Charles (or Charlie) Myers (1860-1962) was the son of Henry (c.1828-1903) and Harriet Myers.  His father had been a spring knife cutler, who gravitated to work as a table knife cutler then as a butcher’s knife hafter.  In the Census in 1881 – when the family was living at Rockingham Lane – Henry was mistakenly identified as ‘George’.  Harriet died in 1893; Henry in 1903, after spending his final years in Ecclesall Union Workhouse.  They were buried at Abbey Lane Cemetery.  

In the Census (1911), Charles Myers was a 31-year-old razor blade grinder, who lived in Sherrington Road, Highfield, with his wife Polly (1881-1941) and sons, Charles William and Norman.   Charles Myers first appeared in Sheffield directories in the 1920s as a razor manufacturer, linked with Kropp Manufacturing Co.  ‘Kropp’ was a brand name owned by a London retailer, but its razors were made and ground in Sheffield.  Apparently, Myers was the head grinder and eventually took over the manufacture of the ‘Kropp’ razor.  In 1933, C. Myers & Sons, ‘practical razor manufacturers’, was listed at 51 Athol Road, Norton Hammer (with Kropp’s at the same address).  Charles Myers, who lived at Trap Lane, also manufactured pocket cutlery, such as jack knives.  In the 1950s, the company also sold hairdressers’ scissors.   Charles Myers died at Newbury Road, St Annes-on-Sea, on 14 August 1962, aged 82.  He left effects valued at £16,308.  His wife, Polly, had died in Sheffield in 1941.  Their remains lie in Abbey Lane Cemetery.

The firm remained at 51 Athol Road into the 1960s, when only three razor firms were left in Sheffield: Cadman, Ragg, and Myers, who worked together.  In 1973, Ragg took over Myers, with the Athol Road factory continuing to operate.   Emil Berek and Trevor Ablett worked in the same building, and the latter worked for Myers at one stage.  He recalled that the business was run by Charlie’s sons, Bill and Norman.  The factory had closed by the 1990s and was demolished in 2009.  The trade mark was ‘MYSON’.   A photograph of the workshops was reproduced in Unwin & Hawley (1999)¹.

^1. Unwin, J, and Hawley, K, Sheffield Industries: Cutlery, Silver and Edge Tools (Stroud, 1999)