British WW2 Bolo type Knife Smatchet

British WW2 Bolo type Knife Smatchet
Nice used British WW2 so-called “Bollo” type knife in a privat made leather scabbard. Unmarked made with steel, wood and aluminum.

The Special Training Centre at Inverailort House near the remote hamlet of Lochailort on Scotland’s western coast is justly famous as the headquarters for special operations training in Great Britain during World War II. It is also there that a number of weapons to meet the needs of special operations personnel were designed. Perhaps the most famous weapon to come out of Lochailort was the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, a stiletto designed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes. To complement the delicate stiletto blade of the F-S Fighting Knife, the weapons team at Lochailort created a larger and more rugged knife, a smashing hatchet dubbed the “smatchet.”

Few records survive regarding its origin, but many experts believe its design was based on the Royal Welch Fusiliers’ World War I trench sword. The unit used it with great effect during the Battle of Messines Ridge in 1917, and the smatchet does greatly resemble the unit’s trench sword.
Smatchet specifications vary slightly depending on the model, but in general, the smatchet has an overall length of 16 1/8 inches, and a blade length of 10 7/8 inches. With a weight of 1 1/2 pounds, it is one of the heavier bladed weapons.
In used but overal very good condition
Great in any knife collection.

Code: 74916