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Steel City: A Time Team Special


SteveHB

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Steel City was first screened on 22nd of March 2004 on Channel 4

Run time: 49 minutes

For 'Steel City: A Time Team Special',

the team followed ARCUS, the Archaeological Research and Consultancy at the University of Sheffield, on some of its excavations into Sheffield's industrial past. Early death, deadly machinery and the worst man-made disaster in British history were revealed as Time Team documented the work of the archaeologists who have spent more than six years digging through the remains of a city that was once the biggest producer of steel in the world.

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Steel City was first screened on 22nd of March 2004 on Channel 4

Run time: 49 minutes

For 'Steel City: A Time Team Special',

the team followed ARCUS, the Archaeological Research and Consultancy at the University of Sheffield, on some of its excavations into Sheffield's industrial past. Early death, deadly machinery and the worst man-made disaster in British history were revealed as Time Team documented the work of the archaeologists who have spent more than six years digging through the remains of a city that was once the biggest producer of steel in the world.

Link to .. www.youtube.com

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R.I.P. ARCUS, now no more, a sad loss and a victim of short-sightedness.

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Just to add that this programme is also available directly on 4oD

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/time-team-specials/4od#3264926

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Just Watched the Time Team Special, the Cutlery side I was very interested in. The cutler who finished of the blade is a man I knew a few years ago, Reg was a partner of my workmate of mine called Bill Wathall, he was a Bolsterer at George Butlers on Sidney St as I was, he ran a shop with two women and I ran a shop with around five lads under me, Bill was a very good carver of the Stag Horn Root (the bit that grows out of the head of the stag) anyway at the time I knew Reg both he and Bill only worked part time in their shop on Egerton Lane usually Wednesday evening afdter work and all day Saturday, when you entered the building that housed their shop, it was like going back to the 1800s, the locks on the doors were made of wood but the inner mechanism was brass.I knew about hafting and processing stag through the various stages from roughing it to the final polish to give it that beautiful shine, one trick that Bill & Reg used to show up the rough glazing marks on the tapered end od the stag handles was to used a rolled up piece of rag stuffed tightly on an old tin can and soaked in oil, whilst trying to remove the rough glazing marks it was very hard to tell if you had got them out so the oiled rag was lit and black smoke poured from it, the piece of stag was held in the black smoke which obviously made the stag go black and as you fine glazed the piece of stag thus removing the black soot you could see the soot in the rough glazing marks making them far easier to see and once the soot residue had gone you knew that all the rough marks had been taken out and then the stag was ready for the final polish on a dolly.The lighted rag was a tool that was used over a hundred years ago and it still works well to-day.In the shop on the ground floor directly below Bill & Reg were two men who ran a Bowie Knife business, they were called the House Of Coutel, I think that was what they were called, their main market was the U.S.A.they only had to make three Bowie knives per week to make a very good living as their knives sold for over £300 each, this was in the late seventies so that was a good living,but what they created with there own hands was breathtaking.I dont know if they retired or split but one of them did work in the Kelham Island Museum doing a bit of hand grinding, mainly as a demonstration but also as a business grinding blades for other people.

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