Stan Shaw Gets His First Penknife

Jack, Thank you for sharing the wonderful story and photos with us. Stan is a real treasure and that lambsfoot is a real treat.
 
Most likely the best post I've read on this forum.
Thank you for sharing this moment in time.
 
Thanks Jack, that was a great read! Your Stan Shaw knife looks lovely, your very lucky.:thumbup:

Have a great week

Paul
 
Thanks once again gents :) This one is actually a Sheep, but hopefully I'll have a Lamb by next spring ;) :thumbup:

Gevonovich said:
The glint in Stan's eye holding the "ShawBorne" knife is priceless. What a lovely lovely man.
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He really is Gev, I wish I'd met him many years ago :)

glennbad said:
What a great recount of your day. I'm extremely jealous of the time you are able to spend with a great person, friend, and cutler like Stan. Sadly, as we all have mentioned in discussions here before, people such as Stan are becoming more scarce as years go on, and I fear the only thing we will have to look back on will be the amazing cutlery they produced, and wonderful memories like those you have shared with us. Also, the loss of cutlery craft knowledge will be impossible to reproduce. Much of it is not written, but passed down between master and apprentice. Sadly, the old ways may be forgotten eventually.

Regardless, thank you for sharing this (and everything else that you share) with us.
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Thank you Glenn :) Sadly, I fear you are right. Stan trained under cutlers from the 19th century, and there are many things that I don't have anyone to ask about but him. For example, I have puzzled long and hard about a knife I have which has a spring which has a subtle but distinct flare, widening as it goes away from the pivot. I have read in cutlery history books that this was once a common feature of spring knives, but was unable to find out when the practice ceased, or why it ever existed. I thought I had asked Stan about the knife before, but apparently not, as he told me straightaway. He said that in the days when all parts were still hand-forged, in the Sheffield factories, you'd turn up to a pile of parts on your bench. Everyone was on fierce piece-rates (even in 1970, the price for a gross (144) of hand-forged Sheffield penknife blades was just £2), and the springs were of differing widths, so the cutler had to file them to the same width as the blade. The only place they had to be the same width was at the pivot though, so they'd taper the spring. At first, it didn't make sense to me, if you taper the spring, you also have to taper the scales, and my knife is beautifully finished. Stan reminded me that time was everything, it was quicker to file the wood or bone than file the steel, and maybe that was another cutlers job anyhow. So the mystery was explained.
 
That is so ridiculously cool. Not many of his kind left in this world. Congratulations on a phenominal friendship, and good job giving him a peace of both cutlery, but his personal history as well.
 
Thanks for the riveting story, Jack, and congrats on the splendid Shaw sheepsfoot! :thumbup::thumbup:
Very thoughtful of you to give him the penknife made by his "mentor"! :cool::cool:

- GT
 
Thanks guys, I hope I come across another Ted Osborne knife at some point :) :thumbup:
 
A super read, Jack. Absolutely super. Terrific looking end product there too - just beautiful.
 
Thank you very much Paul :) :thumbup:

Have I ever mentioned that Stan's daughter is in the same line of work as yourself?
 
Beautiful knife and interesting read, Jack. Your posts and pictures have given me a deep desire for a Sheffield made jack knife. That's some lovely stag that Mr. Shaw had for you.

Paul
 
What a nice story to read. Thanks Jack. The knife looks great too. I look forward to seeing it sometime.
 
You know Stan is going to replace the chipped MOP and try to give the knife back to you, Jack.
 
What a wonderful day you must of had Jack. The story you told made me feel as if I were there. Stan sounds like not only a fantastic fellow but quite interesting to talk to as well. I really enjoy stories like this and often find my self talking to the older men of our church just to hear about their lives and experiences. The exchange of knives was great but the memories you have of your day with your friend will always be brought to mind every time you look at that knife and I believe put a smile on your face.
 
Gevonovich said:
The glint in Stan's eye holding the "ShawBorne" knife is priceless. What a lovely lovely man. Your friendship with him is a truly precious thing in life. The story, as always, gripped my heart. And the last picture with that coin...wow. I wish I could be in Stan's head and listen to the story when he replaces the one mother of pearl cover... on his first penknife :D

Touching, Jack!
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Gevo put to words my thoughts as I read this, Jack. The friendship and time shared is just as priceless as the knives and coins exchanged. Thank you for writing this up. :thumbup:
 
A wonderful read, Jack.

Glad to see your internet woes are behind you.

I have just recently reread all your fascinating, peripatetic chronicles of Yorkshire and the history of Sheffield, and enjoyed them even more the second time around. Thank you for taking the time to take us with you again in this piece.

I must admit my blood boiled a bit when I pictured a man like Ted Osborne, a teetotaler, blithely being given a bottle of Scotch for a lifetimes loyal service. I'm glad to see a master working cutler like Stan Shaw now gets the respect and remuneration he deserves as a Littlemester, since leaving the piecework system.

I hope you don't mind me adding this link to another story on Stan in the Sheffield Telegraph.

http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk...heffield-craftsman-in-his-90th-year-1-7813981

And sorry mate, I have to ask: you didn't select a lambfoot blade to go with that lovely stag and those intricately threaded bolsters? What gives? :confused:

(Not that the sheepfoot's not a beautiful blade, of course!):thumbup:
 
Thank you for the comments folks, I really appreciate your kind words, they mean a lot :) :thumbup:

pmew said:
you didn't Jack, it's a good profession :)
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She's been at it a long time now, three stripes on her arm ;)

Paul Davidson said:
Beautiful knife and interesting read, Jack. Your posts and pictures have given me a deep desire for a Sheffield made jack knife. That's some lovely stag that Mr. Shaw had for you.
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Thanks Paul, the stag came from the Sheffield firm of John Petty & Sons when they shut up shop in the 1980's :thumbup:

scrteened porch said:
You know Stan is going to replace the chipped MOP and try to give the knife back to you, Jack.
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LOL :D I don't think so Jer, he was very smitten with it :) :thumbup:

Cambertree said:
A wonderful read, Jack.

Glad to see your internet woes are behind you.

I have just recently reread all your fascinating, peripatetic chronicles of Yorkshire and the history of Sheffield, and enjoyed them even more the second time around. Thank you for taking the time to take us with you again in this piece.

I must admit my blood boiled a bit when I pictured a man like Ted Osborne, a teetotaler, blithely being given a bottle of Scotch for a lifetimes loyal service. I'm glad to see a master working cutler like Stan Shaw now gets the respect and remuneration he deserves as a Littlemester, since leaving the piecework system.

I hope you don't mind me adding this link to another story on Stan in the Sheffield Telegraph.

http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk...heffield-craftsman-in-his-90th-year-1-7813981

And sorry mate, I have to ask: you didn't select a lambfoot blade to go with that lovely stag and those intricately threaded bolsters? What gives? :confused:

(Not that the sheepfoot's not a beautiful blade, of course!):thumbup:
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Thanks my friend, and thanks for adding that link - He is right about people having to fetch their knives, he had a bloke over from Tennessee the other week! :D :thumbup:

It was certainly terrible the way those old cutlers were treated, and it's easy for us lovers of historic knives to forget that the whole Sheffield cutlery system was built on naked exploitation of an underpaid workforce, and a complete disregard for their health and welfare. Ted Osborne strongly discouraged all his children from entering the cutlery trade, and most other Sheffield cutlers of that period probably did the same.

As for the Sheepsfoot, it was to avoid a longer wait, but I have a Lambsfoot on order ;) That'll also have stag covers, but I'm going for a worked back spring too :thumbup:
 
What a wonderful tale of great men!!

Stan the Cutler, and Jack the Writer! Both masters of their trades, and so much more!!!
 
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