United Kingdom · Bladesmithing; Metal craft; Sheffield heritage
Sheffield Table Knife — Hand Forging Tradition
The hand-forged table knife tradition of Sheffield — the specific craft of forging the bolster (the metal collar between blade and handle) as an integral part of the blade by drop-forging, which distinguishes authentic hand-forged Sheffield table knives from assembly-line alternatives where the bolster is a separate component soldered on. The Sheffield knife smith reads the correct bolster forge quality through a visual grain-flow assessment of the cross-section at the bolster-blade transition — the metal's grain flow should be continuous and unbroken through the bolster, indicating that the bolster has been formed by displacement rather than by material addition.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not listed; Sheffield cutlery tradition on the UK national heritage inventory
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