The knives of Arthur Wright & Son, Sheffield and Michael & Ashley Harrison
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2022
- Arthur Wright and Son have been a Sheffield knife maker since 1947, but were bought by Michael Harrison and his son Ashley three y ago. This has brought about a significant revival in both the company’s quality of output and their financial success.
- บันเทิง
Just started my Sheffield Knife collection with a Taylor’s Eye Witness Barlow and my first A.Wright & Sons Barlow. Amazed how good the A.Wright feels in hand. Excited to pick up more. Hopefully be lucky enough to one day pick up an Ashley Harrison custom.
I just got my first Arthur Wright this afternoon. It's a standard production Swayback with oak scales. It's very well made. Everything is very tight and the blade is dull but the fit and finish are excellent. Definitely on par with Case. I've since ordered three more.
I’ve bought some customs off Ashley and they arrived in the United States pretty fast. And the quality was PHENOMENAL. I’ve heard the older stuff before they took over wasn’t good, but now, Ashley’s are my favorite slipjoints!
There is a clear improvement in their standards. Unfortunately, there has been a bit of old stock in some retailers’ hands, but I’m pretty sure that’s now worked it’s way out of the system. I try to pick them up anonymously so that there’s no extra quality checking going on. Even with that, I’ve not had a bad knife in at least a year, probably two.
Clearly, a comprehensive collection Eric - beautiful...
An insightful video, thank you for sharing buddy,
Atb Gus 👍
I like Ashley and Michael and I’m keen to support they’re business, but that doesn’t mean that they can get away with poor standards… I hold them to their commitment to the highest standards, and they haven’t let me down.
What a fantastic collection of Arthur Wright’s. I really want to get a A W knife as I want to support all the Sheffield makers.
Give Jane a call at The Famous Sheffield Shop ( Sheffield-Made.com ) and I’m sure she’d sort you out. I get nothing for recommending them, by the way!
It’s always a pleasure to see your gorgeous collection. I hope to pick up some Sheffield knives someday.
Thank you! They’re easy to accumulate, even without trying!
Hey Su how are ya!!!!
Now might be your chance, Su. The arse has just fallen out of the pound. Just a heads up. Hope you don't mind me butting in. Cheers.
My Slick imitation:
☝️😃 "I'll take one of everything." Good on ya, mate, cracking good. 😁
I could afford to do that when they’re stock was so low and they’re only £30-40 each, but I did but a £160 TEW at the same time!
It’s great when a company listens to its customers. I need to catch up with your videos. You Tube decided not to notify me, again
Yes, most of the small Sheffield makers are quite responsive. I think Ashley was keen to make clear that they were under new management and that the old slack standards no longer apply. I think that their recent production is testament to their efforts. Sorry you’re not getting notifications. TH-cam are a law unto themselves!
@@slick_slicers , the cool thing is I’ll have some time tomorrow to do some binge watching.
First saw this video a while back. You sold me. I have since ordered 2 from Sheffield Cutlery and a Mr. Robert Day. A buffalo horned barlow. And an ebony farmers blade. They said 6 to 8 weeks. It’s been about 5. Anticipating their arrival. Like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. 😀. I am an unabashed GEC fanatic. But I also like to expand my horizons. Variety is a good thing. I have found your videos to be quite helpful. Hope to also add to my one and only TEW. It is a premier line desert ironwood barlow with file work. I particularly love that. It adds some nice “bling”. Thank you for your videos Slick Slicer.
I think you have to remember a GEC and an Arthur Wright are two very different things. One is a hand made item, made in its entirety by a artisan, and the other is a truly modern, factory made item with water jet/CNC/riveted precision and just hand finished.
@@slick_slicers Point taken. I understand and agree. Thank you for the reply. I appreciate the feedback and I do most enjoy your videos. God bless and thank you Jesus. 😀✝️
@@slick_slicers Your timing was impeccable. They arrived today. Both knives are lovely. Excellent craftsmanship. Arthur Wright knives are definitely a great value. That’s a good quality pocket knife at a very friendly price. Both knives are beautiful. Thanks again Slick Slicer.
I've said it before. And I'll say it again. I would have bought a knife from Ashley, long ago. But the sad fact is, I don't have Instagram! So I can't get any of them! Wright knives are overlooked. The quality is close to Case knives, from what I've seen. They can be like Case at their best, or Case at their worst.
I mostly just buy the ordinary stock knives they make, including the limited runs they do for Moonraker, but I have had Ashley make a few special pieces, like the Sgian Dubhs for my daughter’s wedding last February. I also got him to make a piece for Paddy to get him and Paddy together. An introduction that Paddy seems to have forgotten when he puts it down to Instagram! All a bit frustrating!!!
Heck of a nice spread of knives you've got there, buddy. Thanks for showing all these!
No problem, I hope you enjoyed seeing them.
Wow for the collection, gorgeous, thank you so much for sharing
If I didn’t keep giving them away, I’d have a much bigger collection, but I really want to support and promote the Sheffield knife makers. I should get the Sheffield guild to sponsor me!
I have an Arthur Wright barlow in stag like the one you have there and it is near to perfect as far as fit and finish. Although I was a bit surprised by the size . It is definitely bigger than a Taylor's Eye Witness. But it is a great knife . I have tried on more than one occasion to get a knife from Ashley with no success. Would love to expand my British made collection. And his customs look fantastic.
I don’t, as a rule, buy his specials, preferring to buy his production stuff. Moonraker Knives, The Famous Sheffield Shop and, if you’re desperate, Heinnie Haynes stock them. I’d recommend Jane at The Famous Sheffield Shop, not because it benefits me in any way, but just because she’s a lovely person to do business with. Tell her I sent you!
Thanks for.the recommendation !
I have an Arthur Wright Barlow with ebony handles coming in the mail 😊
Sheffield knives have distinct looks from other knives that make them interesting collection knives. I like there made in small shops by a few people and made more by hand than other knives.🙂
These are as close to true 19th century knives as you’ll get anywhere in the developed world today.
I love Sheffield knives but I live in Spain and we are getting hit for import duty from the UK on top of shipping costs these days.
I have a high opinion of Arthur Wright's basic range. They have great quality at very reasonable prices. My buffalo peach pruner was outstanding.
I don't really like the high polished Taylor's Eye Witness knives and prefer less polished finishes and carbon steel, particularly 01.
I do like file work though.
I like them all, but I do tend to carry the less shiny ones more, unless it’s a special occasion. Brexit does seem to be causing issues, though it really shouldn’t for low value items, like these.
It does. I pay minimum 8 euros import from the UK. I bought a a piece of hardware from GB for less than 10 euros including postage and had to pay 8 euros on top of that.
I don't think the people in the UK know how bad it is.
I paid the same for a catalogue which was free.
For more expensive items it just goes up.
I wonder if they are supplied almost sharp enough to cut soft butter as a safety feature because of the very strong pull? Someone not used to this may adjust their grip on the blade mid pull and consequently cut themselves!
The cut off at the end of the backspring can also be far from square! Having said that they are still excellent value for money, particularly for stag handled models.
I'd like to think the people seeking out and buying handmade customs are well aware of how to open a knife (regardless of variables), but this is 2022 so you may very well be right.
@@CNYKnifeNerd I would like to think that too but Arthur Wright knives are not custom made and are readily available.
It could be health and safety gone mad… hard to open, even then not.sharp… perfect child safety knives!
If someone were to make a mistake like you mentioned with my one and only Arthur Wright Barlow in stag that person would lose what ever portion of their finger was in the wrong location . very strong pull . Maybe to make up for not having locking blades ? Or you English guys are tougher than us Americans . lol .
Hi just subscribed and watched a few of your videos and enjoying them all I collect Sheffield flatcap/bottom pruning knives but old ones like saynor Thomas turner Joseph Haywood and so on just wondering if you have any your self cheers Steve
I generally collect modern made Sheffield traditionals, but I have small number of older knives that have found their way to me one way or another. Thanks for subbing. I’ve been going through a difficult period of unemployment, so I’ve not been buying anything since May, but I’ll hopefully get things moving again soon. I will be doing a video on my Taylor’s Eye Witness collection soon and then some other Sheffield knives.
@@slick_slicers I’m sorry to hear that I’m sure everything will work out for the best and I’d love to see your older Sheffield knives all the best Steve
@@Steve-fu3pr thanks, your good wishes have already paid off. I was offered a great job yesterday and I start in a fortnight. I’ll be working for a charity, so I’ll not get rich, but it will be rewarding in so many more important ways!
I’ll try to find some time to video a few of my older knives, before I start.
Always good to see your AW collection Eric,but it looks like I'm edging ahead with 22 folders and 3 fixed blade AWs!🙂😉🏴
Yup, you’re ahead… I’ve only 21 folders and one bushcraft hybrid. But, then again, I don’t collect Wrights and often give them away. I do have 42 TEWs though! That is what I collect.
Yes, just did a quick stocktake of my TEWs and it is a measly 6 😢 My favourite Sheffield maker is G Wostenholm and I'm sitting at 8 ,and that collection includes my Grandads knife and my Uncle's pocket knife ,so it is probably down to emotions that I love my Wostenholms!
Eric
Thanks for an interesting introduction and background to a maker whose knives I am quite interested in acquiring
If you do, The Famous Sheffield Shop ( Sheffield-Made.com ) is my favourite place to buy them. I don’t get anything for recommending them, they’re just nice people, especially Jane!
Gorgoeus knives
where would you reccomend i buy one of these? have seen you can buy a few modles on hennie but wondered if there was anywhere more direct? have followed ashley on instagram for years always admired his work
Arthur Wright have a website or you can pick them up from The Famous Sheffield Shop (tell Jane I sent you) or Moonraker Knives. Both carry their standard knives, but also have special order runs too.
@@slick_slicers thank you my friend, ill be sure to do that, thanks for the great video as always
How does one purchase an Ashley Harrison knife?
Wright knives are readily available from many retailers or from Wright’s website. If you want an Ashley Harrison custom, your best bet is to follow him on Instagram. Occasionally he offers knives there on a first come, first served basis, but you can also message him and ask him to make something for you. That’s what I did anyway.
Yeah Eric you just about have them all!!!! I bet you go out to dinner with him!!!!! Lol 😂
These are an accumulation rather than a collection. I just keep picking up another, then another, then another and so on!
@@slick_slicers well that’s well said I have to remember that one….. very true my friend they build up quick!!!!!! Keep cool just got done cuttin grass and I have dust in places I’d never thought I’d see it’s been so hot and fry here!!!! The grass was growing it’s like hay I shouldn’t have cut it because my eyes are killing me my nose hurts everything it was a bad move!!!!! I’ll suffer for this one!!!!!! Stay well Eric hell with this
Dream folders
I like them and I’m glad you do too!
You're ruining it for me. I like nothing better than finding a new hand built knife, likely to last a lifetime, but needs finishing. I often watched people do this with stuff when I was a kid. I thought 'seconds' was a brand. It's also what I can afford. But it's getting harder and harder to find them. But I also agree with you. We've become quite intolerant to imperfection. A sacrifice, for me, in obtaining perfection, is ofen a lack of any sense of a human having made the object in your hand. A 'Coldness' might describe it. But that might just be me. It's not even the use of say CNC that bothers me. It's deeper than that. I wonder if the software, being free of the limitations of the human hand to make marks, can be sensed by us. Or me. It's logically unnatural. On the plus side, the age of perfection has coincided with the age of conspicuous consumption, so perfection doesn't have to last that long. Particularly on my budget. Knife makers now have a roaring trade in repairing expensive fidget knives that are worn out after a few years. I can't help thinking that the likes of Nick Shabazz (sorry Nick) in extolling the virtues of using the lightest possible oils to lubricate metals that smash into each other a hundred times a day has gone some way to catalysing this. Hey-ho. But on to Arthur Wright, and their journey to perfection. I have bought two new in the last year and again, I'd agree, they do not have the faults you experienced in earlier days. I also have a few older Arthutr Wright's, one that goes back to the very early days of bone handles and 'hand forged' blades. I'm surprised it made it through a season of gardening it's so flimsy, but it made it into my hands, so perhaps I'm missing something. If I judged on the ridiculously small sample I have of Arthur Wright's knife making, I'd have to say they are currently hand building them as perfect as they ever have, and at a head scratchingly cheap price. Lately I've been using the Forge de Laguiole 'flat knife' designed by Christian Ghion. I pick it up, turn it over, peer at it, open and close it like I've never seen a knife before. It's a Lagouile, at half to a quarter the price of it's peers, hand built in France, feels fairly indestructible, and is almost perfect. Almost. I can see why Ghion's stuff ends up in the Guggenheim et al. What a clever creation. I think Ashley should buy one.
The problem I had with pre-Harrison knives was that they didn’t sell seconds as seconds, but as standard production output. I suspect it was a build em cheap and stack ‘em high, low margin business plan, but that doesn’t work when you have Chinese competitors like Rough Rider who will beat you at that game every day of the week! Sheffield can only survive these days by making a quality, artisan made product at a price the market will bear. I think that there is room for a small price hike, but remember, there’s still TEW producing a similar product at £10-£40 price points. I have a serious deficiency in French knives. Just a few Opinels and a single Robert David L’Epicurian… but that is a stunning knife!
@@slick_slicers Yes, you remind me of Grohmann of Canada, who sell their 'seconds' at a 50% discount. They have a 3" slipjoint using similar materials to Wright's that retails at £64 for the rosewood and £124 for the stag. So their 'seconds' would fall within the range of Wright's folders. Their UK outlet retails a little higher but don't sell 'seconds'. Perhaps there is indeed a business model that could work for both them and their range of enthusiasts.
It's odd that French knives are a little overlooked in the UK, as they produce quite a few that are UK legal. The 9cm handle is particularly useful. I'm currently eyeing Forge de Laguiole's 9cm in Juniper (my old front hedge). The rolled cutting edge is 76mm from what I can work out. TheMartialist has a good eye for a french knife and is sorely undersubscribed on TH-cam, if you ever get the time for a gander. Regards.
@@ianrosie4431 Beautifully said on the original comment, Ian. Besides agreeing with everything you said, I heard the word 'Grohmann'. So of course I had to slink into the replies! Besides, I've a new Grohamann folder (second). And I can ABSOLUTELY confirm that the slight imperfections don't affect the true value and class of the knife. The same goes with A. Wright. As well as one of my favourite UK brands, Joseph Rodgers. They sure aren't perfect, but there's an undeniable charm to them!
@@TheStreamingEnderman Thanks, TSE. I actually wanted to mention your experience of them, but I didn't want to misquote you. Thanks for chiming in.
@@ianrosie4431 My experience to which brand? Rodgers? Wright? Or Grohmann?
I only have one. Beautiful knife, BUT. It has an ugly carbon inclusion in the blade and is a total nail breaker to open.
I destroyed my thumbnail making this video, so decided just to leave them all open for the third take!