V-42 stiletto choil or ricasso designed to facilitate a flat or modified saber grip, and a leather handle with a pointed skull-cracking pommel (butt). One source states that the Army placed five separate orders totaling 3,423 V-42 fighting knives from November 1942 through November 1943. However, Case factory records indicate that approximately 3,000 V-42 knives were actually produced, and only one shipment of 1,750 knives to the FSSF was recorded by the Force's supply officer. V-42 stiletto The V-42 stiletto was a stiletto and fighting knife issued during World War II to the First Special Service Force (1st SSF, a.k.a. Devil's Brigade),
Stiletto which was shaped and turned on a lathe. The stiletto blade was usually hammer-forged into a dense rod with a narrow, triangular cross-section, without any sharpened edges. However, other examples of the period have emerged bearing round, square, or diamond cross-sections. The Italian word "stiletto" comes from the Latin "stilus", the thin pointed Roman writing instrument used to engrave wax or clay tablets in ancient times. The stiletto began to gain fame during the late Middle Ages, when it was the secondary weapon of knights. Originally designed as a purely offensive weapon, the stiletto was used to finish off a