W. Butcher Cast Steel Tang Mortise Chisel? w/Cross & Arrow Mark

1 1/2" by 15", tapered from ~0.220" to ~0.112" in 6 1/2"; or ~0.017"/inch. The octagonal oak grip is certainly a replacement, an' the edge has been skillfully re-ground, but not stoned.

My question has to do with the 3 marks on the face, at the tang-neck: what significance do the Maltese cross, fletched arrow, an' ??-in-cartouche have? Are they simply Butcher's trademarks, or...? Can anyone date this chisel, based on any of the above description?
Thanks for lookin'!

 

That's a beauty, WLW

Looks like it should be a "B" in that circle.



I saw those marks referred to as British Export symbols on a forum, but I didn't see anything else about them elsewhere.

 

Great old piece Whit.

 

Thanks. Your example is nice & crisp...mine seems a little blurred in comparison. I've listed it on eBay...we'll see if it appeals to a few folks.

 

I found this if it helps at all......

https://hawleysheffieldknives.com/n-fulldetails.php?val=bU&kel=325

 

(So glad you posted this here rather than in the old eBay forum! According to a half-wit on the Board of Censors at the time, the word "tang" has a salacious meaning (!?).

Someone had written in about a knife for sale which had a totally confusing write-up. In reply, I wrote that the seller had probably gotten his 'tang tongled.' A perfectly legitimate pun, and not only that, an OLD, well known one! For which I was suspended for x number of weeks. )