Thread: Why Sheffield was home to famous razors

Robert Forester Mushet was indeed the son of David Mushet. David Mushet was born in Dalkeith in October 1772. His father William (with surname spelled 'Muschet') came from Edinburgh, a weaver who turned to iron founding. Pig iron was remelted at their foundry and cast into useful objects such as fire grates, railings, stoves and ornaments. David assisted his father with this work. He visited Cramond with his father and wrote that much of the iron ore there came from Russia and Sweden. However, being a mathematician he got a post at the Clyde Iron Works at 19 years old as an accountant rather than go into his father's business. While there he became fascinated with the blast-furnace and smelting of steel, so much so that he used one of the company's small reverbatory furnaces, but could not achieve the heat he needed, but as he worked all hours and frequently stayed at the offices after work he was allowed to use the rivet furnace, and began to get the results he craved. The manager noticed and in return for teaching his son he allowed David to use the much better assay furnace after hours. During this time (c1794) he discovered titanium. He became the most skilled assayer at the works, and old hands found themselves asking the youthful accountant for advice when things went wrong!

He remained at the Clyde Ironworks until 1800, writing articles for the Philosophical Magazine and becoming in demand as a lecturer. When he left that company he went into partnership with William Dixon, a miner, and Walter Neilson whose father J. B. Neilson was the inventor of the hot-blast process. They acquired the Calder Iron Works for a small sum and David became the manager. In 1801 he discovered the 'Mushet Stone' aka 'Black Band' ironstone which the Calder Works used, followed by the Clyde Works, but other works were slower to utilise their native ore, still importing the raw ingredients from abroad. His partners did not help, being dubious of the black band ironstone, so David left Scotland to find fortune in England. He sold his interests and assets, so he never profited much from his discovery.

He set up at the Alfreton Iron Works in Derbyshire, experimenting with 'wootz' or 'indian steel' - the five cakes of the metal he was given to experiment with were made into penknife blades and two razors, gifted to Joseph Banks, laying the foundation for the Indian Iron & Steel Company. With the help of his brother who lent him £500 he then moved to the Forest of Dean - Coleford. He took new partners - in the Whitecliff Iron Works - but the disaster of the Clyde and Calder works hounded him, and this new partnership did not last long. While still in that location his son Robert Forester Mushet was born (1811).

He buried himself in work after this, producing refined iron direct from the blast furnace without the intervening 'refining' step at Dark Hill, Coleford. He was able to produce a high quality refined iron, virtually free of phosphorous and sulphur, and far before Bessemer's process. If they could have got higher heats the Bessemer process would never have been heard of. Meanwhile news, in 1825, came that the Scottish companies were using black band ironstone on its own - another sore point to ponder over! In 1835 another extensive field of black band was found in Scotland - David had lost out again. He moved to Monmouth and died there in June 1847. After his death some people dwelt more on his failures than his successes (it was estimated that half the prosperity of the Sheffield steel trade was due to David Mushet's inventions) so much so that 30 years after his death his son Robert Forester had cause to strongly defend his fathers reputation in the press.

Sadly, Robert was to have far greater misfortune than his father...

Regards,
Neil

Great post, Neil - thanks for taking the time to share it with us, fascinating stuff! I remember reading about J. B. Neilson and his subsequent dispute with the Bairds of Gartsherrie over his Hot Blast process. It was the Neilsons who set up the Summerlee Iron Works - now Summerlee Heritage Park where I used to work. The remains of the blast furnaces are still there to see. Makes me wonder what these industrial towns and cities must have been like in their heyday with all those dozens and dozens of blast furnace going full-blast (pardon the pun) around the clock!

Thanks Barrie - it's a pleasure! It must have been hellish in the major steel producing cities, with the smoke, dirt, noise of trip-hammers, grinders, dust and hand-hammering - like hell on earth!

Strange to say that although David Mushet left Scotland with some ridicule and disbelief and having fallen out with his partners, he found himself back there in 1843, 38 years after leaving. Now he was an acknowledged expert, and the reason for his visit was to give evidence in the case of neilson v Baird. Messrs Baird had agreed to pay royalties to Neilson at the rate of one shilling per ton of the steel made by them using the patented hot-blast system, but they defaulted and owed £10,000 (another £10,000 was claimed as damages). They argued that the patent wasn't worth its water, was insufficiently described and lacked novelty, so they had stopped paying Neilson. It was Mushet's job to defend the patent, and at the Assizes he said that the hot-blast process was a means of developing wealth for the nation and ranked in importance with Arkwright's cotton-spinning.

The judge was swayed by this and found for Neilson, awarding £4,867 in damages for lost profits and another £7,000 in other damages.

I hope David Mushet managed to get a good fee out of Neilson!

Regards,
Neil

Fingers crossed he did, Neil - sounds like the man could have done with a break! Can I ask, did you study industrial history at some point, you seem to know a helluvalot about it all!?!

Most of my family (males of course) worked in the steel industry in Lanarkshire at some point, mostly for Colvilles I believe. I can remember always being slightly scared of my granddad as he was missing a finger courtesy of a little accident involving a steel billet. I remember my gran telling me that my granddad and his brothers were lucky if they could muster 10 fingers between the lot of them - worrying given he had about 6 brothers! Serious injury was of course all part of the job back then; when looking into the family tree I found a notice in a newspaper that one my great-uncles ended up losing a leg after being severly burned by molten steel!

Anyway, I think I might have hi-jacked this thread somewhat! Thanks again for all the very interesting information people have contributed.

Barrie