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. Intended to replace a broad variety of knives and daggers then used by the Force, the V-42 was a well optimized fighting knife for slashing and piercing work. 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, specifically the grandson of Case's wartime President. The stiletto can be seen on page 143 (right item) of his book "Allied Military Fighting Knives and the Men Who Made Them Famous", where it is used as an exemplar of a "standard" V-42 next to a pair of prototypes. The letter speculates that this V-42 may have been very early production; "Often the President of a company likes to keep the first of anything that comes off his production line, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this was not the first production V-42 made by Case". The stiletto can also be seen on page 139 of "Heroes in Our Midst" by Ltc. John Angolia, Ret., which also notes the Case family connection. Overall, the stiletto measures 12 1/4 inches, with a 7 1/4 inch 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 a leather pad on the underside, ribbed washer grip, and blued steel "skull crusher" pommel. A brown leather long drop sheath is included, with staple-reinforced mouth and edges, along with a black box.

Excellent, with 99% plus original blue finish, showing some light wear and handling marks. The sheath is also excellent, with some minor scuffs and verdigris buildup. A superb Case V-42 stiletto.