" False -- it's NOT a reproduction. It's a redesign of the F/S done by Applegate & Fairbairn towards end of WW II for the purpose of correcting problems encountered with later (3rd pattern) models -- problems not present in the originals made by Wilkinson Sword. 2) "doesnt have 6 key features of the FS knife" True. Good thing, as it's NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE SAME FEATURES; it's not a F/S knife. Your list is therefore superfluous.
![โอ้เธอช่าง... - บี้เดอะสกา ft. ต๋อง เทวัญ (Prod. by ป๋าเพชร) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zbWhiLFmVL0/mqdefault.jpg)
![The World War 2 Fairbairn Sykes Fighting Knife [What You Need to Know]](/img/n.gif)
The stainless blackjack is now up for offer on ebay! www.ebay.nl/itm/154563035094
Great presentation - Thank you for posting
Nice dagger collection!
Geeking out over this seemingly perfect symmetrical knife I've just discovered but being discouraged by the price- and then I come across this video.
It was great to learn about the history and work surrounding this knife. Thanks for the info and for sharing your collection with us.
Thanks alot! I wish I had had a better camera at the time of filming but I'm glad that the info still manages to inspire.
Good Voice for stories...
Great video. Didn’t know there was so many variants. I’m getting a Desert Storm model soon (Boker) with the same sand coloured handle as the one in the video. Thanks for showing these.
Good buy, the desert storm! A few new limited models have been released recently, incl. a grey handled partially serrated model (think "SOG desert dagger") and a burl-handled semi polished luxury variant.
Thanks for sharing this. I found it very interesting and informative.👀👍🏻⚓🇺🇲
I own a Boker AF that's about 20 years old, serial number 250. It has a polished blade not the grey beadblast blade like others, has original box. I also have a Boker smatchet limited edition number 208 of 1200 and it's slightly younger than the AF. Thinking about selling them.
The 20yo must be quite interesting to the collector's market. What are handle and sheath material / color?
@@jeannaimarre Hi, black zytel handle, black cordura sheath.
Hey Buddy, great video! The Böker A/F is for sure a great combat dagger. The historical Background (the Evolution from the FS to the AF) is quite interesting.
Erik1970Viking Thanks for your kind words! I hope to do a special about Walter Brend Protech daggers this summer. However, the AF history us much longer.
Excellent and impressive video. Thank you. I would like to ask a question. I see your knives are symmetrical, but when I bought mine from Boker it came with one side flat. I feel like it makes it pretty useless as a field knife as cutting even an apple proves difficult and frustrating.
Hi! Thanks for the compliment. Did you buy a serrated or mini version? All other full size Boeker models that I saw (and used to sell) were symmetrical.
That must be the boot knife version. It is intended for anti-personal use and it is a stabbing implement. I own the boot knife, the single edged version and the double edged version with one partly serrated edge. The single edged version is the best of this bunch for field knife use.
My current regular carry is the Eickhorn SEK II. It is a sturdy versatile knife, legal to carry in my jurisdiction and it is marketed as a rescue tool.
Just got myself a beautiful Joker Mountain Knife.
I think it's a copy of this knife design. It's quite attractive. ♥️
Good looking but flawed design with the handle, what do you think are some of the best current combat daggers?My pick is the Ka-bar EK model 4 although I would have preferred they kept the original EK blade shape and offered a stainless version also.
Kabar EK two looks good. The 5.5 variant of the Applegate has a better tang and broader blade. OTherwise the beshara XSF-1, for tip strength.
I had a Faorburn dagger. I have a hand with a big palm and relativly short fingers. I found the original handle was too thin. I built mine up with black paint soaked heavy twine. The result was a knife that fit my hand perfectly.
Sounds amazing. Do you have some pictures online?
@@jeannaimarre The knife went missing decaces ago.
@@gregwarner3753 yeah the key word was you had ,but great idea. 🦉🗡️
@@jeannaimarre I got two in very like new condition and actually one is new because it only been out the box for photos, but I what to have extra handles if that possible for my Boker AF Combat II Daggers , so would you have any idea where I can should look ? I tried Boker Website.
Fantastische verzameling ! Goede info ook,ga zo door!
bedankt! wordt zéker vervolgd ;)
I have the black handled Blackjack. Dark grey powder coated blade. Custom leather sheath. I got it from a friend who was an Al Mar collector. He had 2 of almost every folding knife made by Al Mar. Can only imagine what his collection is worth today...
Congratulations! Do you know if it has an A2 steel blade? I still have my stainless steel variant.
for Alex Hodge: the hex / Allen wrench size for the grip screws is either #3 or #4, depending on the knife manufacturer
Got it! Many thanks!
theses are my favorite combat knifes love them all,i like all of FS Knifes,but my favorite would have to be Applegate Fairbairn daggers.I have a gerber mk 1 dagger boot knife :) one day i will have me one of Applegate Fairbairn daggers.Hard to find in my country new zealand :( im lucky to find my gerber mk1 dagger :).But yeah one day i will find me one ,until that day.thankyou for making this awesome video,cheers mate.
Thank you Joe Joe, I hope that it will work out there in NZ. As far as I know the import of double edged knives there is prohibited. Could you confirm this?
I hope you found one by now.
Hi what was/is the purpose of being able to adjust the weight in the handles?
Hi Patrick, it was intended to adjust the balance of the knife to the individual user. A bit nitpicky or gimmicky to some, it became a trademark feature in its own right, leading to all sorts of handle problems.
@@jeannaimarre Thanks. It probably made for unnecessary complexity -more things to go wrong.
@@PatrickHutton exactly. Böker got the scale integrity right, but still no full tang. Except for the Bill Harsey 5-5 variant.
Very nice video. Actually I am looking for an Al Mar A-F dagger. About the Smatchet, it was designed by Fairbairn.
If you are looking for the Smatchet, it's still iin production by Böker, Germany. Where do you live?
Thanks for your answer. I am looking for the dagger, made by Al Mar. I am considering asking a knife maker to do one like the Bill Harsey hand made one. I like the hollow grounded blade style. I am a knife fighting instructor and I wrote one of the first K-F book in spanish. Now I am working on the english version of it. I used to have the Boker version and in my opinion, that knife is too thin. I live in Miami, FL
Ah, I cannot sell my Al Mar, unfortunately. Bill Harsey is difficult to get in touch with, I tried two times: no reply. You'd best ask a knife maker whom you personally know.
I also try to contact Bill, without luck. I already made a drawing of the A-F knife with the improvements I think are worth having. And I am tempting Macdonald Armouries to do the job. Are you in the US?
pdbuttyRTO Curious as to what improvements you have in mind! No, Europe.
dagger was UK commando issue adopted by UK SOE and US OSS
7:22 I jumped when that book jumped off the table, thought I was cut with a knife..I looked no Blood..
Haha you too ey? I'm sure we'd rather take a small nick in the thumb than let such a rare collection piece hit the floor.
Very nice review. I am a big fan of Applegate-Fairbairn knife. William Harsey made me a custom A-F knife with modifications I have requested many years ago. It has a micarta handle and stainless guard. The blade is 154 CM.
EvlUpGaming ! Wow, congrats on landing that custom. Truth be told I am a bit envious!
Greetings from Alaska__ for $50.00 Northern Knives in Anchorage scrapped the broken handle from my Blackjack __they custom made a one off micarta handle
Awesome! Pictures somwhere?
Is it possible to purchase extra or replacement handles from Boker for the AF Combat II Dagger 🗡️, ??
or do you know of any other places to get original style Boker handles?
Your best chance is to write them personally, they are not commonly sold but should be purchaseable under "service".
How can I obtain a Boker handle that could replace a cracked Blackjack handle?
after my gerbers , my cold steel tanto's and ontario's the Boker applegate / fairbairn is 1' of my better investments of my many handtools
@@sonnysantana5454 my own cold steel master tanto has a nice spot on the same knife rack. Blessings brother
Can you actually get one if these badboys sharp though? These all look like they have high angles set on each cutting edge. How do the edges actually perform? Thanx brother. :).
@@crazyjay2023 more of a tearing effect than cutting, bit still sharp
@@jeannaimarre I think I'm gonna hold off on the Rexy for a while and grab an OKC M10 off of eBay. Still want one though just because it looks so kick ass. Thanks brother. :).
I had the green al mar one back in late 80s and it's handle shattered to pieces from a 2 foot drop and the steel didn't hold an edge.
That sounds sadly familliar. Those plastic lacked the qualities of a real combat knife
Thanks for the info! I had found a black jack model locally. I'll get some boker handles!
Locally? Sounds like you had a lucky find, congratulations!
@@jeannaimarre someguy was selling items he bought from an estate sale. It's serial number 02288. How uncommon are the blackjack models? Do you know the production numbers?
@@MrJerry160 blackjack's are fairly common but not too. Their A2 models are more limited. I'll look for the auction catalogue and get back to you. Any other details on the handle/blade?
@@jeannaimarre matte finish signatures are closer to the hilt. there looks to be a spacer. handle is black. Thanks!
ТАВОРОТ!!!! КАК ЖЕ ОН ХОРОШ!!! У меня даже привстал...
Is there a way to customize a Boker a/f to a wood handle?
Easiest ways are to contact your boker importer and ask for existing wooden scales. Otherwise, unscrew the plastic ones and take them to a woodcrafter to make custom copies.
Good Video
That's my mom's father . The Colonel .
Very good video. The lack of strong pommel was a serious oversight. My favourite dagger is the Al Mar Shadow IV, although it needs re-bevelling. Sharpest dagger I've owned is the Gerber Guardian II, because the edge is essentially zero edged, with almost no secondary bevel. However they are not all made the same in sharpness. Extreme sharpness is essential in a dagger, as was pointed out by Fairbairn. The Gerber Applegate folder has pressed-in pivot pin masquerading as a screw: I would not recommend it...
Thanks Jean. It was, they never truly fixed that pommel, strangely enough. That Shadow looks great, Al Mar had a couple of nice daggers, like the Fang, be it in the "glossy" mirror polish era.
Ah yes, the classic guardian. Too bad Gerber has had quality inconsistencies. I remember the hex grip screws of my combat folder falling out time and again. I had to superglue them in but it never felt like the knife I thought it would be and gave it away.
where did you buy the extra boker handle grips for the blackjack A2 blade? Does Boker sell some of their handle grips separately by any chance? Maybe you just took the handle grips off from another Boker that you already owned.
Hi, I got them trough their brand representative in the Netherlands. I suspect that if you explain your need to your national importer, you have a fair chance of getting to buy a pair.
@@jeannaimarre Sounds excellent. I will look into this. Thanks for the reply.
Great info, unfortunately I couldn't make out any detail. The resolution was very bad.
Thanks! Yeah, at the time I only had a potato to film with. If you google the forumthread mentioned in the description, you can find some detailed pictures.
Hello to France !! J'en ai marre!! Excellent Pseudo !! Était ce un clin d'œil ???
Salut Jean! Exactement 😁 Ca vient d'un blague téléphone de Bart Simpson. Fallait choisir entre celui et une version allemande: Meinhartt S. Rohr 😅
super
Besh wedge variant I am told is the rarest variant. I have the serrated variant. The sheath it came with was meh.
Can you tell which manufacturer?
@@jeannaimarre There is only 1 YT review of the Boker variant and I haven't been able to find it anywhere even on Ebay. Other version popup with some regularity on Ebay.
@@jeannaimarre th-cam.com/video/-vILVu2UZrk/w-d-xo.html
@@tengu190 oh yes, the Boeker variant. Nice sturdy model, still in production to this day. Did you get the cordura sheath?
@@jeannaimarre No, mine came with a factory polymer holster. Interesting way for retention in that it has two nubs that block the guard. To get it out you have to push the knife away from the body and pull. I replaced it with a custom leather sheath. The plastic sheath on every draw I would get some material on the knife.
Are these full tang knives?
Hi, unfortunately not. The Al Mar are half to 3/4 tang and the Black Jack are what the manufacturers called "supported tang" (more or less a 3/4 to 4/5 tang), if I remember correctly.
Хорошие ножи!!!
I think the Applegate Fairbairn was not just " invented" by Applegate since it has Fairbairns name on it too 😂. The Fairbairn Sykes dagger was invented by F and S when they worked for the Shanghai police to defeat the Chinese Tong gangs since the firearms back then were unreliable and many police were being killed. F and S developed their fighting skills and were wounded many times themselves. Later they would teach the British Army and in WW2 the Americans too. Their police daggers were adopted by the brits and copied by the Americans of the OSS who made their own. Collaboration between Applegate and Fairbairn developed the AF dagger since the FS dagger was too delicate for grunt use 😂
@@joanngrainger4650 exactly!
So, every single one has problems?
Im looking for a wooden handle one if you have a lead that would be appreciatedf
Hi Nick, in which country are you based?
Its a reproduction, doesnt have 6 key features of the FS knife, probably more I cant see right off the bat.
1. Slim linearly tapering blade
2. Half to full inch ricasso
3. Curved guards (asymetric)
4. Impact balls on guards
5. Impact ball on pommel
6. Steel grip
Hi W?W?
You aptly distinguished all the differences right there, but the AF was not meant to be or look like the FS. It is almost a stand alone design to improve on the tasks the FS had to be able to perform, with but scarce input from Fairbairn himself. You could consider it a further evolution.
Curious: do you have some FS daggers yourself?
Michel Belgraver Originals, yes.
Nice, there are many stories to be told about those
Danni 1) "Its a reproduction" False -- it's NOT a reproduction. It's a redesign of the F/S done by Applegate & Fairbairn towards end of WW II for the purpose of correcting problems encountered with later (3rd pattern) models -- problems not present in the originals made by Wilkinson Sword.
2) "doesnt have 6 key features of the FS knife" True. Good thing, as it's NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE SAME FEATURES; it's not a F/S knife. Your list is therefore superfluous.
Sykes
The shiny Knives are ugly even they are prototypes
Thomas M. The col. shared your opinion on the finish. The shape remains distinctly elegant imo
You must have lots of money because there expensive$ 308.00
@@constantineDemonkiller-wy8ts Not anymore. I spent it all on knives and now I'm broke but happy