Stiletto the Allied side, the French Lebel M1886 épée (needle sword) bayonet was frequently cut down and converted into a stiletto or thrusting knife ("Poignard-Baïonnette Lebel"). These weapons were used to eliminate sentries in trench raids as well as for personal defense. As a class, these daggers, knives, and stilettos were given the title trench knife. World War II saw a resurgence of the stiletto in the form of combat knives for commando raiding forces and other troops who needed a weapon for silent killing. In late 1940, the famed British hand-to-hand combat instructors William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes
The Black Stiletto free teaser short story, "The Black Stiletto's Autograph", and a "Black Stiletto Song" (by Will Arrington), both of which can be downloaded from the official website. The Black Stiletto The Black Stiletto is a thriller novel written by Raymond Benson; it was published in the US in September 2011. The first book in a series, it is the story of Judy Cooper, a young woman in late 1950s New York City, who becomes a masked vigilante. A parallel storyline in the present involves Judy as an elderly Alzheimer's patient being cared for by her grown son, Martin Talbot, who learns