Taylor's Eye Witness Works

[whetrock]

This is an enlightening thread IMHO. I like to put pictures to names, and now I can put an image of a sort, even though it's not a prime representation, to Taylor's Eye Witness. I can't imagine them making much in there, but I've no clue what the inside holds.

 

[Campbellclanman]

I hope its ok to post a few photo's Jack?
I enjoyed my fantastic day with Jack - aside from meeting Jack in person, Jack was a walking encyclopaedia on the history of this marvellous Town that was once a world leader in the hard hard world of the Steel Industry, as interesting as it was - it was also a little sad.

The whole town just didn't seem to be proud of their heritage - or maybe I needed to stay there a while longer to feel out the place properly.

Before I met Jack, I was called in to do some work that I specialise in, there was trouble in the big smoke, so I shot down to make things right......



Then once the dust settled, Sue and I met Jack and wondered around - I still have photo's in a unedited folder which I still need to get to, but here are some of Sheffield.......


If we find we become complacent with our jobs, think of these workers who toiled through such hardship, nothing more strikes me to the core than these images that takes me back in my mind and wonder just how these men and women found the strength everyday to do such jobs - but they did, and they were each and everyone a part of Sheffield becoming one of the most famous Industry towns ever to have been.......









Gate 3, EYE WITNESS building, I wonder just how much steel went in, then went out in a different form to become one of the better knives that have existed, I rue the day I sold my old Fixed blades made by this marvellous Cutler Firm - what a stupid thing to do, they themselves just may have passed through this doorway..





Imagine this place when the shift Siren went, the workers drenched with sweat, grime masking their faces in droves making their way to their small modest homes, to the drinking places where the they can escape just for a moment...





Jack, please...this story touched me when you very first enlightened us, here is the famous Corner Stone on Eye Witnesses building, I cannot decipher the words properly - could you remind us of the complete story - It was a shame to see graffiti on this special stone - I personally would remove this and display it with pride with it's history...




One of only two Jack? -WOW...just imagine seeing the Molten steel coming from this!!!!!!!!!




So here we are, left with the forever search of finding these fantastic knives that came from this marvellous firm, and town, while the town itself almost tries to bury the past, but there are parts that show through the cracks, I couldn't understand why you would want to tar seal over beautiful Cobblestones..



One photo that did not come out because my batteries gave up the ghost, was a huge portrait painted on a side of the building of the inventor of Stainless Steel Harry Brearley, I was pleased to see a part of recognition of the great past of Sheffield.

 

[Jack Black]

I'm having real difficulty posting properly in this thread (it sometimes happens), but I'll keep trying. Thanks for the great pics Duncan.

 

[Jack Black]

Great post Duncan, I love that photo outside Number 10! It was fantastic to meet you and Sue, and to be able to show you round the dirty old town

I remember, soon after Duncan and Sue arrived, I was showing them Lady’s Bridge in the oldest part of Sheffield. The bridge has been there in various forms since Tudor times. Duncan was taking a series of photographs of the bridge, and as he was doing so, some drunken bum, wearing a British Army camouflage jacket, walked across the bridge, took a last long swig from a purple tin (super strength lager), and tossed the empty can over the side of the bridge and into the River Don Below. Duncan thought the guy had done it on purpose to spoil his photograph, but I don’t think he even noticed Duncan, he probably behaves like that all the time, a metaphor for the lack of respect this old city gets from some.

Living in such an unspoilt and beautiful country as New Zealand, I could see that both Duncan and Sue were genuinely shocked by a few of the sights we saw on our tour round grim post-industrial Sheffield – a city that must be pretty unique in not having a single tourist information office, even Bialystok in Poland has one of those, even though there are no tourists!

Those old fellers certainly worked hard Duncan, and got very little in return, but they had a dignity about them that the worthless drunk on the bridge has probably never known.

I’m glad you got to see the corner-stone my friend, too few even know of its existence. There should have been a pic of it in my opening post, but the pic didn’t upload properly. There is however a link to my thread about it in my opening post. It’s http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...46-Eye-Witness
Yes, that indeed one of only two Bessamer Converters left in the world, the other being in the great US steel city of Pittsburgh.

It’s nice to see Harry Brearley isn’t completely forgotten, at least in this centenary year of his great invention. Fortunately, I took a pic of the wall mural to which Duncan refers on another visit, together with the one below it, which always makes me smile.

Incidentally Duncan, many of Harry’s experiments took place at the small works where your skean dhu was made, and where Jack Black Knives were based – Portland Works on Randall Street, Sheffield.

 

[Jack Black]

I've been trying to post a reply with quotes for the past 3 hours - must be gremlins in the system

Meako, very eloquent And tragic about that pizza cutter

Jer, thanks for spotting this and posting pics

At the beginning of the 1980's, Schrade used to ship Camillus-made parts over to the Richards factory, where they were assembled by ex-Wostenholm workers, before being shipped back to the US to be sold (they were “strictly export only&#8221 as Schrade-Wostenholm, made in Sheffield. In terms of their quality, they were a big step-up in terms of anything produced in Sheffield at the time.

The world of Sheffield cutlery has always had a murkiness about it, most of the work being done by jobbing cutlers or Little Mesters. A collector recently told me he had a knife with 4 different tang stamps.

I was in the Eggington Brothers, (Rodgers, Wostenholm, et al) 'factory' 20 years ago, and I doubt a knife has been made there for years. It's cheaper to buy them in from other cutlers, rather than run a factory.

Nicely finished inexpensive knives produced in a 'high-tech' way, with a second high-quality traditional range which are massively more expensive, blade designs which vary slightly from stock Sheffield patterns, brushed stainless steel blades, and stainless construction throughout, anonymous 'hardwood' handles, blade etches rather than a tang stamp. I have to say these are the sort of thing that set my alarm bells ringing when I see a knife claiming Sheffield provenance.

I don't know about Taylor's, maybe they get their knives made around the city like the other firms do, though the consistent quality argues against the use of multiple cutlers. However, I really don't think much gets produced in that factory. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe a couple of old guys go in once a week, and work very quietly.

The Taylor's website is looking a lot better than the Eye Witness Works, and there's some nice photographs and archive film on it, but everything is at least 5 years old (and even then the workforce was tiny). I can understand why they wouldn't want potential customers put off by the sad reality.

 

[SAK Guy]

.....


At the beginning of the 1980's, Schrade used to ship Camillus-made parts over to the Richards factory, where they were assembled by ex-Wostenholm workers, before being shipped back to the US to be sold (they were “strictly export only&#8221 as Schrade-Wostenholm, made in Sheffield. In terms of their quality, they were a big step-up in terms of anything produced in Sheffield at the time.

.....

I had a couple of stockmans from this series...brown bone, very well made with acceptance type stamps on the bolsters. They went in the fire. Thanks for the info...

 

[Jack Black]

I had a couple of stockmans from this series...brown bone, very well made with acceptance type stamps on the bolsters. They went in the fire. Thanks for the info...

Here's some pics











Plus another old pic of the Taylor's works, just to keep this on topic

 

[screened porch]

Nicely finished inexpensive knives produced in a 'high-tech' way, with a second high-quality traditional range which are massively more expensive, blade designs which vary slightly from stock Sheffield patterns, brushed stainless steel blades, and stainless construction throughout, anonymous 'hardwood' handles, blade etches rather than a tang stamp. I have to say these are the sort of thing that set my alarm bells ringing when I see a knife claiming Sheffield provenance.

I don't know about Taylor's, maybe they get their knives made around the city like the other firms do, though the consistent quality argues against the use of multiple cutlers. However, I really don't think much gets produced in that factory. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe a couple of old guys go in once a week, and work very quietly.

The Taylor's website is looking a lot better than the Eye Witness Works, and there's some nice photographs and archive film on it, but everything is at least 5 years old (and even then the workforce was tiny). I can understand why they wouldn't want potential customers put off by the sad reality.

Alack-a-day- I doubt that a couple of geezers working quietly once a week would turn out enough knives to market overseas. They're still good knives, but if they're not pieces of living Sheffield history, they shouldn't be sold as such to us poor sentimental saps.

Mind you, I think Rough Riders are great. Honestly made in China, good quality, lots of patterns, low prices; maybe the best chance for a resurgence in the carrying of pocket knives.

I wonder if there are more old Sheffield knives up in Canada. My dad and I between us have managed to amass only two down here.

Those Schrade Wostenholms look nice. Have to keep my eyes peeled.

 

[Jack Black]

Possibly they're made elsewhere in the city Jer, but as you can see from the pics, Taylor's haven't even invested in a window-cleaner for a long time, so I don't think they'd be investing in the new machinery necessary for some of their latterly launched knife ranges, and I doubt they'd manage to get insuarance.

Having said that, if knives like this (below) aren't made in Sheffield - and I've never seen anything like this produced there, even when Richards was going - I for one would be rather glad.

Their high-end range are certainly still made in Sheffield, though I don't think it's at the Eye Witness Works, and they're charging big prices for them. At least with Trevor Ablett, there's a large amount of transparency, they're not handmade knives in my opinion, but they're put together by one old feller in Sheffield, and sold at a reasonable price.

Do an image search on Taylor's Eye Witness knives, and you get pic after pic like this:

Cheap, nasty, and made in the far east, and they even have the cheek to produce them like this (below)!

The 'Britannia' range!

The Taylor's website has a lot to say about the company's historic heritage (and misleading claims about the provenance of some of their products certainly), but I think the pics of the Eye Witness Works speak for themselves. What a shame

 

[SAK Guy]

Thanks for the the pics bro! Brought the memories flooding back....:thumbup:

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks for the the pics bro! Brought the memories flooding back....:thumbup:

Hoped it would

 

[Jack Black]

I noticed quite a bit of cackling on one of the UK knife sites about a certain John Maleham, according to one dealer site: "a precision knife maker whose handling of materials especially stag and buffalo is of a very high quality. I believe that if you had a chose a Sheffield knife maker as producing the best knives I would chose John Maleham."

When I first came across the name, I wondered why I'd never heard of this outstanding cutler, then I noticed that the knives being sold under his name were not only Arthur Wright & Sons patterns, but they even had the Arthur Wright tang stamp! Closer investigation showed that Mr Maleham is simply the latest owner of Arthur Wright & Sons. As I said earlier, a murky world

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Thanks for another interesting discussion, these are really sad photos of something that was once a center of knife making.

Mike

 

[meako]

Hey Duncan-great job saving England from all out chaos.
You must have been worried about Camerons health -the stress is obviously getting the better of him.
He has a sickly almost waxen pallor.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Thanks Meako- he felt a lot better once my work was completed- and with the knowledge that I was staying in the country for another week.

 

[Gevonovich]

Really enjoyed your posts Duncan and Jack! The Bessamer Converter is something else!!

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/31814-industrial-revelations-bessemer-converter-video.htm

 

[zippofan]

I would love to pick up one of the Taylor's Premier Collection, though that's one on the wish list given their prices

I've watched the videos on their site, it was cool to see the gent filing the backsprings.

Oh yes, the Bessemer Converter in Pittsburgh is at Station Square, across from downtown on the Monongahela River side. It's behind the Hard Rock Cafe, standing like a quiet testament to Pittsburgh's past. My son goes to school right across the river about a quarter mile from the point where the three rivers meet.

I've grown up and live in a rust belt city (Scranton), where the original iron rails were made for US railroads before it became cheaper to make them elsewhere. After the iron works left (we still have the original blast furnaces as a tourist attraction), the coal industry remained until the mid 1950's when an undermining of the Susquehanna river caused a major disaster. While places like Scranton still struggle to come back after industry left, Pittsburgh has managed to remake itself.

Downtown is really nice with impressive skyscrapers, and many of the industrial areas are now cleaned up. As just a visitor to the city I can only guess at how much change has occurred and leave that to the members here who actually live there.

It would be nice if Sheffield was more like Pittsburgh than Scranton, but it looks more like the latter.

 

[Jack Black]

I would love to pick up one of the Taylor's Premier Collection, though that's one on the wish list given their prices

Yes, they are pricey aren't they, a big leap compared to the other Taylor's knives. I was in a Sheffield cutlery shop, and the way the assistant referred to them was as if they were a joke. The quality looks excellent, but they're certainly expensive.

I think they're made by Russell White - http://russellwhiteknives.co.uk/

Oh yes, the Bessemer Converter in Pittsburgh is at Station Square, across from downtown on the Monongahela River side. It's behind the Hard Rock Cafe, standing like a quiet testament to Pittsburgh's past. My son goes to school right across the river about a quarter mile from the point where the three rivers meet.

I've grown up and live in a rust belt city (Scranton), where the original iron rails were made for US railroads before it became cheaper to make them elsewhere. After the iron works left (we still have the original blast furnaces as a tourist attraction), the coal industry remained until the mid 1950's when an undermining of the Susquehanna river caused a major disaster. While places like Scranton still struggle to come back after industry left, Pittsburgh has managed to remake itself.

Downtown is really nice with impressive skyscrapers, and many of the industrial areas are now cleaned up. As just a visitor to the city I can only guess at how much change has occurred and leave that to the members here who actually live there.

It would be nice if Sheffield was more like Pittsburgh than Scranton, but it looks more like the latter.

Very interesting Griff. Blaine posted a pic of the Pittsburgh converter, and was kind enough to send me a book about the city

Here's a pic pulled off the net:

 

[wlfryjr]

Jack and Zippo,I worked lining things like that and blast furnaces,etc..

 

[Jack Black]

Jack and Zippo,I worked lining things like that and blast furnaces,etc..

Wow, would love to hear more about that. The Sheffield Converter is lined with ganister clay.