Stiletto through the end of the 19th century, particularly in France, Corsica, and Italy. While still used as a weapon of surprise and assassination, the use of stiletto in preference to the dagger in close combat confrontations between adversaries became widespread throughout Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica. The continued popularity of the stiletto in the Kingdom of Sicily resulted in the development of the "scherma di stiletto siciliano" (Sicilian school of stiletto fighting). A person skilled in the use of a stiletto would thrust the knife deep into the victim, then twist the blade sharply in various directions before retracting it, causing
United States Marine Raider stiletto the tie-down thong. This gave more room on their web belt and made both the pistol and stiletto available to the right hand. The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was issued the U.S. Marine Raider stiletto. Their U.S.-made stiletto was identical to the Raiders except it had a parkerized blade and the hilt without the U.S.M.C. scroll and without the maker's name etched on the blade. It is believed that, as part of the original production run, perhaps about 500 parkerized units were manufactured. Roy C. Rushton, who served as a sniper with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, reported about the