Stan Shaw Sheffield: Memorial unveiled outside Cutlers Hall to last ‘little mester’ knife craftsman

And today Stan Shaw’s memory lives on – with a memorial plaque carrying his name unveiled in front of the Cutlers Hall on Church Street. The cast iron memorial was unveiled yesterday morning on what would have been Stan’s 95th Birthday, by his widow Rosemary, after being created by Yorkshire sculptor Gordon Young in honour of Stan’s contribution to knife making and manufacturing in Sheffield.

Rosemary said: “It’s grand but not over the top because Stan was a humble man and he would have been so proud to see this and to finally get the recognition he deserves for all his work in making so many pen and pocket knives for all sorts of famous and ordinary people all over the world for so many years. He really put Sheffield on the map didn’t he?”

She was joined by Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Coun Sioned Mair-Richards and Coun Anne Murphy, who chairs the Stan Shaw Memorial Appeal which raised all the money from public donations and the sale of a specially brewed ale, along with a grant from the JG Graves Charitable Trust.

The plaque which has been unveiled today is made of cast iron with emblems representing Stan’s knife-making skills and is 955 x 610 mm. It has been fully ‘slip-tested’.

Stan, described as Sheffield’s last ‘little mester’ died at the age 94 in 2021 was Sheffield’s pre-eminent pocket-knife maker, and his career spanned almost 80 years. In July 2022, 58 of Stan’s handmade knives belonging to his family were placed on long-term loan in the Cutlers Hall as part of Stan enduring legacy to Sheffield’s cutlery trade.

Throughout his career Stan made knives for customers around the world and made special knives for HM the late Queen Elizabeth II, HMS Sheffield, a number of master cutlers and celebrities such as Elvis Presley’s tour manager and band members along with Richard Hawley and Buddy Holly’s backing band. In 2003 he became a freeman of the Company of Cutlers in South Yorkshire and he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2017.