© Ken Hawley Collection Trust - K.1074
Spear & Jackson was a renowned Sheffield saw and tool maker, the history of which is related in Tweedale (2020)1. In 1969, in an attempt at diversification, Spear & Jackson acquired cutlery manufacturer Lewis, Rose. This brought with it the ‘Ashberry’ name, which was incorporated in the company name Spear & Jackson (Ashberry) Ltd. The factory was at Bowling Green Street. The firm produced a range of table cutlery, including stainless knives and items such as pickle forks, cheese knives, and spoons. Besides ‘Ashberry’, some cutlery was etched ‘S & J’. The company’s ‘COSMIC’ range featured ‘scintillating’ coloured handles. The cutlery did not sell well and in 1977 Spear & Jackson sold the Ashberry cutlery subsidiary to the French cutler manufacturer Guy Degrenne SA for £400,000. This led to the formation of Ashberry & Degrenne Ltd.
1. Tweedale, G, Directory of Sheffield Tool Manufacturers, 1740-2018 (2020)