Sheffield technology firms creates two ‘stunning’ new busts of ‘little mester’ Stan Shaw.

Stan, who made exquisitely beautiful, hand-made knives for royalty, rock stars and others for almost 80 years in Sheffield, died in February 2021 at the age of 94.

His workshop at Kelham Island Museum has been retained to show people where he created his wonderful knives. A memorial appeal established to remember Stan and his work raised more than £10,000 to create a Stan Shaw Heritage Trail and a permanent sculpted plaque in front of the Cutlers Hall in Sheffield.

The idea for the bust came from retired Sheffield teacher, turned artist and sculptor Chris Denham from Stocksbridge, who was a friend of Stan and his family.

He produced a model in a non-drying substance called’ Plasteline’ similar to plasticine and suggested to the family that the bust would be a great addition to the memorials to Stan in the city.

“I saw Stan at work many times over the years and he once said to me jokingly, ‘I’ve never done a day’s work in my life’, yet he created incredibly complex knives by eye and enjoyed every minute of it between drinking tea and chatting to people who were interested in his work” says Chris.

“Then at Stan’s memorial service at Sheffield Cathedral, I sat next to one of the directors of Cti who invited me to look around the factory and show me what they could do with laser technology to digitally scan my model and create a casting of Stan’s head,” adds Chris.

“The final products in stainless steel and bronze are absolutely stunning and this is all so special because Stan inspired me to leave teaching to become a full-time artist when he was made redundant to become a full-time knife maker in 1985," explains Chris.

Castings Technology International Ltd, based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, is 100 years old and the firm now works with several blue-chip companies such as BAE Systems and Moog on defence and other contracts.

“I could not have been prouder when Cti were approached to work with the artist Chris Denham to produce a bust of Stan Shaw, especially since we worked with Stan’s son Kevan on our management buy-out,” says Richard Cook, Managing Director of Cti”.

“In view of the busts becoming part of the Stan Shaw Heritage Trail, I decided that it would be interesting to include metal alloys from two different eras for use in different parts of the trail and this is why we have settled on one in bronze and the other in stainless steel.

“We now have innovative alloys that were developed 4,500 years apart and which have been created using an eclectic mix of technologies, including digital modelling and 3D printing and we excitedly anticipate their addition to the museum and trail soon."

“CTI worked closely with our partners PES, to use the 3D digital laser scanners to produce the busts and we are delighted with the finished product which demonstrates how accurately this technology can be used to reproduce all sorts of detailed designs to suit all purposes," says CTI Managing Director, Richard Cook.

“I’m absolutely blown away by what CTI and PES have done with Chris’s creation for my dad,” says Kevan Shaw, Stan’s eldest son. “The family is so grateful to CTI and PES for doing this without charge."

John Clarke, from the Stan Shaw Memorial Appeal added: “One of the busts will go on display in the Cutlers Hall, alongside a family collection of Stan’s knives which is on permanent display in their muniments room and we hope the other can go into his former workshop at Kelham Island Museum.

“It was our initial idea to have two busts of Stan to complement the trail and the walking app we have developed for the trail, and I’m delighted to see the final magnificent busts in bronze and stainless steel which CTI and PES have produced."