Abstract: An Axminster carpet loom is described which has improved cutting means for severing pile lengths of yarn from the pile yarns. In the past these have been severed by a pair of knives which operate rather like a pair of scissors but they require skill and time to set up. The present improved means include a serrated edge blade and one or more knives mounted on weft-wise reciprocatable carriages, the cutting edges being reciprocated over the serrations in the blade which locate the pile yarns during the cutting operation. Such knives can be relatively quickly and easily removed and replaced by fresh or reground knives when they need sharpening and so the loom can quickly be started again.