John Coe (1816-1896) was apparently the son of John Coe (1786-1829), a knife grinder and later table knife manufacturer, and his wife, Sarah Kay Hobson.  By the early 1840s, Coe manufactured razors and table knives at Pea Croft.  By 1849, his firm had moved to Burgess Street, where it remained until 1860 (when it was styled John Coe & Co).  By 1861, Coe had moved to Albion Works, Green Lane, where he employed ten men and four boys. Unfortunately, in 1864 the property was hit by the Sheffield Flood.  Coe was awarded £80 compensation.  At Green Lane he had mahogany furniture, carpets, over a hundred books; and adjacent machinery and grinding wheel. Besides table knives and spring cutlery, Coe made Bowie knives.

John Coe was bankrupt by 1890, when Albion Works was sold.  His wife, Sarah nee Saville, died in 1892, aged 74.  Coe died at Prospect House, Brighouse (the home of his son-in-law) on 2 May 1896, aged 79.  His unconsecrated burial was in the General Cemetery, in the same grave as his late wife.

Coe’s trade marks were ‘CUTWELL’ and ‘SUPERB’.  These passed to Stacey Bros, but were offered for sale when that firm’s owners retired (Sheffield Independent, 3 June 1893). During the First World War, ‘John Coe & Co’ reappeared in directories at Ark Works, Trafalgar Street.  In the 1920s and early 1930s, the listing was John Coe & Co, cutlery manufacturer, Ark Works, 2 Clough Road.  By 1939, the address was Bramall Lane, but this Coe entity ceased trading during the Second World War. In 1953, ‘CUTWELL’ and ‘SUPERB’ were listed in the Register of the Company of Cutlers under the ownership of A. H. Bisby & Co at Murray Works, Portobello Place.