John Wain was born in 1835 at Endcliffe, the son of Josiah Wain (a gardener in Victoria Street) and his wife, Mary Ann.  By 1851, John was living in Eldon Street as an apprentice table knife cutler to Thomas Tartar, a 27 year-old cutler at the same address.  By 1860, he was a little mester, who employed eight men and two boys in Broomhall Street.  By 1871, he was living in Gell Street with his wife, Sarah.  His works address was Victoria Street, where he employed 59 workers (36 men, 19 boys, and 4 women).  Wain was once censured by an inquest after a 16-year-old girl had died after becoming entangled in unguarded shafting (Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 14 November 1874).  By the 1880s, his sons, Josiah (1860-1930) and John Charles Wain (1862-1948?), had joined him as clerks.  

John Wain, Gell Street, died on 21 February 1896, aged 60, and was buried in the General Cemetery.  He left £9,573.  Josiah had retired by 1901 (he died on 14 March 1930 and was buried in the General Cemetery, leaving £4,357).  John Charles continued to produce table cutlery at Alpha Works, Clough Road. In 1923,  Wain’s became ‘Ltd’ (capital £10,000) and traded until 1938.  The trademark was ‘NONE TO COMPARE’.  ‘W.J. BELCHER & CO’ and ‘WILLIAM BECKETT & CO’ were acquired by 1919.  A. H. Bisby & Company later owned these marks.