Viners Cutlery

[micheal bennett 0]

does anyone remeber viners in the 1960s

[Runningman 143]

Hi Michael, remember the company well, not because I worked there, I had 2 good pals who worked at Viners, Tony Wood, sadly deceased and Mick Malpass who i haven't seen in 50 years.

[cuttsie 1,089]

They started importing cutlery from the East ,then marking it Made in Sheffield . 

[Igor 12]

Not as early as the 60s but worked there from 1974-1982 (tho 1st year mainly at Sheffield Twist Drill/Dormer training centre). Some good times!

[*Wallace* 333]

16 minutes ago, Igor said:

Not as early as the 60s but worked there from 1974-1982 (tho 1st year mainly at Sheffield Twist Drill/Dormer training centre). Some good times!

I worked there at a similar time I remember a big dark haired guy called Tyrone and a small black lad who’s name I can’t remember he was so funny did brilliant impressions of people on the telly etc.

[crookesey 631]

My time served Joseph Rodgers employed late grandfather would have a real birthday with this, he hated the Viners name with venom.

[Organgrinder 1,946]

They were the ones who hastened the end of the traditional cutlery trade and Viner should have been prosecuted for his actions at that time.

Who cares if a businessman can make a quick & easy few quid whilst ruining Sheffield's good name though not much changes.

[crookesey 631]

On 18/11/2021 at 16:39, Organgrinder said:

They were the ones who hastened the end of the traditional cutlery trade and Viner should have been prosecuted for his actions at that time.

Who cares if a businessman can make a quick & easy few quid whilst ruining Sheffield's good name though not much changes.

The problem was that  Viner was Jewish, which made him and his even easier to hate for doing the exact same that many Gentile owned cutlery firms were doing,

 

[Organgrinder 1,946]

Whether Viner was Jewish or not doesn't interest me at all - I am not racist in any way.

The fact is that Viner was the first to start doing this and it was kept quiet at first.

When this became common  knowledge, other firms saw that they were on the wrong end of the see-saw if they didn't do similar.

I worked for an employer who eventually found that he could buy the finished knives cheaper than buying the blanks for me to grind.

Result - end of an industry and it's now impossible to buy the quality of cutlery that I worked on in those days.

I will always blame Viner for starting that ball rolling although there were many Shylocks in the cutlery trade.

 

[crookesey 631]

2 hours ago, Organgrinder said:

Whether Viner was Jewish or not doesn't interest me at all - I am not racist in any way.

The fact is that Viner was the first to start doing this and it was kept quiet at first.

When this became common  knowledge, other firms saw that they were on the wrong end of the see-saw if they didn't do similar.

I worked for an employer who eventually found that he could buy the finished knives cheaper than buying the blanks for me to grind.

Result - end of an industry and it's now impossible to buy the quality of cutlery that I worked on in those days.

I will always blame Viner for starting that ball rolling although there were many Shylocks in the cutlery trade.

, 

 

Sorry if you think that I called you ‘racist’, it wasn’t my intention, even though you refer to ‘Shylocks’. I still stick to my guns in that a Russian Jew would take a lot more stick in those days than say, a Christian born and brought up in Heeley.

 

Everything is price driven, have look at the makers labels on your clothing, when Sheffield cutlery became expensive it went out of fashion, I drive a Landrover, I wager that most forum members drive ‘foreign’.

 

 

 

[Organgrinder 1,946]

Hi Crooksey,

I'll reply to you in person as a Heeley lad who doesn't want to fall out with another Heeley lad.

My reply wasn't because I thought you were calling me a  racist but simply because  I still don't understand what Viner's race has to do with it at all.

I always judge people by their actions and not by their colour or race  and I feel that Viner was responsible for starting the run down of the cutlery industry and if he had been

born and brought up in Heeley as a Christian boy the same as me, I would still feel exactly the same.

 

You obviously think that cutlery's demise was brought about simply by price and you have every right to your opinion.

I am aware of labels on clothing etc and I am equally as sad that many other British industries have also gone for ever.

When I buy anything, my main emphasis usually is on quality not price because  I'm afraid that it was also possible to buy British rubbish too.

One of the first things I learned from my parents was "always look for the Made in England label" but quality eventually started to take second place to mass production and cheap tack.

Trying to shop for quality these days is simply impossible  for the average family and I find that sad  when I was so proud of Sheffield's heritage of quality.

Edited November 20, 2021 by Organgrinder
Hit a wrong button

[MallyMon 3]

On 20/11/2021 at 07:24, crookesey said:

The problem was that  Viner was Jewish, which made him and his even easier to hate for doing the exact same that many Gentile owned cutlery firms were doing,

 

That is a very ignorant, racist comment.