Sheffield is renowned for its Cutlers and the earliest record found is in 1297 which, predictably, are the tax records of “Robert le Cootler” showing that knife making was well established in the late 13th Century. Whilst not 700 years old the constituent parts of Sheffield Collectable Knives date back to the grant of the Star & Cross trademark by the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire in 1682 which found global fame as the mark of Joseph Rodgers and Sons Ltd who, along with the I:XL mark of George Wostenholm and Son Ltd, continue to manufacture their hand made knives in Sheffield as part of the Rodgers Wostenholm Group.
You can visit the Company’s Mesters, which is what apprentice trained knife makers are called, at work on Little Mester Lane in Kelham Island Museum where the pocket knives and hand knives are a direct link to Sheffield’s industrial past. These knives combine form and function to be both collectors items and a workman’s tool. Their evocative names like the Bowie, the Fairburn Sykes or the Stockman’s show their global reach and place in history. The patterns and variation in the scales make these attractive and tactile items to own whilst also serving a day to day purpose – how else do you open an amazon parcel or prune a rose?
So a visit to the Sheffield Collectable Knives stand is not only a “man creche” amidst the array of glittering jewellery and silver in the Hall but an opportunity to acquire a piece of history from the Rodger Wostenholm Group to use every day. Like the jewellers in the Fair it is also a chance to talk to a highly skilled craftsman and woman who make these knives and understand the skills required to make these beautiful items.
