Cutlery in Sheffield

Metalworking had always been a key industry in Sheffield due to the availability of nearby raw materials such as iron ore, coal, charcoal and stone for grinding wheels. Sheffield had another advantage; several fast-flowing rivers to help power machinery. Improvements in waterwheel technology meant that waterpower was used to help stamp out metal objects, and power heavy drop hammers.

The introduction of steam powered machinery in the 1780s did not alter the traditional manufacturing structures much in Sheffield. While some manufacturers, called factors, tried to bring as much of the cutlery making process under one roof as possible, creating the first factories, the majority of work was still carried out by ‘Little Mesters’. The Little Mester was a highly-skilled craftsman who worked with a few employees and apprentices in a small workshop, which was often in their own home. Each Mester would specialise in one process, such as forging, grinding or polishing, and they later specialised further by making specific types of cutlery or working in a single material. This meant that one item of cutlery would pass through many pairs of hands before it was finally finished.

Despite the growth of both Sheffield and the cutlery industry, most manufacturing was concentrated within a square mile of the city centre. This was due to the specialisation of processes within cutlery manufacture, which relied on having other cutlery producers nearby to work with and for. The largest market for Sheffield cutlers in the early nineteenth century was America.

After the 1840’s electroplating became a more common method of silver-plating metal items, and it soon replaced Old Sheffield Plate as a manufacturing method in Sheffield. The history of twentieth century cutlery making was dominated by a single development; stainless steel. In 1913 Harry Brearley, Head of Firth-Brown Research Laboratories, discovered that a low-carbon steel with 12% chromium would resist rust.