Thread: Sheffields Last Grinder & An Art Piece

I was looking for more info on the man they called 'The Last Razor Grinder In Sheffield' - Bill Hukin, and I came across a few interesting links. The first, reproduced in full:

STAVE


The film/sound presentation “STAVE” was inspired by a reminiscence of Sheffield’s last razor grinder Bill Hukin, who worked at Sellars Wheel, over the road from Butcher’s Wheel (Works). It was recounted to Anthony Bennett by Ken Hawley, the famously single-minded collector of Sheffield-made tools. Bill told him about the sound which he heard as he walked past the entrance to Butcher’s Wheel as he walked to work every day.


The grinding trows (troughs) at Butcher’s Wheel were on several floors, the largest grindstones on the lower floor, the smallest above. The larger stones were employed to grind large agricultural saw blades, and the like. As they were ground, these saws resonated thanks to the cyclical motion of the grindstones; they reverberated and ‘sang’ amidst the sound of grinding. The sound of the smaller grindstones on the floors above, were pitched accordingly, higher as they got smaller and went up, creating what could be described as an architectural ‘stave’ of sound.
Anthony Bennett wanted to produce an artwork to illustrate this, so he approached Nigel and Klive Humberstone, from “In The Nursery” (a group which he co-founded with them in 1981) to work on a sound piece. Concurrently he asked photographer Shaun Bloodworth to create a film portrait of Brian.


Bennett wanted to capture Brian doing something unique to him, so he was filmed grinding pallet knives. Only he does this, using a skill passed on to him that will be lost, forever, if he doesn’t get the opportunity to pass it on in turn. It just so happened that In The Nursery’s studio is next door to Brian’s grinding shop, at Beehive Works, so they were able to record the sound of Brian at work, at different times, whilst he ground different blades, over a period of a few weeks. Shaun edited the film, and Nigel and Klive, constructed and composed a sound piece to fit. With the addition of the sound of a musical saw, played by multi instrumentalist Dave Young, the result of the collaboration is “STAVE”.



Bill Hukins roots go back to one George Hukin, a socialist victorian razor grinder who lived in Brook Cottages, Mickley Lane, Greenoak, Sheffield (incidentally, the same cottage that Harry Brearly the inventor of stainless steel lived in some time later - they were demolished in the 1950s). Apart from being kind, a socialist and married, George was also gay - his lover was Edward Carpenter (1844 - 1929), a pioneer and advocate of many things like socialism, womens rights, vegetarianism, animal rights, nudism, sunbathing, mysticism, the simple life, and sexual freedom - plus making a living out of being a sandal maker! Bill Hukin was George's nephew. He worked at Sellars Wheel in the 1960s, and is noted for working for the company of John and William Ragg

The other link is a song with pictures. Tony Capstick is the performer. He worked for BBC Radio Sheffield for over 30 years, a musician who made many folk-music albums and an actor.



Surprisingly, it made No.3 in the singles charts of 1981!

Regards,
Neil

Great soundtrack, was half expecting to see Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer pop up at the end! So I need to design my belt grinder so that I can sit on it then..... Can just imagine what happened when a wheel broke!

Really cool vid...thanks for sharing.

I admire his skill. But I couldn't fail to notice something that is typical for workmen of that generation: a complete disregard of protection equipment. There is something to be said for working bare handed. But he doesn't wear anything to keep from breathing dust, nor does he wear ear protection. He's probably deaf as a doornail in the high frequency region.

Interesting .. i just got a razor marked Wm Hukin & Son Sheffield En

I thought it was interesting that they mentioned In the Nursery. I have two of their albums on my Ipod (check out Duality) and it is really heavy music. It always makes me think of a guy during civil unrest, writing down his memoirs with a quill by an oil lamp...basically.