John Thomas & Company
© Ken Hawley Collection Trust - K.1109
This table knife, because it is manufactured from shear steel (hand-forged ‘cemented’ bar iron), was probably made in the pre-stainless era – in other words, before the First World War. The address in Solly Street suggests a Sheffield maker, but no cutlery manufacturer named John Thomas & Co can be found in local directories. It is possible, though, that the knife was marketed by the family involved with John Wheeldon & Co. This firm owned the name ‘John Thomas & Co’ and is known to have dabbled in cutlery manufacture. An ‘ELECTRIC’ logo had once been associated with Joseph Lomas.