A. Wright & Son, Sheffield, still open for business?

I have 3. 1 Rosewood,1Ebony, and 1 Rams horn, purchased about 7 yrs ago, all 3 are examples of poor workmanship, really, if you don’t give a shit about what you do for a living, Qiut.
 
pholder said:
I have 3. 1 Rosewood,1Ebony, and 1 Rams horn, purchased about 7 yrs ago, all 3 are examples of poor workmanship, really, if you don’t [have any pride] about what you do for a living, Quit.
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Howdy. Perhaps you could find a less robust expression of your disappointment.

I've heard so many similar stories though, that I've never desired to explore the brand.
 
I have a large and small lambsfoot and a clip point barlow. When they get it right they really nail it, but I had to send back two rounds of “duds” to get the good ones I have.

If they’ve stopped making knives that’s a real shame. I love the charm and character of the things, and consider them a huge value.
 
They are what they are. They are utilitarian ("practical: designed primarily for practical use rather than beauty"). Some cutlers take more pride in their work than others. I have six made by A. Wright three of which that are first rate - no obvious gaps, flush spring when opened, good transition from bolster to handle, etc.. I'm glad I have them. This is my remaining flock all with the exception of the Waynorth Cutlery knife made by A. Wright. The one with the oval tang stamp was marketed by Jack Adams but made by A. Wright. The one with the Snakewood covers was recovered as a favor for me by a member here on BF. You can see they've all been well used. The Lambfoot is not my favorite pattern but a useful pattern none the less.

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I recently bought an A. Wright two bolster Senator with rosewood scales from a forum member. It is either an older vintage knife or I hit the quality lottery as fit / finish was pretty darned good including the backspring being flush open and closed. With a little work on my part it is even better, Slight mis-matches touched up. touched up the scales by darkening the open grain to get rid of as muck of the white/light areas ( I think it was embedded polishing compound) touched up the edge and started using it; cutting fruit to start a nice patina. before and after below.

as purchased





Now;





 
sceva said:
I recently bought an A. Wright two bolster Senator with rosewood scales from a forum member. It is either an older vintage knife or I hit the quality lottery as fit / finish was pretty darned good including the backspring being flush open and closed. With a little work on my part it is even better, Slight mis-matches touched up. touched up the scales by darkening the open grain to get rid of as muck of the white/light areas ( I think it was embedded polishing compound) touched up the edge and started using it; cutting fruit to start a nice patina. before and after below.

as purchased





Now;





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Looking at that tang stamp, I'd say that was from 2017. Not always possible to tell, but I remember them getting that stamp made. That combination of pattern and materials shows that it was made for a dealer, in the UK I imagine. The tang stamp was made by a bloke called Mick Shaw :thumbsup:
 
My one and only A. Wright. Love the shape and lack of embellishment.

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Such a shame. I regret not buying 10 years ago when I learned about them but didn't have any interest. Not interested in gambling on a lemon at this point, lots of patterns I missed out on. Seeing the Ettricks in this thread bums me out.

Was similarly disappointed last week to learn World Knives LTD closed up shop. Spent a lot of time browsing European knives on that site and wish I would have spent some money while I had the chance.
 
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Jack Black said:
Looking at that tang stamp, I'd say that was from 2017. Not always possible to tell, but I remember them getting that stamp made. That combination of pattern and materials shows that it was made for a dealer, in the UK I imagine. The tang stamp was made by a bloke called Mick Shaw :thumbsup:
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Interesting observation. I was the original purchaser - in January 2022. At that time, I was told there would be an 8 week wait for shipping, as knives were being made to order. I did order this with a regular lambfoot, so perhaps that was being made, while this senator was new old stock? The older models also seem to have a smaller nail nick (which I prefer).
 
foofie said:
Interesting observation. I was the original purchaser - in January 2022. At that time, I was told there would be an 8 week wait for shipping, as knives were being made to order. I did order this with a regular lambfoot, so perhaps that was being made, while this senator was new old stock? The older models also seem to have a smaller nail nick (which I prefer).
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That's interesting. I've bought stuff from them that is decades old, so it could be old stock. Or it could have been made with an older blade, as they're stamped it up in large batches, and there are tubs and trays of them all over the place. They don't have as many patterns that use that small blade as the larger ones I don't think, and they certainly don't sell as many, so they'd hang around longer. This SFO, of mine, (below), from 2018 uses the same stamp, and it was new then. It's possible this blade was blanked out, and stamped, at the same time. Another possibility though is that they'd just had another new stamping tool made with the same font as the 2018 one, but bearing in mind working patterns during 2020 and 2021, I'd still guess the blade, at least, is from 2018. The depth and placement of the nail nicks varies a little, to some extent depending on which cutler applied them, and the particular blade :thumbsup:

ho5LyKa.jpg


Edit - Just to add that if you ordered through their website, you were actually ordering through a dealer, so the waiting time would have something to do with when they were due to put an order in, and to have it delivered.
 
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Carboniferous said:
Such a shame. I regret not buying 10 years ago when I learned about them but didn't have any interest. Not interested in gambling on a lemon at this point, lots of patterns I missed out on. Seeing the Ettricks in this thread bums me out.

Was similarly disappointed last week to learn World Knives LTD closed up shop. Spent a lot of time browsing European knives on that site and wish I would have spent some money while I had the chance.
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Right there with you in regards to the Ettrick. What a great pattern, I missed it as well.

I don't understand why so many people here in the US won't order knives from overseas. Since GEC went crazy, Queen and Canal Street closing, I shifted my focus to primarily European pocket knives. I've had US Customs open a couple shipments, but everything has always arrived safely. Honestly, my shipments tend to arrive in the same time frame, or faster, than they did from the few times I tried World Knives. Better selection too.
Jack Black said:
That's interesting. I've bought stuff from them that is decades old, so it could be old stock. Or it could have been made with an older blade, as they're stamped it up in large batches, and there are tubs and trays of them all over the place. They don't have as many patterns that use that small blade as the larger ones I don't think, and they certainly don't sell as many, so they'd hang around longer. This SFO, of mine, (below), from 2018 uses the same stamp, and it was new then. It's possible this blade was blanked out, and stamped, at the same time. Another possibility though is that they'd just had another new stamping tool made with the same font as the 2018 one, but bearing in mind working patterns during 2020 and 2021, I'd still guess the blade, at least, is from 2018. The depth and placement of the nail nicks varies a little, to some extent depending on which cutler applied them, and the particular blade :thumbsup:

ho5LyKa.jpg


Edit - Just to add that if you ordered through their website, you were actually ordering through a dealer, so the waiting time would have something to do with when they were due to put an order in, and to have it delivered.
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Wow, this one never fails to impress me.... An outstanding SFO Jack! Wish I had been participating in the Guardians thread when you had those made!

As for Wrights knives that I have, only Jack Black Jack Black 's SFO's are ones approaching perfect fit and finish. The rest of mine seem to be made primarily as working tools and there's nothing wrong with that..... Of course, I wouldn't mind better fit and finish!

Two of my favorites:PXL_20220819_221102417~2.jpg


That end cap....😍PXL_20220819_221803790~2.jpg
 
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