Future of craftsmanship on a knife edge as skills nearing extinction
Published Date: 28 May 2010
By Nicky Solloway
Trevor Ablett is one of the last remaining pen- and pocket-knife makers in the country and at the age of 67, he's close to hanging up his tools and retiring but who will take his place?
From the last few scissor-makers to the last sieve or riddle maker to the last broom and basket producer, skills that have been passed down through generations are on the edge of extinction.
According to the Heritage Crafts Association, set up a few weeks ago to help revive the fortunes of the master craftsman, many British crafts are in danger of dying out. Some of the smaller heritage crafts have declined to such an extent that only one person is still working in them.
Trevor Ablett, from Sheffield, shares his workshop with 78-year-old, Reg Cooper, another city knife-maker who first cut his skills as a cutler at the age of just 14. After 64 years in the trade, he still has no plans to retire.
The workshop on the outskirts of the industrial heartland of Sheffield thrums with the sound of their 50-year-old machines, lathes, presses and drills.
Known as the Little Mesters, the city once thronged with these self-employed craftsmen who forged and ground the knives, razors and surgical instruments. Now only a handful are still trading.
"At one time there were about 30,000 people working in cutlery and steel in Sheffield," says Mr Cooper.
"We've just hit a niche in the market now where people want these old-fashioned knives," adds Trevor. "Older people like the old British pocket knives. There's nobody hand-making them like this driving and polishing the blades. Swiss Army knives are stainless steel, this is all carbon. "
The cutlers create and assemble all of the pieces of the knives by hand, using carbon steel for the blades and horn for the handles.
Full article here
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Future-of-craftsmanship-on-a.6328328.jp
Published Date: 28 May 2010
By Nicky Solloway
Trevor Ablett is one of the last remaining pen- and pocket-knife makers in the country and at the age of 67, he's close to hanging up his tools and retiring but who will take his place?
From the last few scissor-makers to the last sieve or riddle maker to the last broom and basket producer, skills that have been passed down through generations are on the edge of extinction.
According to the Heritage Crafts Association, set up a few weeks ago to help revive the fortunes of the master craftsman, many British crafts are in danger of dying out. Some of the smaller heritage crafts have declined to such an extent that only one person is still working in them.
Trevor Ablett, from Sheffield, shares his workshop with 78-year-old, Reg Cooper, another city knife-maker who first cut his skills as a cutler at the age of just 14. After 64 years in the trade, he still has no plans to retire.
The workshop on the outskirts of the industrial heartland of Sheffield thrums with the sound of their 50-year-old machines, lathes, presses and drills.
Known as the Little Mesters, the city once thronged with these self-employed craftsmen who forged and ground the knives, razors and surgical instruments. Now only a handful are still trading.
"At one time there were about 30,000 people working in cutlery and steel in Sheffield," says Mr Cooper.
"We've just hit a niche in the market now where people want these old-fashioned knives," adds Trevor. "Older people like the old British pocket knives. There's nobody hand-making them like this driving and polishing the blades. Swiss Army knives are stainless steel, this is all carbon. "
The cutlers create and assemble all of the pieces of the knives by hand, using carbon steel for the blades and horn for the handles.
Full article here
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Future-of-craftsmanship-on-a.6328328.jp
