By Porter Lang
Sheffield makes knives, and it has done for a very long time. The question worth asking is how a hilly northern town on two small rivers came to do it better than anywhere else, and what is left of it now.
Why here
The setting explains a lot. Sheffield sits in the Pennines, with iron ore close by, forests that supplied charcoal, and millstone grit for grindstones. The rivers Sheaf and Don gave the water power that turned the grinding wheels. Cutlery making in Sheffield is traced back to the 13th century, and one knife maker’s history of the city cites a reference in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in the 14th century, as the first documented mention.
The rules of the trade
The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire was established in 1624. Each September its freemen elect a Master Cutler, who takes office on the first Tuesday of October. The office has been held continuously since 1624, and the first Master Cutler was Robert Sorsby. The Master Cutler does not need to work in cutlery or steel to be elected, and acts as an ambassador for the city’s industry. A train between Sheffield and London was named the Master Cutler in 1947, and the sitting Master traditionally rides with the driver.
The steel
Three dates carry the story. In 1740 Benjamin Huntsman developed crucible steel, which allowed higher melting temperatures and steel that was stronger and more consistent. In 1856 Henry Bessemer patented his process for mass steel production. In 1913 Harry Brearley discovered stainless steel, and in 1924 W. H. Hatfield developed 18/8 stainless: 18 per cent chromium and 8 per cent nickel. Sheffield Plate, a silver-and-copper fusion method, was also developed here.
The little mesters
Behind the famous names was a system. Little mesters were self-employed craftspeople who rented space in someone else’s works, and sometimes took on one or two helpers. They were free to work for several firms at once. The trade was split into specialist jobs. Forgers made the blades. Grinders sharpened them, working from rented “troughs” at the wheels. Cutlers finished the knife and fitted the handle. Factors, who were the merchants, coordinated the work and sold the finished goods. Nobody learned the whole knife.
Little mesters peaked in the middle of the 19th century. About 300 were left in the 1940s, and around 20 by the 1960s. By 2013 the writer who documented them called it a handful.
One man
Stan Shaw was born in Worrall, north of Sheffield. He died in 2021, aged 94, according to the Yorkshire Post’s obituary of him.
What remains
The industry shrank in the 1980s under global competition, and many factories closed. Kelham Island Museum and the Hawley Collection preserve the heritage, according to one knife maker’s history of the city. Plan around their opening times, which we have not checked.
What to bring
Look at the marks on the blade and ask what they say about who made it. Then ask the maker what was forged, what was ground and who fitted the handle. In a trade split into so many hands, the answer is rarely one name.
We are curators, not a hardware store, and Sheffield is a good example of why we start with places. Roam first. Shop later.