Unusual and Rare WW1 British Army Butchers “Trench” Knife by James Walker & Co. Ltd with Leather Sheath dated 1915

Here on offer is a very unusual example of what I believe is a WW1 British Army issued Butcher’s “Trench” knife that comes with a professionally made Army issued leather sheath.

I can’t find another example for reference but understand that at the start of WW1 French soldiers were not issued knives and were supposed to rely on their bayonets.

However, as soon as trench warfare set in the long rifles with bayonets proved unwieldy in the confined space of the trenches.

This led to the French Army from the beginning of 1915 distributing large numbers of civilian knives in many variations, the most common being the Butcher's Knives of which 200,000 were issued from July.

Between 25 and 30 cm long, they were issued together with a rudimentary sheath made of textile or leather.

Apparently, the French Butcher's Knives were not very popular with the troops, probably due to the lack of hand guard.

Now this example, made by James Walker & Co. Ltd does have a thick oval brass finger/hand guard and much wider blade, unlike the French versions.


The butcher’s knife has a plain wooden grip, which has made from two slabs of wood possibly teak, that are pinned together through the tang, with five brass pins.


The 12” long steel blade has a maker’s name on one side:


JAMES WALKER & Co. Ltd

LION PACKING


It is in excellent condition and still retains a sharp edge, but there are some areas of light pitting and age staining to the finish.


It comes with a very well made thick brown leather scabbard which has a large belt loop at the top.
The sheath is in excellent condition and stamped on the back of the belt loop section with a British Broad Arrow, the maker’s initials, “H & R” and the date 1915.

The Butchers knife blade measures 12” (30.5cm) long and the whole knife is 17.25” (44cm) long.

With the sheath it weighs 435g.

This is a great opportunity to obtain and rare example of what I believe to be a British Army issued Butchers knife that was to be used as a trench knife during the early years of WW1.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Code: 50965