POMMELS On Edged Weapons. The V-42 Force ("Devils Brigade")

Knife POMMEL and PUMMEL.

The pommel of a knife or sword is the 'knob' on the handle meant to stop the hand slipping-off. The weight of the pommel on a knife can be used to adjust its balance. The name is also used for the decorative top of a flagpole, the knob on the rear end of a cannon, the pommel (saddlebow) on a saddle to aid mounting, the grips on a gymnasts vaulting horse, and the lower surface of a clenched fist.

Pommeler is closely related with the verb to pummel something – meaning to beat and strike repeatedly. - So a pommel might be used to pummel something (- beat the cr*p out of somebody!)

The U S Fighting Commando Knife , Type V-42 (design copied from the Fairburne-Sykes) was built with a thumb groove or choil on the ricasso and a skull-crusher pommel.

                                                         V-42 Force Knife

It was designed by the officers of The First Special Service Force (1stSSF) a joint WW2 Canadian / US Commando Force also dramatically known as "the Devil's Brigade".

- Called also the Force Knife or V-42 Stiletto, approximately 3,000 V-42s were built by well known Knife makers 'Case' with either 7.250" or 7.125" double hollow ground blades and a leather handle.

1^st SSF Shoulder Patch

Trained as parachutists in Montana, the 1stSSF were formed initially for 'Project Plough' (cancelled) to invade and liberate Norway – so were instead sent to The Aleution Islands, followed by Italy and France. - In June 1943 the unit achieved 125% in a fitness test having an average pass rate of 75%. - When the 1stSSF landed on Kiska Island in the Arctic Aleutions they found that the Japanese had evacuated.

A similar Fairburne-Sykes copy knife is the US Marine Raider Stiletto