Straight-bladed dirk, the hilt of the dirk consists of an eight-sided piece of ivory, with a gilt crosspiece with inversed ends. The eight-sided pommel has a prominent tang button. The pommel is engraved on three sides with the words 'M', 'Mid' and 'S'. The dirk has a straight, double-edged steel blade, with a groove running almost to the point. The black leather scabbard is decorated with tooled motifs of crossed lines and drops. The reverse of the locket is engraved with the words 'GIVEN TO MID HORATIO NELSON R.N. H.M.S. RAISONNABLE BY MAURICE SUCKLING R.N. 1770'.

According to a label attached to this dirk, until 1878, it was in the possession of Mrs Earwater, wife of Mr Thomas Earwater, solicitor of Somerset House, and aunt of the late Admiral S.V.Y. de Horsey, son of Admiral Sir Algenon de Horsey. As a boy, William Westley Manning often saw the dirk, which was displayed in Mrs Earwater's drawing room at Carlton Vale, St John's Wood, London. He purchased the dirk on the 20th May 1936 and after his death it was offered for sale as a genuine Nelson relic. It is likely that the dirk may have been made as early as 1770 and could therefore have belonged to Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). The inscription on the dirk, which refers to Nelson however is almost certainly bogus and probably dates from the middle of the 19th century.