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As a fitter of horn tips ,its generally stag tines I used my so fitted rifles for years with only once in a fall break the wood .My trips seldom less than a week . But not of course loading continually .Coincidently Ime fitting a horn nose cap to a very old German percussion rifle today just solid tip of cow horn, older style guns I used stag Horn forend tips I basically carve to suit but the Horn Pressers offererd roasted hot horn pressed into blank tips .Prior to plastic a lot of items Butt plates , Knife, scales any thing now formed of plastic was made by the Horn Pressers .It was quite an important Sheffield trade . Early powder flasks where commonly of pressed 'Lant horn 'And considering the rise of the Hollowware trades the Powder flasks of metal sort of came naturally as a offering .If its still there there was a public house called" The Pressers Arms ".Mr Scarlet of Scarlet & Whiteing the last horn scale cutters to the Cutlery trade told me that. & on West Street I saw the old pressers workshops. The Cutlers J. E .Middleton & sons once used the shop & they told me of the leg vice type rows of dies that hot nye melted horn was place in the press mould then tightened up till it cooled off. so round & round the probably a bit' pongy 'rows of presses they went .They the Sons being into muzzle loaders recognized the fore end tip blanks still in drawers there all gone now. I was offered the firm but it would be too tyeing and by then the' little mesters' small shop cutlers where much in decline. But I bought Knives , Blades, 'Crooked' knives , Indian Awls (The small change of the fur trade ) but the small back alley Smithers & hand forgers & grinders all played their part same as the horn Scale cutters & Pearl cutters witch last was a dangerous calling as pearl dust has hooks where as the horn dust didn.t .I once asked old Mr Whiteing" Did he mind the dust ?" He replied "No it just made soup " he was 90 at the time . I knew hand cut special file makers & Brass founders . who did my yellow brass gun mounts .I was some times there in a pour and it was a smoke filled little 'Dantes inferno' of smoke . they wore a Jesse James like face mask & shut the Georgian windows lest a squall come up as they poured It gave us a headache the 'Ague' you could call it . they did it years gave them a twitch but didn't kill them .This is' Memory Lane 'Stuff I bet its all OSH BS these days . I wasnt the only 'Factor' of Cutlery but I doubt there are the' Little Mesters' nowadays . From Chaucers " He wore a Shefield Thitle in his hose " To the last days of such firms. I expect they still have the ' Master Cutlers' & the Cutlers Hall but No REAL cutler got in the door it was big steel works executives gave them selves grand titles instead of condeming the shoddy mass produced firm like Rickarts a German who ruined the trades name and all the REAL cutlers where working in antient garret's and back streets with a Communist Council only to eager to turn there places into car parks . If I sound Bitter its only because I am. I saw the trade die and as a Factor and a native born if now half a world away & I shall never see the City again. least I don't expect to Ranting Rudyard
As a fitter of horn tips ,its generally stag tines I used my so fitted rifles for years with only once in a fall break the wood .My trips seldom less than a week . But not of course loading continually .Coincidently Ime fitting a horn nose cap to a very old German percussion rifle today just solid tip of cow horn, older style guns I used stag Horn forend tips I basically carve to suit but the Horn Pressers offererd roasted hot horn pressed into blank tips .Prior to plastic a lot of items Butt plates , Knife, scales any thing now formed of plastic was made by the Horn Pressers .It was quite an important Sheffield trade . Early powder flasks where commonly of pressed 'Lant horn 'And considering the rise of the Hollowware trades the Powder flasks of metal sort of came naturally as a offering .If its still there there was a public house called" The Pressers Arms ".Mr Scarlet of Scarlet & Whiteing the last horn scale cutters to the Cutlery trade told me that. & on West Street I saw the old pressers workshops. The Cutlers J. E .Middleton & sons once used the shop & they told me of the leg vice type rows of dies that hot nye melted horn was place in the press mould then tightened up till it cooled off. so round & round the probably a bit' pongy 'rows of presses they went .They the Sons being into muzzle loaders recognized the fore end tip blanks still in drawers there all gone now. I was offered the firm but it would be too tyeing and by then the' little mesters' small shop cutlers where much in decline. But I bought Knives , Blades, 'Crooked' knives , Indian Awls (The small change of the fur trade ) but the small back alley Smithers & hand forgers & grinders all played their part same as the horn Scale cutters & Pearl cutters witch last was a dangerous calling as pearl dust has hooks where as the horn dust didn.t .I once asked old Mr Whiteing" Did he mind the dust ?" He replied "No it just made soup " he was 90 at the time . I knew hand cut special file makers & Brass founders . who did my yellow brass gun mounts .I was some times there in a pour and it was a smoke filled little 'Dantes inferno' of smoke . they wore a Jesse James like face mask & shut the Georgian windows lest a squall come up as they poured It gave us a headache the 'Ague' you could call it . they did it years gave them a twitch but didn't kill them .This is' Memory Lane 'Stuff I bet its all OSH BS these days . I wasnt the only 'Factor' of Cutlery but I doubt there are the' Little Mesters' nowadays . From Chaucers " He wore a Shefield Thitle in his hose " To the last days of such firms. I expect they still have the ' Master Cutlers' & the Cutlers Hall but No REAL cutler got in the door it was big steel works executives gave them selves grand titles instead of condeming the shoddy mass produced firm like Rickarts a German who ruined the trades name and all the REAL cutlers where working in antient garret's and back streets with a Communist Council only to eager to turn there places into car parks .
If I sound Bitter its only because I am. I saw the trade die and as a Factor and a native born if now half a world away & I shall never see the City again. least I don't expect to
Ranting Rudyard
