Interrupting Stan Shaw's Marmalade Sandwich

Jack Black said:
Here's a great pic of Ted Osborne, Stan's mentor at Ibberson's, using a parser. To Ted's left, his young apprentice, Stan Shaw, can be clearly seen :)

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Great photo!

Jack Black said:
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Sowbelly with a fleam!!! :D Is that a mustache comb on the right??
 
chuko said:
Jack, in the 1st black & white photo in post #168 the lobster looks very similar to the one I posted. Thanks for adding all these neat pictures of a Sheffield legend and his shop. Glad to see this thread recirculating again. Here are some more pics of my Stan Shaw lobsters including one marked SS-57 and paired with the SS-76.
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Thank you for more beautiful pics Charles :) I have a couple of knives in the same pattern, but not made by Stan Shaw, and not as nice :thumbup:

supratentorial said:
Is that a mustache comb on the right??
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:D :thumbup:
 
Here is my latest pic of Stan, from the 5th May. I don't usually take photos when I visit him, as we are too busy rabbiting, and I feel kind of self-conscious doing so. I sneaked this one through the window of his shop, but then Stan spotted me and let me in :)

 
Thank you for the pictures Jack. This is a great thread. Spent some time when the kids went down last night enjoying it.
 
Mr. Shaw is a national treasure. Does he always work alone in his shop, or are there any other cutlers there? I wish I could start a late in life apprenticeship.

Thank you so much for posting these pictures. I'm almost as fascinated by the tools on his bench as the knives he's making.
 
Jack, I want to echo others in expressing my gratitude for you investing the time and effort into posting all the fascinating pics of Stan Shaw and the fruits of his labors!! :thumbup::thumbup:

If I may, I'd also like to ask a couple of questions. What are the white objects in the foreground of the photo below? (They look like clamshells to me.)
And am I missing something in the painting, or is he shown filing on an empty vice??
Thanks for any light you can shed on the darkness that grips my mind! :D

- GT

Jack Black said:

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StoneBeard said:
Thank you for the pictures Jack. This is a great thread. Spent some time when the kids went down last night enjoying it.
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Thank you my friend, it's got a bit discombobulated over the years, but glad you enjoyed reading through it :)

r8shell said:
Mr. Shaw is a national treasure. Does he always work alone in his shop, or are there any other cutlers there? I wish I could start a late in life apprenticeship.

Thank you so much for posting these pictures. I'm almost as fascinated by the tools on his bench as the knives he's making.
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I agree r8shell :) Stan always works on his own, but a chap called Peter Goss makes surgical instruments in the workshop next door, he's been there for years (longer than Stan has in fact), and they are pals. Peter also makes wedding rings, and one time when I was with Stan, he came in to introduce a couple who he was making rings for. Despite being younger than Stan, Peter is bald, and as he walked in, he pointed at Stan's thick head of white hair, and loudly told the couple, "It's a wig that!" :D

Stan has some great old tools, a few of which he's had his entire working life. The hacksaw on the wall of the painting is an Eclipse hacksaw from James Neill Tools, where my dad spent about 20 years of his working life, and where many of my other family members also worked :thumbup:

5K Qs said:
Jack, I want to echo others in expressing my gratitude for you investing the time and effort into posting all the fascinating pics of Stan Shaw and the fruits of his labors!! :thumbup::thumbup:

If I may, I'd also like to ask a couple of questions. What are the white objects in the foreground of the photo below? (They look like clamshells to me.)
And am I missing something in the painting, or is he shown filing on an empty vice??
Thanks for any light you can shed on the darkness that grips my mind! :D
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Thanks GT. I'm not sure about that, and looking at more recent pics of Stan's bench, the same object isn't there, looks like something in a plastic bag or packaging to me, am I looking at the same thing? :confused: You are not the first to say that about that painting! :D I think it's probably an omission of the artist. My guess would be that Stan was actually filing a spring :thumbup:
 
Jack Black said:
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Thanks GT. I'm not sure about that, and looking at more recent pics of Stan's bench, the same object isn't there, looks like something in a plastic bag or packaging to me, am I looking at the same thing? :confused: You are not the first to say that about that painting! :D I think it's probably an omission of the artist. My guess would be that Stan was actually filing a spring :thumbup:
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Thanks, Jack. I suppose what I think are clamshells could be a plastic bag. Maybe it contains the titular marmalade sandwich!! ;)

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Thanks, Jack. I suppose what I think are clamshells could be a plastic bag. Maybe it contains the titular marmalade sandwich!! ;)
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You could be right my friend! :D :thumbup:
 
More than likely they are abalone shells, Gary! There are something like thirty species in that Genus alone. I would love to know how he cuts his own nacre ( Mother of Pearl) and the process in general. The more you think about the skills and knowledge involved in his trade the more it boggles the mind. No wonder most specialized in one or a few aspects of the trade.
 
Gevonovich said:
More than likely they are abalone shells, Gary! There are something like thirty species in that Genus alone. I would love to know how he cuts his own nacre ( Mother of Pearl) and the process in general. The more you think about the skills and knowledge involved in his trade the more it boggles the mind. No wonder most specialized in one or a few aspects of the trade.
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Sorry gents, I see it now, I wasn't even sure I was looking at the right pic before! Think I need new specs :o I was discussing MOP with Stan a few months back, I forget exactly what he said, but he does cut it himself. I was asking if he has ever suffered any adverse effects as the dust is supposed to be very hazardous to health, but he said he never had. In fact, Stan seems to have had a very harm-free working life. The injury he suffered recently, where a large piece of nickel silver gashed his leg (I mistakenly thought it was a bolster before, but it was actually the block he was cutting a bolster from), perhaps being the worst.
 
Gevonovich said:
More than likely they are abalone shells, Gary! There are something like thirty species in that Genus alone. I would love to know how he cuts his own nacre ( Mother of Pearl) and the process in general. The more you think about the skills and knowledge involved in his trade the more it boggles the mind. No wonder most specialized in one or a few aspects of the trade.
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Thanks for the clarification, Gev and Jack. :)
When I saw what appeared to be sea shells of some kind, I wondered if he somehow turned them into handle material. But I thought it unlikely that a single craftsman built every part of the knife "from scratch"! It would be a challenge for me to turn uniform blocks of wood into knife covers, and I'd have no idea how horn, bone, tortoiseshell, etc. is actually "worked" to become a knife handle! Gev, your "boggles the mind" phrase certainly applies to me! :eek:

- GT
 
I reckon they are Abalone shells.
There's a strange thing in the foreground of the picture with the bench of tools.
It looks like a walrus tusk or a long skinny banana with slots cut into it.
Could it be a gauge for measuring the thickness of blades?? or simply handle material?
Cheers.
 
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Meako matey when Jack and I were there Stan had a couple of examples of very old Tusk on his bench that he showed both Jack and I and let us CE & CF - believe me there was a lot of that going on in that time we were there.
So I would confidentially say it's Tusk.

But Jack will know.

Just want to TOTALLY agree with what our good friend GT said- Nack thank for doing what you do.

Ok.... I'm on a plane soon to see the land of Waynorth and to visit my friends both Charlie and Paul - perhaps another if we are lucky.
No doubt a report to follow 👍✈️
 
Thanks Duncan, I think you're right about the tooth :thumbup: Stan always has lots of interesting-looking materials around, and he never stops working, so everytime I go over there are different things around. He generally salvages his handle materials from old items, tortoise from old mirrors and page-turners, lignum vitae from bowling balls. He has enough sambar stag to see him out, having bought it when one of the old firms closed down 30 years ago. He still has much of that huge tusk we handled Duncan, and I have a couple of smaller pieces for him when I go over tomorrow. It certainly is mind-boggling GT, how Stan manages to do everything himself, but a cutler in Sheffield doesn't have a lot of choice these days, since all the subsidiary workers who once supported the cutlery trade are long gone. Stan once said, "Sometimes, people think I buy all this stuff from a shop somewhere, but where would I buy it?" Of course, he is almost completely unaware of the internet! :)

It's great to hear that you and Sue are finally on your way Duncan, and it's going to be fantastic for you to meet up with great friends such as Charlie and Paul. Makes my heart soar just to think of it. Have a safe journey and a great trip Duncan :) :thumbup:

Jack
 
Thank you Jack my friend.
13 hours flying - we have arrived in Beautiful Vancouver.
Just lying down for a wee while lol. Been awake for 29 hours - but we will have a wonder around before we collapse.

Just about to unpack my TC Clip point - good Ol Flat Belly. The very same knife that Stan was photographed holding. 👍
 
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