38988 Breast Care Factsheets - Sheffield Collectable Knives

T H E F I R S T R E C O R D O FC U T L E R Y B E I N G P R O D U C E D I N S H E F F I E L D , E N G L A N D W A ST H E 1 2 9 7 T A X R E T U R N O F‘ R O B E R T T H E C U T L E R ’ , A N DT H E C I T Y B O A S T S A P R O U DH I S T O R Y O F C R A F T I N G S O M EO F T H E W O R L D ’ S M O S TF A M O U S K N I V E S .

The histories of some of the mostprestigious brands go back centuries,and three of the oldest, most iconicand instantly recognisable of these areundoubtedly George Wostenholm,Joseph Rodgers and George Ibberson.

Upholding the legacy of these famousnames is a responsibility not to betaken lightly. Now for the first timethese classic knives, which are madeby skilled, time-served craftsmen in ourSheffield workshop, are available foryou to collect and enjoy, exclusivelyfrom Sheffield Collectable Knives.

SHEFFIELD COLLECTABLE KNIVES

GEORGE WOSTENHOLM

I N T H E M I D - 1 7 0 0 ’ S , T H E R EW A S R E P U T E D LY A C U T L E RB Y T H E N A M E O F G E O R G EW O S T E N H O L M ( B 1 7 1 7 )W O R K I N G I N T H E V I L L A G E O F S T A N N I N G T O N , N E A RS H E F F I E L D – O F T E N C I T E D A S B E I N G T H E B I R T H P L A C EO F T H E B A R L O W P O C K E TK N I F E . H O W E V E R I T T O O KT H R E E G E N E R A T I O N S F O RT H E W O S T E N H O L M N A M E T O R E A L LY M A K E I T S M A R K O N S H E F F I E L D ’ S C U T L E R YH I S T O R Y.

Indeed it was George Wostenholm’sgrandson, also called George (b1775)who, due to expansion built the fabledRockingham Works in around 1810.Knives marked with ‘RockinghamWorks’ are highly prized to this day.

In 1834, following his father’s death,the third George Wostenholm took thecompany reins. He was a fiercelydetermined business man, and a truepioneer. He recognised that agrowing, and increasingly prosperousAmerica would offer an ideal marketfor his high quality knives, and herepeatedly made the arduouspassage to America, establishingoffices from New York to San Francisco.

The company expanded rapidly and in1848, to house the circa 800 strongworkforce, the move to the largerWashington Works on Wellington Streetwas necessary. Expansion was neverat the expense of quality however, andin 1851 three exquisite Bowie Kniveswere made for The Great Exhibition,securing the highest prize medal forthe company.

Having originally been assigned toa W A Smith in 1787, the I*XLtrademark was registered toWostenholm’s in 1831, andappeared on their iconic BowieKnives, as well as their vast rangeof folding knives.

Washington Works

Alfred Stevens Bowie Knives for the Great Exhibition 1851

JOSEPH RODGERS

I T I S C L A I M E D T H A T AC U T L E R C A L L E D J O S E P H O RJ O H N R O D G E R S B E G A NW O R K I N A B U I L D I N G I NH A W L E Y C R O F T S H E F F I E L D ,A N D T H A T I N 1 7 3 0 H I SS O N S M A U R I C E A N D J O S E P HT O O K O V E R , E X C L U S I V E LYI T I S B E L I E V E D , M A K I N GP O C K E T K N I V E S .

Around 1780 the firm moved tolarger premises, the now famous No.6 Norfolk Street, where it continuedto expand and broaden its range toinclude razors, table cutlery andhunting knives. Rodgers’ fineproducts were proudly displayed intheir spectacular Norfolk Streetshowrooms and they became knownin all four corners of the globe.

No. 6 Norfolk Street

Norfolk KnifeIn 1821 Rodgers wasappointed cutlers to TheRoyal Family for the first time;they would later adopt therather fitting slogan “TheKnife of Kings, The King ofKnives”. In 1822 work beganon the famous Year Knife,and in 1851 The NorfolkKnife, which took over twoyears to complete, formedpart of The Great Exhibition.

The Star and MalteseCross™ was originallyregistered in March 1682 to aBenjamin Rich. However, it iswith Rodgers that this markwill forever be associated,and they registered it in 1764.

First Showroom

GEORGE IBBERSON

I T I S B E L I E V E D T H E O R I G I N SO F T H E G E O R G E I B B E R S O NC O M P A N Y C A N B E T R A C E DB A C K T O A J O S E P HI B B E R S O N W H O M A D EC U T L E R Y F R O M 1 7 0 0 .

This was a period when the modernconcept of a firm was unknown to theSheffield cutlery industry. Instead,there existed large numbers of selfemployed, highly skilled cutlers, often referred to as “Little Mesters.”

It is therefore not certain exactly whenthe company George Ibberson cameinto being, however they wouldbecome known worldwide as makersof some of the finest pocket knivesever made, many featuring exotichandle materials like ivory, pearl andtortoiseshell.

The Stradivarius Violin trademark wasregistered in 1873 and sits alongsideIbberson’s other famous trademarkDoublesharp ##.

POCKET KNIVES

F O L D I N G P O C K E T K N I V E S D A T E B A C K T O T H E I R O N A G E , B U T I T W A SN O T U N T I L T H E M I D T O L A T E 1 6 0 0 ’ ST H A T T H E Y B E G A N T O B E M A D E I NS H E F F I E L D , W H E N T H E Y W E R E K N O W NA S “ S P R I N G K N I V E S ” .

They had to be sturdy, with blades forged from thefinest available steel - spearpoint and lambsfootbeing the most common shapes. Knives frommakers like George Ibberson, Joseph Rodgers andGeorge Wostenholm, which were exported acrossthe globe, had a multitude of folding tools from hoofpicks to corkscrews, and sciss ors to saws. Handleswere made from utilitarian metals and wood throughto exotic materials like stag horn, mother of pearland tortoiseshell.

Military folding knives were developed in the 19thcentury, and hundreds of thousands were producedduring the wars by Sheffield companies, as part ofthe city’s substantial war effort.

BOWIE KNIVES

T H E B O W I E K N I F E W A S N A M E D A F T E RL E G E N D A R Y F R O N T I E R S M A N J A M E SB O W I E , F O L L O W I N G H I S M I S S I S S I P P IV I D A L I A S A N D B A R D U E L O F 1 8 2 7 W I T HR I V A L M A J O R N O R R I S W R I G H T. T H I SI N C I D E N T S E E M E D T O S P A R K T H EK N I F E ’ S P O P U L A R I T Y A N D S H E F F I E L DK N I F E M A K E R S L I K E R O D G E R S A N DW O S T E N H O L M S T E P P E D I N T O S A T I S F YT H E D E M A N D .

Many of the knives were deep etched with markstypical of the turbulent era – patriotic scrolls, defiantmottos and American Eagles. California Knives werecarried by Americans making the perilous journeywest in search of gold. Bowies were not just carriedby adventurers and prospectors though. Highlycrafted Rodgers and I*XL Bowies were carried bygentlemen, judges and politicians as symbols oftheir status in society.

Wostenholm Bowies from circa 1855

There are two famous legends about Bowie’srelationship with Wostenholm. The first is that Bowieordered knives for himself and close friends directlyfrom Wostenholm. The second, more romantic tale is that, on March 6th 1836 when Bowie died at The Alamo, a knife found on his body bore theWostenholm mark. In a similar vein Rodgerspublicised that Buffalo Bill carried one of theirhunting knives which was given to him by General Custer.

Whether or not these stories are true is impossible tosay for certain as company records from the periodno longer exist, but it is nice to imagine that thepaths of these celebrated Americans and Sheffieldknife makers once crossed. What is certain is that bythe mid 1800’s the superior quality of Sheffield’sBowies meant that they dominated the American market.

Wostenholm Bowie

COMMANDO KNIVES

T H E C O M M A N D OR E G I M E N T W A S F O R M E DI N 1 9 4 0 A T T H E B E H E S TO F W I N S T O N C H U R C H I L L ,F O L L O W I N G T H E D U N K I R KR E T R E A T. H E R E A L I S E DT H A T B R I T A I N , N OL O N G E R A B L E T O L A U N C HA L A R G E S C A L E M I L I T A R YA T T A C K A G A I N S TG E R M A N Y, N E E D E D A N E WE L I T E L I G H T I N F A N T R YD E D I C A T E D T O C A U S I N GM A X I M U M D I S R U P T I O NT H R O U G H W E L LP R E P A R E D S U R P R I S ER A I D S O N E N E M YI N S T A L L A T I O N S .

They were issued with severalspecialist pieces of kit to enablethem to deal with any type of terrainor situation, and one of these wasthe now world famous Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife. This wouldgo on to be carried by British andother Allied Commandos on manyimportant operations, perhaps mostfamously the Normandy Landings ofJune 1944. The knife’s importanceto the Commandos is clearlydemonstrated by its presence onregimental badges.

‘First pattern’ Commando Kniveswere made by Wilkinson Swordfollowing recommendations ofmilitary specialists Captains WilliamFairbairn and Eric Sykes, with anorder from The War Office on 14thNov 1940 for 1500 hunting knives -a deliberately vague term, designedto mask their true purpose.

By the autumn of 1942 John Clarke& Sons of Sheffield (who in 1870had acquired William Rodgers,another renowned Sheffield knifemaker) were involved in making the‘second pattern’ of the knife, andbecame noted for their outstandingquality. Later, as demand grew,George Ibberson, Joseph Rodgersand George Wostenholm were alsogreatly involved in the manufactureof the F-S knife.

John Clarke and William Rodgersare names which sit proudlyalongside our other SheffieldCollectable Knife brands, and weare honoured to say that it is ourSheffield ‘third pattern’ knife whichis chosen by the British Ministry ofDefence to this day.

1st, 2nd and 3rd PatternCommando Knives

AUTHENTICITY

W E E M P L O Y S O M E O FS H E F F I E L D ’ S F I N E S T C U T L E R S ,F O R W H O M M A I N T A I N I N G T H EA U T H E N T I C I T Y, I N T E G R I T Y A N DQ U A L I T Y O F T H E K N I V E S T H E YC R A F T I S P A R A M O U N T.

The Sheffield Collectable Knives range ismade using traditional materials popularamong knife collectors. Finest high carbonblade materials are hand ground by ourskilled craftsmen. Bowie blades are offeredin 3/8” stock, giving knives a good weightand solid feel. Handle materials are typicalof those used in the mid-1800’s includingbeautiful buffalo horn and nickel silver forthe guards. Blades are stamped and deepacid etched with authentic marks from thearchives. Pocket knives feature “work-back” which is an intricate traditionaltechnique of applying file work patterns by hand to knife springs and backs.

Importantly though, and like Wostenholm,Rodgers and Ibberson before us, we areopen to new materials and techniques.Now for what we believe is the first time inour brands’ long histories, we are makingknives available with Damascus blades.Patterned steels have been used in knifeblades for over two thousand years; theterm “Damascus” being coined duringThe Crusades. Manufactured using anaward-winning process, we are proud tointroduce knives in “Damasteel” - astainless material, both beautiful andunique in appearance, with extraordinaryedge retention and corrosion resistance,and a hardness of 58-64º Rockwell C.

CARE & GUARANTEE

T H E K N I F E I SG U A R A N T E E D A G A I N S TD E F E C T S I N M A T E R I A L SA N D M A N U F A C T U R E . I N T H E U N L I K E LY E V E N TO F A F A U L T I T S H O U L DB E R E T U R N E D T O T H EP L A C E O F P U R C H A S E .P L E A S E C A R E F O R Y O U RK N I F E A S F O L L O W S :

Carbon steel knife blades arevulnerable to attack fromatmospheric and other moistureand are prone to develop rustmarks after handling. Ourcarbon steel knife blades leavethe factory with a light coveringof a suitable blade protectant.The knife should be cleanedregularly using a lint free cloth,especially after handling.

Periodic reapplication of a bladeprotectant is necessary followingthe manufacturer’s instructions.

Our Stainless Steel andDamascus steel knife blades donot need blade protectant butshould be kept clean and dry.

Great care should be takenwhen handling any knife.

A knife should not be stored in aleather sheath for a prolongedperiod – the leather can damagethe blade and fittings. Regularlycleaning and conditioning ofleather sheaths with saddle soapextends the lifespan and helpsmaintain good quality.

REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

- Sheffield Exhibition Knives by Bill Claussen, Bill Adams et al (1999)- Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Dagger by Leroy Thompson (2011) - The Sheffield Bowie & Pocket Knife Makers 1825-1925 by Richard Washer (1974)- Wilkinsons and the F.S. Fighting Knife by Robert Wilkinson-Latham (2009)- I*XL Means I Excel - A Short History of the I* XL Bowie Knife by William R Williamson (1970)

- www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com- www.gotavapen.se- www.royalnavy.mod.uk