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robin wood

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About robin wood

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  1. Not very clever really, it's just like riding a bike, driving a car or playing the guitar, if you see how it is done then practice a while it soon feels easy.
  2. This is a bit of whittling I last night from a fresh cherry log, dried overnight, finished off tonight. Although I am in Edale the cherry came fro Sheffield.
  3. Have been browsing looking at the various restaurant review threads and whenever I find the one eg Kitchen eccy road or Kashmir, it seems they are closed Sunday. I am looking for a nice atmosphere but not too stiff and posh, good food. Must have reasonable vegy options. Coming in from the Peaks so this end of town best. Budget up to £20-£25 a head inc wine and pud. Hope you can offer a few suggestions, thanks.
  4. Jonpl that is a very interesting list do you have more details on file? I am chair of the Heritage Crafts Association http://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk and we are interested in the skills of the cutlery industry and particularly keen to see that when we get down to the last business making any product that the potential loss of skills is highlighted. We are in talks with English Heritage and SCC in the hopes that a proper audit can be conducted of surviving skills within the industry. As we see it these skills are as much if not more a part of the heritage of the city as the metal trade buildings.
  5. I think folk will enjoy this slide show from Jon Henley of the Guardian showing and telling how to make a traditional Sheffield slip joint in 50 or so pictures. Nice to see a good bit of press for a traditional craft. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/audioslideshow/2010/jan/26/sheffield-pocket-knife-trevor-ablett If you take the time to register a user name and password you can leave a comment, the more favorable comments the more likely we are to get more of these. and this is the article that appeared in the paper on Saturday http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/23/make-a-sheffield-pocket-knife
  6. How to make a Sheffield pocket knife, Jon Henley, The Guardian, Saturday 23 January Still at the cutting edge of his craft, a 'little mester' shows Jon Henley the skills that once made his city the capital of cutlery Little mesters, they were called in their heyday in the mid-1800s: the legions of highly skilled, self-employed Sheffield craftsmen who were the backbone of what was then the world's cutlery and tool-making capital. Working alone or with one or two employees, renting their workshops, little mesters mostly specialised in one aspect of their trade – forging, or grinding, or finishing – and often in one type of product: razors, scissors, surgical instruments. Trevor Ablett, 67, is one of just a handful left. He makes traditional folding pen- and pocket knives. "Ordinary working knives," he insists. "No pearl or ivory, nothing fancy." They are, though, quite exquisite: small, smooth, beautifully balanced and infinitely pleasing everyday tools, with blades of carbon steel, bolsters of polished brass and handles of stag, rosewood or buffalo horn. Full article here http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/23/make-a-sheffield-pocket-knife One day next week there will be a full slide show of all the stages of producing a traditional Sheffield folder.
  7. Not sure how many Guardian readers there are here but a journalist called Jon Henley has been doing a really nice series on traditional craftspeople so far 20 or so articles are available online and they also put a really nice slideshow on the website here. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/series/disappearing-acts I was out with him in Sheffield last week and tomorrows article will be on one of the last traditional folding knife makers Trevor Ablett. Here is Jon writing, Chris photographing and Trevor posing. More pics on my blog here http://greenwood-carving.blogspot.com/ Article in the paper tomorrow. Jon is also working on a major feature on traditional crafts including various Sheffield trades for the G2 section in a few weeks time.
  8. Well hopefully a link to my blog will end any doubt this is a post from last week when I spent the day in London meeting politicians and advocating for support for traditional crafts. I always take with me examples of Sheffield crafts including an Abblett folder and Kutrite dressmaking shears http://greenwood-carving.blogspot.com/2009/11/traditional-crafts-and-government.html
  9. I don't know if that is a common problem but this one is not a student project it is a response to a forthcoming consultation event organised by the council and my personnel interest is as a supporter of traditional crafts and trades skills.
  10. To be honest I have not heard of UK city of culture and do not know if it is new or not. Liverpool was European city of culture last year and that did bring a lot of investment.
  11. The words Culture and Heritage do not have fixed or static meanings but change over time. The interesting thing is that around the world there is a growing recognition that industrial heritage forms a central part of peoples cultures. A person who works in a cutlery factory is not less cultured than one who works in the royal opera house, they just have a different culture. The 2003 UNESCO convention on Living heritage shows what is possible. From google "heritage 1. something inherited at birth, such as personal characteristics, status, and possessions 2. anything that has been transmitted from the past or handed down by tradition" and "culture" * Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture *The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group" The UNESCO convention would definitely count cutlery manufacture as being a part of Sheffield's living heritage and the cultural identity of the people though it does hang on the brink as a living tradition. Personally I would like to see every Sheffield school child given the opportunity to make a knife fork and spoon to take home and use as a way of learning about the heritage of their city and keeping this part of their cultural heritage alive.
  12. So let us imagine that Sheffield was in the USA, would they say it had no cultural history? I imagine there would be a huge banner as you drove up the M1 or got off the train announcing "steel city" I wonder how many visitors know that stainless steel was invented and first turned into cutlery here. I suspect a high proportion of the world population and probably everyone reading this forum eats with stainless steel cutlery every day and yet we can say Sheffield has no cultural heritage. "Proud history of the world centre of cutlery - last surviving cutler gone this year." Darth Vador that was a very interesting post but I would be interested to know who you refer to there. Stan Shaw moved into Kellam Island this year, Trevor Abblett is still making lovely pen knives. I admit it is in decline or even on the brink but it is not gone.
  13. Well I guess I am a little surprised at the replies. It was a genuine inquiry and one, which if engaged with, could potentially lead down the line to the aspects of Sheffield's cultural heritage that you care about being valued and improved or not. A few positive comments about the aspects of Sheffield that folk value would be welcome whether it is the people, the accent, the museum collections, the pubs, the proud history as the world centre of cutlery, the invention of stainless steel, the football or whatever. A lot of money gets spent on supporting and promoting cultural activities which aspect would you like it to be spent on?
  14. Today I received the invitation below. Sheffield is bidding to be UK city of culture in 2013. So what do you think Sheffield's cultural heritage is? Galleries and museums? Steel and cutlery? I would be interested to know what ordinary Sheffield folk think makes Sheffield special. First post here by the way so hello though I have been lurking for a while. INVITATION "OPEN CONSULTATION" Sheffield’s bid for UK City of Culture 2013 & Sheffield’s Cultural Strategy As key stakeholders in Sheffield’s cultural and creative sector, you are invited to attend an ‘Open Consultation’ event to help inform Sheffield’s bid for UK City of Culture 2013 and contribute to a refreshed Cultural Strategy. Date: 23rd November 2009 Venue: Long Gallery, Millennium Gallery, Arundel Gate, Sheffield, S1 2PP Time: 2 – 5pm *Invitation attached* Please RSVP to <removed> to confirm your place.
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