THE CUTLERY TRADE OF SHEFFIELD
By Frederick Callis
There are very few of the ancient industries of Sheffield that have undergone more sweeping changes under the reign of Free Trade than the manufacture of goods included under the head of "cutlery." Indeed, so entire has been the transformation that points of comparison between the condition of things to-day and what they were a century ago are extremely difficult to find. The last half-century has been one of progress–steady, sustained progress–beneficial alike to manufacturers and to workmen. This statement will no doubt be canvassed, but it is nevertheless true and can be supported by facts. Fortunes have been built up of such proportions as were never dreamed of by the Fathers. The workmen now carry on their labours and spend their leisure amid surroundings to which the proverbially "poor cutler" of a former generation was an absolute stranger.
An Ancient Industry.
The cutlery trade of Sheffield has a most ancient history, and it is as interesting as it is ancient. When it was established is unknown, but it had certainly taken deep root here in the days of Elizabeth. The cutlers were then little better than serfs, working under the most repressive of restrictions, and for the scantiest possible remuneration. The selection of Sheffield as the seat of this branch of trade was a very happy one, for it furnished advantages such as few, if any other, places possessed–advantages that meant much more in years gone by than they do even to-day. No fewer than five streams flow down the valleys into Sheffield from the hills and moors around, furnishing an abundance of water power. And coal and iron and stone are all within easy reach. Business began with the manufacture of the ancient "thwytel," as Chaucer called it, and passed on to the jack-knife, the spring knife, and other improvements alike in table and in spring cutlery.
A Century's Progress.
It is, however, during the last century, and more especially the latter portion of it, that the most remarkable developments have taken place, alike in the manner in which the business is conducted, in modes of manufacture, and in the conditions of life of those engaged in the trade. A variety of causes have contributed to bring these changes about. They are, the greater energy and enterprise of manufacturers and the increasing steadiness and intelligence of workmen; the reliable use of steam in place of the uncertainty of the old water power; the free adoption of machinery whereby much heavy manual labour has been saved and the output vastly increased; the operation of the Factory Acts, securing better sanitary surroundings and, as a consequence, improved health and longer lives.
It is extremely gratifying to be able to record that under Free Trade both employer and employed have prospered. There are cutlery manufacturers in the city of Sheffield to-day who are wealthier beyond all comparison than their ancestors. They live in an altogether more affluent style, in palatial residences situated in charmingly laid-out grounds. They have their carriages, their hunters, their moors, and other similar luxuries. Many of them have had the best education the country can furnish, and are men of culture and refinement. They know little or nothing, by personal experience, of the rough side of life with which their ancestors were familiar. On the other hand, a hundred years ago many of the leading cutlery manufacturers lived in houses at the entrance to their works or close by. They commenced work with their men at five or six o'clock in the morning, and were at it until eight or nine o'clock at night. Years ago, when new premises were built in Norfolk Street by Messrs. Joseph Rodgers and Sons, the modest residences of the partners were placed on each side of the entrance gates. Mr. Michael Hunter, the founder of the firm of Hunter and Son, whose grandson has just been elected to the high and honourable office of Master of the Cutlers' Company of Hallamshire, in his earlier days lived at his works in the Wicker; and what was once his "best room" was afterwards utilised as an office. The older members of the trade are full of interesting reminiscences of the modes of life of the masters of their younger days; how they used to travel through the country in search of orders on horseback with their samples and even goods in panniers across the horse; and the rush there was to have theif wares ready for the stage waggon as it came lumbering through the town.
Growth Of Huge Establishments.
Perhaps no stronger or more palpable proof of the advantages of Free Trade could be furnished than a walk through some of the cutlery establishments of to-day. They are extensive beyond all comparison with those of former days; perfect in the arrangement of departments; and fitted up with the most up-to-date machinery and other accessories. It is only necessary to name such works as Messrs. Joseph Rodgers and Sons, Messrs. Harrison Brothers and Howson, Messrs. James Dixon and Sons, Messrs.Walker and Hall, Messrs. Mappin and Webb, and several more–any one of which would swallow up several of the factories of a bygone age. It may be said that all these firms are silversmiths as well as cutlers, and that they owe their prosperity as much to the one industry as to the other. That is no doubt perfectly true; but it would be easy to show that the causes which have led to the development of the cutlery branch have been equally powerful in their operation on the silver and plating branches.
A Manufacturer's Views.
An admirable illustration of what has been said is furnished by the history of the firm of Messrs. Harrison Brothers and Howson. Their business was established over a century ago by Thomas Sansom and Sons, and in 1847 it was purchased by Messrs. J. W. Harrison, H. Harrison, and W. Howson. In that year the cutlery trade was so depressed that the workmen were glad to sweep the streets for a living. A change came, and the new firm began to prosper. Their premises in Norfolk Street were extended again and again; additional works were acquired in another part of the City; and still more accommodation was needed. Some six years ago the firm purchased property in Carver Street covering about an acre of ground, and thereon they have erected a thoroughly up to-date manufactory replete with all modern appliances and conveniences. The internal arrangements are as complete as skill and long experience could suggest. A prominent feature of the new works is the power-house with its engine of 250 h.p.; its powerful dynamos, and its motors scattered through the place, furnishing alike force and light. The firm employ about seven hundred people. The progress made by this firm is typical of that of others mentioned.
Mr. George Howson, the senior partner of the firm, was asked what, in his opinion, had been the effect of Free Trade upon the cutlery industry of the City. He replied that the trade had more than held its own in face of the high tariffs and keen competition of other nations. There had been progress in the output of high-class goods in the last fifty years, but not by any means to the same extent as in medium and common qualities. This was probably to be attributed to the introduction and free use of machinery which lent itself with more satisfactory results to the production of the lower than to the higher grade wares. Best table cutlery is made now after very much the same methods as it was a century ago, and there is little probability of change, as it is not an article that lends itself to alteration. High-class steel is so hard that attempts to manipulate it by machinery break the tools, and heating it to make it work easily would destroy its temper and reduce it to common steel. For the production of medium and common goods machinery is most valuable– indeed, a necessity of the times. While a forger is making a handful of blades, a machine will turn out a barrow full.
Coming to the position of the worker, Mr. Howson compared it with what it was in 1847, when his father commenced business, and stated that not only in money wages, but also in the conditions under which the workman does his work, and indeed in all directions, there has been distinct improvement. The introduction of the emery wheel has relieved the cutler of much exhausting labour. "Half a century ago you did not see," remarked Mr. Howson, "a cutler wearing a collar, and it was most unlikely that he had a Sunday suit. I have heard my father speak of one workman of his earlier days, an ivory cutler, who was known as 'Ivory Bob.' He was dubbed 'the gentleman of the firm' because he wore a collar and a top-hat! You may take it generally that the workman now is twice as well off as were his forefathers." Mr. Howson spoke most approvingly of the working of the Factory Acts and of the judicious manner in which they have been administered in Sheffield.
A Chat With A Working Cutler.
These opinions of a prominent employer can be amply confirmed by the recollections of the older workmen. Take, for example, Walter Barnes, an admirable type of the self-respecting working cutler. His memory travels back to the days when the position of workers in the cutlery trade was totally different from what it is now. He remembers very distinctly how his father was "chaffed" for going to live in a house which was £10 a year. That was in the days of the £10 franchise, and his father wanted a vote, and had to pay for it by an increase in his rent bill. Now we have household suffrage.
"In those days," said Mr. Barnes, "the cutler was very poor, and in his poverty was often addicted to drink. Not one in twenty had a second suit of clothes, and the only change in his dress on a Sunday was that he put on a clean apron! All that has been altered. Now in the homes of many you will find the floor covered with oilcloth, a good table and sofa, and even a piano–although perhaps purchased on the hire system. Yes; the position of the cutler in my time has altogether changed. He is a steadier man, earns higher wages, and he has comforts and sources of enjoyment unknown in former years.
"There was no School Board with its free education in my young days," continued Mr. Barnes; "and before I was ten years of age I started to work. I had to leave home at a quarter-past five in the morning and was kept at work until nine o'clock at night. If I got off at four o'clock on Saturday I felt as though I had secured a day's holiday. Now we begin at half-past eight and stop at six, and at twelve o'clock on Saturdays. The cutler and all his surroundings have undergone a complete change for the better."
A Master Of The Old School.
Another master whose opinions it is interesting to quote is Mr. Charles Ibbotson, one of the old school of cutlery manufacturers, who was once a workman himself. He can recall the days when most of the common goods, and especially the wellknown Barlow Knife, of which enormous quantities used to be sent to America, were made in the surrounding villages–Stannington, Wadsley, Worrall, Dungworth, and Hillsbro. Forgers, grinders, cutlers in the employ of "Little Mesters" were scattered all over the district. In many instances the men had a bit of land attached to their house or their shop and were able to eke out a living by growing vegetables. There were no Factory Acts in operation then, and when there was a big rush of orders men and apprentices would work from four or five o'clock in the morning until nine or ten at night. The masters might have been seen rushing round and offering bounties to men to work for them.
"I used," said Mr. Ibbotson, " to work every day in the week, never taking a holiday or going on the drink, and my wages averaged a guinea a week! I used to make seven dozen Barlow Knives a day, and was paid sixpence a dozen. By the way the material is put into his hands a cutler can now make eight dozen where I made six dozen. I remember once when trade was bad and my master had stocked all his money I went on working for him on credit until he owed me £33. The 'Little Mesters' at the end of the week used to bring the goods down to Sheffield on donkeys to sell, and when trade was good the merchants would meet them on the road and bid against each other to get the knives. Barlows were sometimes sold at us. per gross and at all prices up to 21s. per gross. If you had met some of the 'Mesters' going home you could have told by their appearance how Barlows had gone. I need not say anything about the masters, but with regard to the workmen their position in my time has wonderfully improved, and the improvement is going on. The cutler now has thrown open to him parks and recreation grounds and woods; he has the use of free libraries for himself and free education for his children; and lots of sources of enjoyment to which in my early days we were entire strangers."
Views Of A Prominent Labour Leader.
There are few men in a better position to form an opinion of the cutlery trade of the present as compared with the past than Mr. W. F. Wardley. He is a member of the City Council, and a very prominent worker in all movements for the advancement of the people. For nearly thirty years he toiled as a table blade forger, and only left the hammer and the anvil to take up the duties of Secretary to the Table Blade Forgers and Strikers Union. In this position he is brought into personal contact with employers and employed alike throughout the City.
"I can remember well," he said, " hearing conversations between my father and the older members of the trade of what they had passed through in the 'good old days of protection.1 There were then, as there have been since, periods of good and bad trade, but it was evident from what they said that when bad trade did come the sufferings of the people were very much worse and more widespread than they would be now.
"And why? Because all the necessaries of life were so much dearer, and the little money obtainable from parish relief or any other source would go practically no way in what it would purchase. A man, his wife and family would want three stones of flour a week, and this at 45. 6d. per stone, as it was in my father's younger days, would mean 13s. 6d. per week. The price of flour to-day is 1s. 6d. per stone, so you see the difference in the bread bill alone. The fact is the poor could not obtain sufficient money to buy all the bread they needed, leave alone meat and other necessaries. The acute sufferings of the poor cutler when trade was bad in those days can hardly be realised by us.
"Of course, in some branches of the trade, such as table blade forging, fewer men are employed now; but that is not because of any falling off in the demand, but because of the wide introduction of machinery. Many classes of goods are now made by machinery that used to give employment to a large army of hand forgers. They have found other and better paying work. There can be no doubt that the general condition of the working cutler during the last half-century has decidedly improved. He works under healthier, easier, and less exhausting conditions altogether. To-day he would not submit to some of the inconveniences and annoyances which his forefathers thought belonged to their stand in life. For instance, an apprentice in the old days recognised it as part of his duty on a Saturday to break so much sand to scatter over the floor of his master's house after it had been washed, or fetch water from the wells for use during the following week. I had to break sand in my apprentice days. As far as his means will allow, the cutler has moved upwards. He is better educated; his wife and family are better dressed, and he has a more comfortable home. Many things he then regarded as a luxury, only obtainable at intervals at the best, he now claims to be a necessity, and gets them."
In reply to a question as to the tariffs put on our goods by other nations, Mr. Wardley said :–
"The cutlery trade has no doubt been hampered by foreign competition, but we must remember that that would be there whether we had Free Trade or Protection. America, Germany, and France, who used to be amongst our best customers, have become manufacturers themselves, and are in a position to supply their own markets, and would do so tariff or no tariff. In my judgment, if it had not been for Free Trade bringing in its train cheap food and improved conditions of life all round, we should have been very much harder hit than has now been the case, for we should have lost some foreign markets anyhow, and we should not have gained the splendid round of markets which we now possess. No; we don't want, either by Protection or any other system, to return to the state of things that prevailed in our trade during the early part of last century, and there is no fear of its coming to pass. The country would not stand it."
The "Little Mester."
Under the reign of Free Trade that very ancient institution the " Little Mester " is rapidly disappearing, partly from the different way in which production is carried on, and partly from the operation of the Factory Acts. He made very cheap goods; his people worked often amid most insanitary surroundings; he was dependent upon the sale of his output at the end of the week for the wherewithal to pay even the poor wages he could afford j and the income of both employer and employed was of a very precarious character. The trade is being concentrated more and more in the hands of men of capital, who own large, light, airy shops, who have the most efficient up-to-date machinery, and who have plenty of capital at command. While alluding to the " Little Mester," with all respect for the part he played and the work he did in the past, it has to be admitted that he was a great obstacle to progress. He would not be convinced that the markets of the world were changing, and that what suited the grandfather and father would not please the son and grandson. The head of one large firm remarked, "We spend considerable sums of money in sending our travellers to the four quarters of the globe for orders, and when we have received their reports and samples of what was wanted, the ' Little Mester' has stood in the way of the suggestions being carried out." There are many instances in which the "Little Mester" is now being employed by a big firm as ganger over a team of cutlers. They work in a large shop, and by co-operation and subdivision of labour, goods are produced in enormous quantities at a minimum of cost.
Pen And Pocket Cutlery.
Although it has not been found possible to introduce any very great variety of patterns in table cutlery, there have been endless developments in pen and pocket knives, and the introduction of new designs is still going on. Up to the end of the seventeenth century the spring cutlery, though good in quality, was extremely plain and sadly wanting in finish. The trade entered upon a new era in 1820, when what is known as the "Wharncliffe Knife" was invented. Since then leading firms have devoted unremitting attention to the production of novelties and specialities, and such knives are made to-day of the most costly material by the most skilled of workmen. In addition to steel goods, the cutlery trade of the present day embraces the manufacture of silver or plated knives and forks for fish, dessert, butter, &c., with handles of pearl, ivory, and other costly material. By stamping, chasing, etching, and similar processes, the ornamentation of these goods has been brought to great perfection, and the increased wealth of the nation admits of a very large business being carried on in all these productions. The trade no longer has to depend on the wants or whims of a few rich people, for these articles of comfort and luxury are now to be seen on the tables of the many.
Scissors And Razors.
The branches of the cutlery trade devoted to the manufacture of scissors and razors have passed through a period of serious troubles, that were largely of a preventable character. Instead of recognising the necessity for change in methods of production in face of growing competition of foreign rivals, the men generally fought against it, and trade was literally driven away. A prolonged strike some thirty years ago in the scissor trade let the Germans into our home and foreign markets, and it was found impossible to drive them out. By the tardy adoption of machinery which the foreigner had long been using much of our trade is being gradually won back. Another trouble was caused by a change in fashions. The days are not long past when there was a brisk demand for the most expensive and elaborately worked scissors Sheffield could produce; but they are not much wanted now, either for the home or foreign markets. Russia, for example, was once a good customer for fine scissors, and bought largely at sixty shillings per dozen; now they want them at about six shillings per dozen. The demand is for a useful, rather than an ornamental, article at a moderate price, and Sheffield manufacturers are endeavouring to meet it.
Again, the development of the razor trade was checked by the introduction of the German hollowground razor. For a long time the Sheffield grinder refused to take it up, and makers had to send their blades to Germany to be ground. He has come to a better frame of mind, and now hollow grinding is done in Sheffield in as great perfection as can be turned out on the Continent. The Sheffield-made razor is regaining its position of supremacy not only in our home market and Colonies, but in India, South America, and elsewhere. Some houses still do a good business in fine razors with America. Here again it has been of immense advantage to have the world as a market rather than two or three countries only, for the output by many firms is far in excess of anything possible in olden times.
Adoption Of Machinery.
Reference has been made to the introduction of machinery to the cutlery trade. This was not done without much misgiving on the part of manufacturers and the keenest opposition from the workers, who believed they saw in it the ruin of the industry. It is scarcely half a century since Mr. Michael Hunter put down a trip hammer for forging blades, the work having hitherto been done by hand. The men were so incensed at his action that there was danger of his place being blown up, and the manipulators of the new tool had to be under police protection. Those were the days when men's tools were "rattened," when houses and works were blown up with gunpowder, and murders were committed. The machine, however, had come to stay, and developed into the steam hammer, the automatic air hammer, and the spring hammer, each introducing an improved system of forging and cheapening production. Then came the machine for " flying" blades, i,e.t cutting them out of the bar of steel; and so extensive has this mode of manufacture become that the supplying of blades to the trade is a separate industry. As an example, reference may be made to the manufactory of Mr. Samuel Staniforth, of the Central Cutlery Forge. His machinery includes forty hammers and five pairs of eccentric rolls. His output is a thousand gross of blades per week–more, probably, than all the hand labour in Sheffield could produce. This free use of machinery in turning out blades, springs, scales, and other parts, has saved the labour of large numbers of workmen who are now employed at other work, and at the same time it has enabled our manufacturers to compete successfully with foreign rivals in almost all the markets of the world.
Satisfactory as the cutlery trade is, it might have been even more prosperous if masters and men had co-operated more heartily together. There is, however, much to be said for the men in the attitude they often assumed. They were poorly paid; much of their time was often wasted in waiting for work or in collecting the material to do it; and when employers suggested change of patterns or the utilisation of machinery the men were exacting in their demands, and consequently valuable improvements had to be abandoned or postponed. It is the opinion of many that if the Sheffield cutlery manufacturers had had to face the foreign competition that has prevailed without the advantages of Free Trade neither they nor their workpeople would be enjoying the measure of prosperity that now prevails.
Hafting Material.
To attempt to tax either the imports or the exports of the many varieties of material required for the hafting of cutlery would mean ruin to the trade. England has been the market of the world for ivory, pearl, the horns of the stag, the elk, the antelope, the rhinoceros, the walrus, the buffalo, and the ox, as well as the leg bones of the ox and the giraffe, and so on.
The principal of one of the leading firms who supply the trade with hafting material, who was consulted on this point, said he had no doubt whatever that Free Trade had been of the utmost benefit to Sheffield. Where they had partially lost one market through high tariffs they had gained others, and the output of cutlery now is something enormous–far beyond anything previously known. "Firms like ours," said he, "are in a position to know, because our fingers are on the pulse of the trade. There is more ivory and pearl and other natural products cut up to-day than the outside world has any conception of. Very considerable quantities are used up locally, but still more of some kinds go abroad in the form of handles and scales. Some of the leading foreign cutlery manufacturers draw all their hafting material from here; and not only is a market thus found for much that is unsaleable at home, but employment is furnished for an army of people. It is, however, in the imitations of natural products that the increase is seen–imitations of ivory, stag, tortoiseshell, and the rest, so perfect that only an expert can detect the difference between the real and the spurious. Much of the best of these imitations comes from America, Germany, and France, and their use is on the increase. To attempt to interfere with the freedom with which this trade has been carried on would be most disastrous, and it cannot be believed that any one would be so unwise as to do it."
A World-wide Market.
Protectionists are never weary of calling attention to the marked falling off there has been in the exports of cutlery to the United States, as the result of the high prohibitive tariffs imposed by that country. There was a time, well within the memory of many, when the home and the American markets purchased practically all the cutlery Sheffield could produce. Having so restricted an area in which to operate was sometimes attended by very disastrous consequences. It occasionally happened that the demand from across the Atlantic collapsed entirely, and then workmen were reduced to the severest straits, especially those whose employers were not in a position to keep them going on stock. For years Sheffield exported to the States over £200,000 worth of cutlery per year; but in modern times the Americans have established manufactories of their own, and have fought hard to secure the supplying of their own markets. In this they have only been successful by imposing heavy duties on Sheffield goods. America, however, is still the chief market for the Barlow Knife, as well as for knives for shoemakers, butchers, and other special lines of trade. High-class goods also go over in considerable quantities.
What is often described as the collapse of trade with the United States has been a blessing in disguise to many of the principal Sheffield manufacturers. As the door into America closed they turned their attention in other directions, opened up new and even more profitable markets, and today there is scarcely a corner of the world which they do not cover and into which their goods do not go. They are being sent to all our Colonies and Eastern possessions; to China and Japan; to South America; and, in spite of tariffs and competition, to every European market. It is beyond dispute that the productions of reputable Sheffield firms are in demand the world over, and that demand is on the increase. One immense advantage of this change, all come about under Free Trade, is that Sheffield is no longer dependent upon one or two markets, subject to extremes of fluctuations, but has the whole world to glean over for orders, and experience has proved that if there is little doing in one direction it is more than compensated for by increased activity in another.
Source: British Industries Under Free Trade - Edited by Harold Cox - 1903
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