A descendant of the Fairbairn-Sykes combat knife, the V-42 Stiletto was designed with input from members of the First Special Service Force, the joint American/Canadian arctic and mountain warfare unit that is considered one of the forefathers of modern American Special Forces. Due to FSSF's original conception as an alpine warfare unit, the V-42 was bundled with a signature "long drop" sheath, designed to clear the bottom of a military-issue parka while worn on the belt. An included letter from Robert Buerlein, author, president of Historical Associates Ltd. and co-founder of the U.S. Marine Raider Museum, describes this stiletto as his personal property, procured from the Case family in 1984. The stiletto can be seen on page 143 (middle item) of his book "Allied Military Fighting Knives and the Men Who Made Them Famous", where it is called out as a likely factory prototype due to its smooth grip and non-standard hilt length; the letter also notes that it is the only one he's seen with a hilt so configured. The stiletto can also be seen on page 140 of "Heroes in Our Midst" by Ltc. John Angolia, Ret, similarly described as prototype material. Overall, the stiletto measures 12 3/4 inches, with a 7 3/8" blade featuring a needle point and hollow ground edges, along with the "thumbprint" oval panel over the "CASE" marking. A slight upturn can be seen in the guard, with the aforementioned smooth grip and blued steel "skull crusher" pommel. Original brown leather long drop sheath is included, with staple-reinforced mouth and edges, along with a black box.

Excellent, with 98% of the original blue finish, showing some mild handling marks overall. A few dents and white spots are present on the grip. The sheath is in very fine condition, with mild stains and scuffs. An extremely fine, rare and well-documented V-42 Stiletto Prototype fighting knife.