Have an old Sheffield, looking for information

[RovingArcher]

Hi all, this is my first post and I'm already asking for a favor and picking the brains of those in the know. If this is in the wrong area, I apologize.

I have recently found an old Sheffield knife that to me, appears to be a carving knife. What I'm interested in, is information on the maker. The mark on the blade reads:

Thomas Wilson
Sheffield
either 7915 or 1915. I believe that the first # is a 7, but the wife see's it as a 1. However, the top line of the number is longer than on the third digit, which is why I think it is a 7.

To the right of cutlers name it reads Best Shear Steel.

I've tried doing a search on the cutlers name and the information was that he lived in Sheffield and was a cutler in the late 17th century. However, the number stamped could read 1915, which would make it considerably newer than the late 1600s to early 1700s.

Please, any help with information on the cutler would be appreciated.

[MotorbikeMan]

Some close ups of the markings might help

[Colin KC]

That's a good Sheffield knife that you have there, shear steel is/was the best steel that sheffield turned out!

Made from Blister steel, shear steel was the result of forge welding blister steel together, not a very pure steel, but well regarded for the aggresive cutting edge, shear steel could be further refined into double shear, a high grade steel with many properties sought after by cutlers throughout the world

[BorderReiver]

That's a good Sheffield knife that you have there, shear steel is/was the best steel that sheffield turned out!

Made from http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-81450

Bum link Colin

[Colin KC]

Bum link Colin

Better?

[Bogflogger]

Hi there. welcome.

[BorderReiver]

Better?

Yes ta.

[Andy]

where did you find the knife? the carving knives I've seen similar to that have been part of a set which included a fork and sharpening steel (my mother hasn't forgiven my dad for loosing the steel of one set)

As has been said the sheer steel was/is highly regarded steel used for the better knives

[RogerDee]

Hi RovingArcher
Welcome.

[RovingArcher]

Hello everyone, thank you for responding, for the good information and for the warm welcome. Glad to know that it's a good steel. I actually have a sharpening steel to match the knife, so perhaps it came from a similar set. I purchased the steel at a garage sale many years ago. The knife came from a public auction. I actually was bidding on a group of old tools that were in a box and the knife was a big bonus for me, no matter the value. I put the steel to the blade and it was like two old friends meeting again after many years of separation. The knife took a wicked edge and very quickly. Here is a quick photo of the mark. I checked the knife over and no other marks are present.

[Martyn]

Hey there RA, good to see you over here.

At least we have a good clear mark. A little photoshop magic helps with the details..

Thomas Wilson
Sheffield
1915 (I'm pretty sure it's 1915, not 7115)

best
shear
steel

The date is very interesting, 12 months after the start of WWI, which pretty much dessimated the Sheffield cutlery industry single handed, as so many of the Sheffield regiment were killed. IIRC the Somme claimed more than a few. Not sure what implications this has for cutlers still working in sheffield, but many would have joined up.

[Hepotec]

Interesting observation Martin. A large number of cutlers and metalurgists from the Sheffield trade joined the Sheffield Pals, a battalian (12) of the York and Lancaster Regiment. The Battalian trained at Redmires on the outskirts of the city and an excavation was carried out there in 1992 identifying their outworks, trenches and gun emplacements. A very atmospheric place even now.
They originally went to guard the Suez canal, but eventually ended up at the Western Front. Over two thirds died at the Somme, in the attempt on Serre on 1st July 1916. This led to the famous quote about the battalian
"two years in the making ten minutes in the destroying."

There is still a monument to the Sheffield Pals at Serre, a testament to their bravery.

[Martyn]

I wonder if a Thomas Wilson was killed in the attack on Serre in 1916?
Would add an interesting angle to RA's knife. Pure speculation of course.

[Bogflogger]

Lions led by Donkeys! After watching Ian Hislops recent tv series on war memorials, it has made me aware of what a devastating war that was....."lest we forget".

[marts]

A quick google pulled up this - Maybe a relative?

By 1700 Sheffield was making new products like spring folding pocket knives and forks. Our earliest pocket knife was made by Thomas Wilson and has the date 1679 and a ‘Cutler’s posy’ on the blade. "Lend mee not long/where cookes are throng". Although cutlery was still being made in London, Sheffield was now the most important cutlery making centre in Britain, and from 1740 to 1914 Sheffield cutlery was exported to all our overseas colonies to the United States and to many parts of Europe.

Thomas Wilson
A cutler of Sheffield working in the late 17th Century. He was apprenticed to George Carr of Attercliffe in 1670 and Thomas Jennings in 1674. He registered the mark of a crown above "R" on 27 April 1678

The firm of John Wilson gave its own description of its place within the scheme of things: 'The oldest and foremost firm in the world', specialising in the manufacture of butchers' and provision dealers' cutlery. It was founded in 1750 by Thomas wilson, who was succeeded in the business by his son, John. By the early 19th century, the Wilson business had one of the best-known marks in the cutlery industry - peppercorns and a diamond.