Sheffield

Sheffield (England)

Quick look

• Country: England, United Kingdom
• Heritage: 700+ years of blade production; stainless steel was invented here in 1913
• Historical status: One of the world’s three great cutlery cities, alongside Seki and Solingen
• Modern shear production: Minimal; the city’s scissor industry has largely declined

Why it matters

Sheffield earned its place in blade history through centuries of steelmaking and cutlery production. The city sits on rivers that once powered hundreds of grinding wheels, and its metalworkers supplied knives, razors, and scissors across the British Empire. On 20 August 1913, at the Brown Firth Laboratories — a joint research facility two Sheffield steelmakers had founded five years earlier — Harry Brearley produced casting 1008. The recipe was 12.8% chromium, 0.44% manganese, 0.2% silicon, 0.24% carbon, balance iron. Brearley called it “rustless steel”; the name “stainless steel” came later from Ernest Stuart, a cutler at R.F. Mosley. That single invention transformed the entire cutlery and scissors industry worldwide.

Sheffield is traditionally grouped with Seki and Solingen as one of the three great cutlery capitals. Japanese industry sources reference this trio as 世界三大刃物産地 (sekai san-dai hamono sanchi). But unlike Seki and Solingen, Sheffield’s scissors industry did not survive the shift to modern manufacturing. Most production moved offshore in the late 20th century. A handful of small makers remain, but Sheffield is no longer a meaningful source of professional hairdressing shears.

For stylists, Sheffield’s relevance is historical. The stainless steel alloys in your scissors exist because of work done here. The city’s legacy lives in the material, even when the finished product comes from Japan or Germany.

Related links

Seki City

Solingen

Steel Types

Sources

1. Wikipedia — Harry Brearley
2. Sheffield City Council Archives — Stainless Steel and Harry Brearley (PDF research document)
3. Sheffield Museums — Burngreave Voices: Harry Brearley

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Sheffield historically important to scissor manufacturing? +

700 years of steelmaking and cutlery production, plus the invention of stainless steel in 1913 — an industry-defining breakthrough that transformed all later blade production worldwide. The city sat on rivers that powered hundreds of grinding wheels during its peak, and its metalworkers supplied knives, razors, and scissors across the British Empire. Japanese industry sources group Sheffield with Seki and Solingen as the three great cutlery capitals (世界三大刃物産地).

What breakthrough happened at Brown Firth Laboratories in 1913? +

On 20 August 1913, Harry Brearley produced casting 1008: 12.8% chromium, 0.44% manganese, 0.2% silicon, 0.24% carbon, balance iron. Brearley called it 'rustless steel'; the name 'stainless steel' came later from Ernest Stuart, a cutler at R.F. Mosley. That single invention transformed the entire cutlery and scissors industry worldwide. Every stainless steel scissor in production today traces its material lineage back to this Sheffield laboratory.

Are Sheffield-made professional hair scissors still available today? +

Not in any meaningful quantity. Unlike Seki and Solingen, Sheffield's scissors industry did not survive the shift to modern global manufacturing — most production moved offshore in the late 20th century. A handful of small makers remain, but Sheffield is no longer a practical source of professional hairdressing shears. For stylists, Sheffield's relevance is historical rather than current. The stainless steel alloys in your scissors exist because of work done here, even when the finished product comes from Japan or Germany.