Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to slash with a knife.

1877		Birmingham Dly Post 27 Oct. 5/5: He added that when he got free [...] he would ‘chivey’ police constable 53 [...] He also said, significantly, that men did right now-a-days in carrying a good spring-back knife.
1880		Globe (London) 15 Dec. 1/3: By the ‘chiveying’ case [...] was meant the ‘knifeing’ case, and ‘chiveying’ for ‘knife-ing’ is good Anglo-Romanes. Chivomengro or chinomengro is a knife, and comes from the word chiv or chin, which means ‘cut’.
1894		Worcester Jrnl 27 Jan. 2/5: They knocked us about with sticks , and one said to the other “Chivey it him, chivey it him.” This meant stab me’‘.
1929		Illus. Police News 11 July 7: One gave him 2s. 6d., and he threatened to ‘chivvy’ those who refused. It was explained that ‘chivvy’ was thieves’ slang for knife.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 12: Guys who’d spent their whole lives [...] going around chivvying other uptight guys with Stanley knives.