Rare Williams of Smithfield Butchers Knife
Rare antique Williams of Smithfield (1765-1923) butcher’s knife with a rosewood handle, churchwarden’s pipe trademark.
The single-edged blade is struck T. WILLIAMS SMITHFIELD LONDON MADE, together with the clay pipe logo. In the 19th Century the robust T Williams knives were very popular with British officers as a private purchase weapon.
It is in a very used condition and a nice example of recycling in action. The blade has snapped during butchery and the knife has since been used by the painter A P, great sharpening wear, patina and paint splattering to the handle.
Vintage 19th Century
Overall length 17cm Blade 6cm
Delivery cost is £10 to most of mainland UK. Please call or email for quotes to Highland Scotland, Northern Ireland, UK Islands and for Worldwide shipping, email: mike@ecoeditions.com or phone +44 (0)7308 148807 . We will liaise with you to ensure delivery is as smooth as possible. Please make sure you look at the photographs on our website to satisfy yourself with the condition before the item is shipped. We do our very best to describe and photograph every piece to cover vintage wear & tear but please call us and we can talk you through the piece or send you more photographs. Vat is included in the purchase price where applicable.
The adventurer Harry Wolhuter was appointed one of Kruger Park’s first rangers in 1903. In August of that year, he was attacked by two lions. He was knocked from his horse, bitten deeply through the shoulder and dragged 100 meters into the brush, where he managed to draw his knife and dispatch the first lion with two thrusts into the heart; his dog meanwhile frightened off its mate. Wolhuter survived the attack but lost his Williams knife. On hearing of his adventure, the T. Williams Company presented Wolhuter with a new one.
Years later, Wolhuter told the story of how he “acquired” that knife. “One day, when I was in Komatipoort, I visited the shop of a friend, and on the counter was a big Dutch cheese, beside which lay the knife used for cutting it. I picked up the knife and examined it, as I was always interested in sheath knives. This one, I observed, was the famous “Pipe Brand,” and far too good a knife to be wasted on cutting cheese!
So I removed my own knife from its sheath on my belt, laid it alongside the cheese, and put the “Pipe Brand” knife in its place. This wicked theft was never noticed as the two knives were almost identical in form and size; and my friend never suspected until I told him years later, suggesting that “fair exchange was no robbery.”