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- Dec 2, 2005
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And Jack Gets His First Stan Shaw Jack Knife 
One evening, a few weeks ago, Stan Shaw phoned me to tell me that he was back from his holidays on the south coast of England. We had a chat and made arrangements for me to go over to Sheffield the following day. Stan works at his workshop at home most days, but on two days a week he goes in to Kelham Island Industrial Museum, and works at the workshop he has there. If you visit the museum, theres every chance you might see Stan at work.
The next day, I headed over to Sheffield to see Stan at the museum. As I approached his workshop, I had my camera in my hand, hoping to snap a pic of Stan at work, but as inevitably happens these days, he spotted me as I approached, and opened the door with a beaming smile. Stan was busy cutting a block of silver with a hacksaw, the red blade set horizontally. Even though I had given Stan the blades, it seemed strange to see a Sheffield workman using anything other than a blue Eclipse blade. My father, and various other members of my family, worked at James Neill Tools, who made the famous blue hacksaw blades, for much of his working life, but he finished there back in the early 1980s, and Neills finally stopped making Eclipse hacksaw blades a few years ago. Since then, the supply has dried up, but I was told that much of the firms remaining plant was shipped over to Spain, where the red-coloured blades are made. Id bought Stan half a dozen to try out, and he was very pleased with them, commenting on how good the steel was. It needs to be, because Stan cuts out all his blades, springs, etc entirely by hand. As well as praising the hacksaw blades, Stan talked enthusiastically about an old hand-cut file Id gifted him recently. The square file was a good 18 long, and produced not far away from the museum more than 100 years before. Stan told me that it cut great, and that he could get a lot of work done with it.
The silver Stan was cutting was for the bolsters of some large Whittlers he had on the bench. The covers for three of them were loosely in place mother of pearl, ivory, and tortoiseshell . The tortoiseshell would have gold leaf behind, and with the engraved silver bolsters, I had no doubt they would look fantastic. The other knife Stan was working on was a Coachmans Knife, which he was re-storing for a friend.
I tried not to distract Stan while he finished cutting a couple of bolster-sized pieces from the block of silver, and then we fell into conversation. I love talking to Stan, and we get on well, and have a good chuckle together. Its hard to believe hell be 90 in December, his mind is as sharp as the blades he makes, and his memory is far better than mine. I wouldnt fancy arm-wrestling him either! Ive usually got something or other for him, and I had an old 1926 penny for him this time. I dont think there could have been many pennies minted that year, as it took me a while to find one, and it had a bit of scarring from being put on the tram-lines at some point from the look of it. Stan was thrilled by the simple gift from the year of his birth. Pointing out the marks from the tram-line, I joked that while they may be the same age, the penny hadnt had his easy life!
One of the reasons for my visit was that Stan had a knife for me. Almost all of the knives Stan makes these days are stainless, but I wanted one in carbon-steel. He still has a few of his old hand-forged blades, so hed made me up this Sheepsfoot, my first Stan Shaw knife. Hed used the hacksaw blades and file Id gifted him while making it. The sambar stag came from an old cutlery firm which closed down in the 1980s, Stan bought a sack-load of it.
Id brought some old Ibbersons knives over to show Stan, I dont really have very many. My most recently acquired is a small MOP penknife, which has the initials EO and 52 on the inside of the brass liner. The knife was made in 1952 by Ibbersons top cutler, and the man who took Stan Shaw under his wing as a young lad, Ted Osborne. Stan still refers to Ted as My gaffer, and talks about him with huge respect and affection, saying that Ted taught him everything he knows about making knives, and that in his day he was the best cutler in the town.
Ted Osborne was born in Sheffield in 1893, the son of a spring-knife cutler. Leaving school at 12, Ted served his apprenticeship at Joseph Rodgers. He also later worked for George Wostenholm, but it was at Ibbersons where he spent most his career as a cutler, a career which apart from his army service in the Communications Corps during WW1, lasted 54 years.
In 1941, aged 14, the young Stan Shaw turned up at the Ibberson factory, asking for a job, and the owner, Billy Ibberson, asked Ted Osborne if he would be willing to take Stan on. Despite the fact that due to the miserly piece-rates Sheffield cutlers earned, training an apprentice would inevitably lead to a drop in wages, Ted willingly agreed to take Stan on. With Teds guidance, Stan took to the trade straight away, and would eventually be Ibbersons top cutler himself.
Despite his long years of service for the company, and the fact that he designed many of Ibbersons spring-knife patterns himself, there was no pension for Ted Osborne when he eventually retired. Billy Ibberson called him into the office and presented him with a bottle of whisky as a leaving present, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Ted was a strict Methodist and teetotal.
Id offered to take Stan for his dinner, and as he was getting ready, a friend of his, Geoff, who Ive met several times before, arrived. Geoff also has a big interest in pocket cutlery, and after Stan had washed-up, he came for lunch with us. Stan cant walk too far, but the museum has a cafe, and we walked there together. With the school holidays on, the cafe was quite busy, and noisy with children. I had a quick look at the menu and noticed the place had gone a bit upmarket since my last visit. Stan completely ignored the menu though, politely asking the young waitress for egg and chips and a glass of beer. Geoff had the same. I opted for a chip-butty. Hendersons Relish is obligatory! Stan does all the cooking at home, and enjoys simple food.
We continued chatting in the cafe while we ate, and drank our beer, talking about particular knives, old cutlers, different gaffers, all in our rich Sheffield patter. Its a real pleasure to spend time in such fine company. Afterwards, Geoff departed, offering me a lift to the train station, but I accompanied Stan back to his workshop instead.
Stan and I got to chatting again, about all sorts of different knife patterns, and also about life in general. Stan told me more about Ted Osborne, and I asked him if I might give him the penknife of Teds I had. With a bit of arm-twisting from me, he graciously accepted, giving me a coin out of his pocket, and was clearly thrilled by the gift, telling me hes going to replace one of the MOP covers, which has a slight chip. When I met Stan with Duncan, and his wife Sue, several years ago now, Duncan asked Stan what penknife he carried himself. I was not surprised when Stan said he didnt have one, as Ive known numerous cutlers who also didnt have a knife themselves. So possibly, and I must ask him to confirm this, the Ted Osborne knife is Stan Shaws first penknife!
As always when I talk to Stan, he talked about his family with immense affection, his wife Rosemary, his children, and grandchildren, they are clearly a very close family. The last time I was visiting, he had been making one of his large Hallamshire Knife patterns for his granddaughter Georgias 18th birthday, still three years hence. Since he has made them for all his grandchildren, he had been joking that she had been asking him when he was going to make hers. Im not going anywhere, he says, laughing. I can well believe it. Stan says he still gets so excited about making particular knives that he can barely sleep, and cant wait to get started when he gets up in the morning. Cutlin has certainly kept him mentally agile, and fairly fit for his age. Hours of hacksawing and filing give him plenty of upper body exercise, and his hands and arms coarse with rope-like veins. He jokes that if he has to give blood or have an injection, they never have any trouble finding somewhere to stick the needle! Reflecting on the ill-health he suffered as a child, Stan tells me, They said I were runt o litter, but Ive outlived all o em. Hard work, simple food, and a loving family see him approaching his 90th birthday with happy memories, and still excited about making the knives that have been part of his life for so long.
Stan Shaw will be 90 on December 2nd.
One evening, a few weeks ago, Stan Shaw phoned me to tell me that he was back from his holidays on the south coast of England. We had a chat and made arrangements for me to go over to Sheffield the following day. Stan works at his workshop at home most days, but on two days a week he goes in to Kelham Island Industrial Museum, and works at the workshop he has there. If you visit the museum, theres every chance you might see Stan at work.
The next day, I headed over to Sheffield to see Stan at the museum. As I approached his workshop, I had my camera in my hand, hoping to snap a pic of Stan at work, but as inevitably happens these days, he spotted me as I approached, and opened the door with a beaming smile. Stan was busy cutting a block of silver with a hacksaw, the red blade set horizontally. Even though I had given Stan the blades, it seemed strange to see a Sheffield workman using anything other than a blue Eclipse blade. My father, and various other members of my family, worked at James Neill Tools, who made the famous blue hacksaw blades, for much of his working life, but he finished there back in the early 1980s, and Neills finally stopped making Eclipse hacksaw blades a few years ago. Since then, the supply has dried up, but I was told that much of the firms remaining plant was shipped over to Spain, where the red-coloured blades are made. Id bought Stan half a dozen to try out, and he was very pleased with them, commenting on how good the steel was. It needs to be, because Stan cuts out all his blades, springs, etc entirely by hand. As well as praising the hacksaw blades, Stan talked enthusiastically about an old hand-cut file Id gifted him recently. The square file was a good 18 long, and produced not far away from the museum more than 100 years before. Stan told me that it cut great, and that he could get a lot of work done with it.
The silver Stan was cutting was for the bolsters of some large Whittlers he had on the bench. The covers for three of them were loosely in place mother of pearl, ivory, and tortoiseshell . The tortoiseshell would have gold leaf behind, and with the engraved silver bolsters, I had no doubt they would look fantastic. The other knife Stan was working on was a Coachmans Knife, which he was re-storing for a friend.
I tried not to distract Stan while he finished cutting a couple of bolster-sized pieces from the block of silver, and then we fell into conversation. I love talking to Stan, and we get on well, and have a good chuckle together. Its hard to believe hell be 90 in December, his mind is as sharp as the blades he makes, and his memory is far better than mine. I wouldnt fancy arm-wrestling him either! Ive usually got something or other for him, and I had an old 1926 penny for him this time. I dont think there could have been many pennies minted that year, as it took me a while to find one, and it had a bit of scarring from being put on the tram-lines at some point from the look of it. Stan was thrilled by the simple gift from the year of his birth. Pointing out the marks from the tram-line, I joked that while they may be the same age, the penny hadnt had his easy life!
One of the reasons for my visit was that Stan had a knife for me. Almost all of the knives Stan makes these days are stainless, but I wanted one in carbon-steel. He still has a few of his old hand-forged blades, so hed made me up this Sheepsfoot, my first Stan Shaw knife. Hed used the hacksaw blades and file Id gifted him while making it. The sambar stag came from an old cutlery firm which closed down in the 1980s, Stan bought a sack-load of it.
Id brought some old Ibbersons knives over to show Stan, I dont really have very many. My most recently acquired is a small MOP penknife, which has the initials EO and 52 on the inside of the brass liner. The knife was made in 1952 by Ibbersons top cutler, and the man who took Stan Shaw under his wing as a young lad, Ted Osborne. Stan still refers to Ted as My gaffer, and talks about him with huge respect and affection, saying that Ted taught him everything he knows about making knives, and that in his day he was the best cutler in the town.
Ted Osborne was born in Sheffield in 1893, the son of a spring-knife cutler. Leaving school at 12, Ted served his apprenticeship at Joseph Rodgers. He also later worked for George Wostenholm, but it was at Ibbersons where he spent most his career as a cutler, a career which apart from his army service in the Communications Corps during WW1, lasted 54 years.
In 1941, aged 14, the young Stan Shaw turned up at the Ibberson factory, asking for a job, and the owner, Billy Ibberson, asked Ted Osborne if he would be willing to take Stan on. Despite the fact that due to the miserly piece-rates Sheffield cutlers earned, training an apprentice would inevitably lead to a drop in wages, Ted willingly agreed to take Stan on. With Teds guidance, Stan took to the trade straight away, and would eventually be Ibbersons top cutler himself.
Despite his long years of service for the company, and the fact that he designed many of Ibbersons spring-knife patterns himself, there was no pension for Ted Osborne when he eventually retired. Billy Ibberson called him into the office and presented him with a bottle of whisky as a leaving present, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Ted was a strict Methodist and teetotal.
Id offered to take Stan for his dinner, and as he was getting ready, a friend of his, Geoff, who Ive met several times before, arrived. Geoff also has a big interest in pocket cutlery, and after Stan had washed-up, he came for lunch with us. Stan cant walk too far, but the museum has a cafe, and we walked there together. With the school holidays on, the cafe was quite busy, and noisy with children. I had a quick look at the menu and noticed the place had gone a bit upmarket since my last visit. Stan completely ignored the menu though, politely asking the young waitress for egg and chips and a glass of beer. Geoff had the same. I opted for a chip-butty. Hendersons Relish is obligatory! Stan does all the cooking at home, and enjoys simple food.
We continued chatting in the cafe while we ate, and drank our beer, talking about particular knives, old cutlers, different gaffers, all in our rich Sheffield patter. Its a real pleasure to spend time in such fine company. Afterwards, Geoff departed, offering me a lift to the train station, but I accompanied Stan back to his workshop instead.
Stan and I got to chatting again, about all sorts of different knife patterns, and also about life in general. Stan told me more about Ted Osborne, and I asked him if I might give him the penknife of Teds I had. With a bit of arm-twisting from me, he graciously accepted, giving me a coin out of his pocket, and was clearly thrilled by the gift, telling me hes going to replace one of the MOP covers, which has a slight chip. When I met Stan with Duncan, and his wife Sue, several years ago now, Duncan asked Stan what penknife he carried himself. I was not surprised when Stan said he didnt have one, as Ive known numerous cutlers who also didnt have a knife themselves. So possibly, and I must ask him to confirm this, the Ted Osborne knife is Stan Shaws first penknife!
As always when I talk to Stan, he talked about his family with immense affection, his wife Rosemary, his children, and grandchildren, they are clearly a very close family. The last time I was visiting, he had been making one of his large Hallamshire Knife patterns for his granddaughter Georgias 18th birthday, still three years hence. Since he has made them for all his grandchildren, he had been joking that she had been asking him when he was going to make hers. Im not going anywhere, he says, laughing. I can well believe it. Stan says he still gets so excited about making particular knives that he can barely sleep, and cant wait to get started when he gets up in the morning. Cutlin has certainly kept him mentally agile, and fairly fit for his age. Hours of hacksawing and filing give him plenty of upper body exercise, and his hands and arms coarse with rope-like veins. He jokes that if he has to give blood or have an injection, they never have any trouble finding somewhere to stick the needle! Reflecting on the ill-health he suffered as a child, Stan tells me, They said I were runt o litter, but Ive outlived all o em. Hard work, simple food, and a loving family see him approaching his 90th birthday with happy memories, and still excited about making the knives that have been part of his life for so long.
Stan Shaw will be 90 on December 2nd.
:thumbup:
He did say he'd carry and use it, I hope to get pics the next time I visit him. Since so few of Stan's knives see much use these days, I'll also be carrying and using my Sheepsfoot :thumbup:
