Frederick Walter (Fred) James
When he died in January 1986, Frederick Walter (Fred) James was Sheffield’s best-known Bowie knife maker. He was born in Sheffield on 26 July 1920, the son of William W. James and his wife, Alice. His father worked as a carver fork guarder. When he left school at 14, Fred James joined Christopher Johnson as an apprentice pen and pocket knife materials maker. When Johnson was taken over by Wostenholm in 1956, James moved to Washington Works. Although not trained as a cutle....
