This is a Shardlow No.1, the biggest design of file cutting machine built.
Manufactured by Shardlow, Sheffield
Obtained from Samuel Osbourne & Co. Brookhill Works, Sheffield.
Traditionally file cutting was carried out by hand, often by women using a hammer and triangular chisel. Machines were introduced during the 1860s but the last hand cut files were made in Sheffiled during the 1950s. These were 'Specials' that could not be made cheaply by machines. Manufacture of any kind of file in Sheffield ceased for good in 1985 - 'I can buy foreign files, finished, cheaper than I can buy the steel to make them' (Jack Ralston, Sheffield).
Return to Introduction Page