Stan Shaw (2 December 1926 - 26 February 2021) was a cutler, or " little mester", from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early life

Shaw was born in Worrall, Sheffield to Walter Shaw and Amelia Shaw (nee Coldwell). He was one of eight children. His family later moved to

Oughtibridge Oughtibridge ( ) is a residential village in the north of Sheffield within the bounds of Bradfield, South Yorkshire, Bradfield civil parish. The village stands about northwest of the Sheffield City Centre, city centre in the valley of the Riv ...

. His father was a ganister miner and died from

silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...

at the age of 45. At the age of four, Shaw fell from a roof and landed on his hip. He subsequently also became ill with tuberculosis and spent ten years in hospital.

Career

Following discharge from hospital, Shaw began working for George Ibberson & Co, where he worked on

hafting Hafting is a process by which an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, often made of bone tool, bone, stone tool, stone, or tool steel, metal is attached to a ''haft'' (handle or strap). This makes the artifact more useful by allowing it to be launch ...

and finishing items of cutlery. Shaw subsequently worked for George Wostenholm, John Watts, and John Clarke. In 1983, Shaw set up his own business in Garden Street. In 2009, he moved to a workshop within the

Kelham Island Museum The Kelham Island Museum is an industrial museum on Alma Street, alongside the River Don, South Yorkshire, River Don, in the centre of Sheffield, England. It was opened in 1982. The site The island on which it is located is man-made, resultin ...

. Towards the end of his career, he had a four-year waiting list for orders.

Retirement and death

Shaw stopped producing knives in 2019 due to ill health but continued to demonstrate his craftmanship to the public at the Kelham Island Museum. He died on 26 February 2021, at the age of 94. A commorative plaque by sculptor Gordon Young was installed outside Cutlers' Hall in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Stan 1926 births 2021 deaths People from Sheffield Cutlers