Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers

[roberts942]

I am trying to trace information about two manufacturers of cutlery in Sheffield. The first is a company that stamped each Stainless steel item with H M & Co and the year - I have pieces dated from 1966 to 1981. The other marked a spoon I have with Sipelia Stainless Steel Sheffield England. there is also another query but it may not relate to Sheffield - the front of the Sipelia spoon is stamped Edwin Jones & Co Ltd along the handle and Coronet across it. Can anyone out there help with any of these?

Christopher

 

My father used to work for Harris Millers, I used to go to school in the town area and some days used to go and see Dad, he worked on the stamp hammer, stamping out the blanks that the cutlery was made from. His workshop was open to the elements with a large doorway, during the summer it must have been hot with the fires but could have been draughty in the winter. I used to wave to any of his workmates and they would somehow get his attention, the noice of the hammers was so loud. No wonder Dad was hard of hearing. He was on piece work, which meant he was paid extra for any over a certain amount, one week he worked really hard and the main boss came and asked him how many he had done, Dad proudly told him, the reply deflated Dad so much I do not think his heart was in it ever again. The boss told him with a little more effort you could have done better. The factory, I believe, burned down, I saw it in the paper and went to phone my Dad, this would have been difficult as Dad had died 10 years before. I had a senior moment very early in my life. Glad you appreciate good cutlery, when anyone from Sheffield went on holiday when they sat down for a meal the first thing they did was look who had made it, and said which of their relatives worked there. This does not happen now.

[iward2]

I worked at HM & Co from 1971 to 1973. I started straight from school as Trainee Work Study Engineer and 10 months later I was running the department aged 16. Crazy. The company was owned and run by Armin Krausz and his son Neville. The Works Director was Andrew Frankle. At the time nearly all the production was for government contracts such as hospitals and prisons. A lot of the designs were from David Mellor(not the politician). HM & Co also imported stainless steel tea sets and sold them under the name Sheffield Silversmiths. I was presented with one of the tea services when I left which my Mum used on a daily basis until recentley. I also bought a canteen of 'Lustre Grain' cutlery which my Mum still has.

[roberts942]

I worked at HM & Co from 1971 to 1973. I started straight from school as Trainee Work Study Engineer and 10 months later I was running the department aged 16. Crazy. The company was owned and run by Armin Krausz and his son Neville. The Works Director was Andrew Frankle. At the time nearly all the production was for government contracts such as hospitals and prisons. A lot of the designs were from David Mellor(not the politician). HM & Co also imported stainless steel tea sets and sold them under the name Sheffield Silversmiths. I was presented with one of the tea services when I left which my Mum used on a daily basis until recentley. I also bought a canteen of 'Lustre Grain' cutlery which my Mum still has.

 

It was Armin Krausz that told my father to keep working harder, this was to a man who had worked hard because he was on piecework.

[hazel]

I bought a case of cutlery from Hyram Wild to take to Australia as a wedding present in 1993

I wanted cutlery made in Sheffield and finally went to Wilds on Scotland St after some searching for a Sheffied firm that did all the processing themselves.

I was told most of the cutlery was brought in as blanks from abroad and just finished in Sheffield.

Hazel

[DUFFEMS]

Can anyone recall the company named Dickensons of Guernsey Road. I know they were there for many years as my grandfather worked there as a "Fork Grinder", a job he'd done from aged 13 to his death aged 73 in 1973.

Obviously, he didn't work his entire working life just for "Dickies" as he called them but, he was still there in 1973 so I wondered when they actually closed.

Bensons Carpet Suppliers now stands on the site which was occupied by Dickensons. Has anyone got a photo of Dickensons or do they know of any site which has?

 

Duffems.

[lazarus]

Can anyone recall the company named Dickensons of Guernsey Road. I know they were there for many years as my grandfather worked there as a "Fork Grinder", a job he'd done from aged 13 to his death aged 73 in 1973.

Obviously, he didn't work his entire working life just for "Dickies" as he called them but, he was still there in 1973 so I wondered when they actually closed.

Bensons Carpet Suppliers now stands on the site which was occupied by Dickensons. Has anyone got a photo of Dickensons or do they know of any site which has?

 

Duffems.

I worked at a Cutlery firm called Donnellys on Portobello St and they bought carver Fork and round tang Spoon And Fork blanks from them and they were the best blanks in Sheffield. Their full name was John Henry Dickinson and they were still in full production in 1974.

[DUFFEMS]

Thank you so much lazarus, that's brilliant information. I realised that they'd been around for some years as I'd found an uncle also working there on his army records.

I recall going down to watch my grandfather "astride his horse" with sparks flying everywhere, no eye protection or mask, health & safety wasn't heard of then!

His arms were covered in scars where the burning pieces landed and he was always taking "motes" out of his skin.

The building itself was completely open to the elements, no windows, no extractors and the grinding shop was up an outside open metal staircase.

When he officially retired at 65 they didn't even give him a bottle of sherry, just asked him to stay on to help out which he did until he died aged 73.

I'm very grateful for your information lazarus as I couldn't find anything about them so I began to wonder if I'd got the name wrong.

Duffems

[lazarus]

I had first hand expierience of " Moits " (whichever way you spell it ) it was a weekly visit to the royal to get them took off but a chap who I worked with called Johnny Mannion use to take them off with a corner of a rolled up pound note, something I learned to do or I used a matchstick sharpened to a point. They are called " Moits" because the loose bits of tea that float on top of a cup of tea are the proper " Moits " so a little bit of spark stuck to your eyeball was named after that.

[DUFFEMS]

Well thanks for that, you learn something every day!

 

Duffems

[Ruby2]

Does anyone remember the holloware/cutlers on Walkley Lane 1950/60s? I think it moved out to premises at Eckington/Renishaw which were later the site of the Peter Woods(?) factory.