A wholesaler offered £25 each to resell them for £300. The bladesmith chose to sell them for £99 directly to the public

After 50 years forging exceptional knives in the British capital of cutlery, James Sterling no longer has the strength to hold the hammer. We investigated this story that has moved all of South Yorkshire.

By Eleanor Reeves • South Yorkshire • April

Sheffield, South Yorkshire — James Sterling, 76, will light the fires of his forge for the last time on 30th March 2026. In his 35m² workshop tucked in a cobbled lane in Sheffield's historic cutlery quarter, he is stacking his final creations for the last time: knives forged one by one from Damascus steel, with handles in noble wood that he carves and polishes by hand.

The reason for this closure? Arthritis that has been ravaging his hands for three years, a body that can no longer keep pace, and above all the void left by Margaret, his wife, who passed away five years ago. "She was the one who kept the business going," he murmurs, staring at the anvil. "Without her, all I know is forging. And soon, even that I won't be able to do."

Before closing for good, the master bladesmith has made a decision that surprises everyone: to sell his 634 remaining blades at £99 instead of £249. A clearance that is anything but a commercial exercise. It is the final wish of a man who wants his knives to "end up in kitchens, not in a skip."

Our investigation reveals how half a century of passion is about to come to an end, and why this closure has resonated far beyond Sheffield.

The forge in the blood: when a son picks up his father's hammer

James Sterling didn't choose cutlery. Cutlery chose him.

His father, Robert Hartley, was himself a bladesmith in Sheffield — that city wedged between the Pennines where knives have been made since the Middle Ages. At six, James spent his Saturdays watching his father transform steel bars into blades. At twelve, he held his first hammer. At twenty-six, he opened his own forge in the workshop that Robert handed over when he retired.

"My father taught me one thing," recounts James, his hands resting on his worn leather apron. "A knife isn't a tool. It's an extension of the hand of the person who uses it. If the blade isn't perfect, it's the cook you've let down."

He applied this philosophy for fifty years. Not a single blade left his forge without being checked, sharpened, and tested by his own hands. Michelin-starred chefs in the region, butchers, restaurateurs — all know the blades of James Sterling. Some have been using the same knife for thirty years.

"The knife James forged for me in 1997 still cuts like the day it was made. I offered it to my son when he took over the restaurant. He refused. He said: go and get one forged yourself, I'm never giving up this one."
— Michael D., restaurateur, Leeds

But in 2021, everything changed.

Margaret leaves: when the forge becomes the last refuge

February 2021. Margaret Hartley passes away after eighteen months of battling pancreatic cancer. Forty-seven years of marriage. Forty-seven years of managing the accounts, manning the stalls at craft fairs, packing up orders, answering the phone while James forged.

"Margaret was my other half in every sense," he confides, his voice faltering. "She knew how to sell what I knew how to create. Without her, I'm a bladesmith with nothing to say."

In the first months after her death, James couldn't bring himself to set foot in the forge. The house was empty. The days dragged. His son Eric, who lives in Leeds, was worried. He offered to come and help, to take over the business. James refused.

One April morning, unable to sleep, he went down to the workshop at five o'clock. He lit the fire. He placed a steel bar on the coals. And he started striking again.

"I didn't know why I was forging," he recalls. "I had no orders. No customers. I struck because it was the only thing that took my mind off the silence of the house."

For four years, James Sterling forged. Every morning. Seven days a week. Chef's knives, santokus, paring knives. He stacked them on the shelf that Margaret had put up for orders. Except this time, there were no orders. Just a man alone doing the only thing he knew.

The blades accumulated. Ten. Fifty. Two hundred. Six hundred. Each forged with the same care as if a Michelin-starred chef were waiting. Each unique, because Damascus steel never repeats itself.

67 layers of steel and thousands of hammer blows

To understand why James Sterling's knives are worth what they are, you need to understand what Damascus steel is.

It isn't ordinary steel. It's a stack of 67 different layers of steel, folded and refolded on themselves in the forge. Each fold creates a unique pattern — those hypnotic waves you can see on the blade. Like a fingerprint: it is mathematically impossible for two Damascus blades to be identical.

"People think it's just aesthetic," James explains. "But Damascus is about performance. The layers of hard and flexible steel complement each other. One provides the edge, the other the flexibility. That's why my blades still cut after thirty years."

The process is long and exhausting. For a single blade, you need to: first, heat the steel to over 900 degrees in the coal forge. Then hammer — hundreds of precise blows to fold the layers. Next, the quench: plunge the burning blade into an oil bath to lock the molecular structure. Then the polishing, grain by grain, for hours, until the Damascus patterns emerge. Finally, the handle: a walnut block selected for its grain, cut, carved, sanded, then oiled by hand three times.

In total, each knife takes two days of work. 

"When you hold a hand-forged Damascus knife, you feel it immediately. The weight, the balance, the way it settles in your palm. It's as if the blade knows what it needs to do."
— James Sterling

"Your hands won't survive another winter at this rate"

September 2025. The rheumatologist's verdict is unequivocal. Arthritis has reached both hands. The knuckles are deformed. The right wrist — the hammer hand — cracks with every movement.

"Your hands won't survive another winter at this rate," the doctor tells him. "Every hammer blow accelerates the deterioration. If you carry on, you won't even be able to hold a fork."

James takes it in. He had known, deep down. For two years, he had been forging more and more slowly. Some mornings, his fingers refused to bend. He needed twenty minutes under hot water before he could grip the hammer. The pain had become his workmate.

His son Eric came for a weekend. He saw the 634 knives stacked on the shelves. He saw the unpaid invoices on Margaret's desk. He saw his father's deformed hands.

"Dad, you have to stop," he said. "Mum wouldn't have wanted this."

That particular phrase didn't go down so easily. Because he knew it was true.

The decision was made that evening, around the kitchen table. The forge would close. But not before every blade had found a home.

634 blades: selling direct, without a middleman, at cost

A London wholesaler offered to buy the entire stock. "I'll give you £25 each," he announced on the phone. James asked what he'd do with them. "Resell them for £250 to £300 in cutlery shops."

"I put the phone down," recounts James. "The idea of some chap in a suit selling my blades at five times the price behind a glass counter made me feel ill. These knives, I forged them to cut. Not to sit on display."

It's Eric who finds the solution. Sell online, directly, without a middleman. Not at £249 as James used to do at craft fairs. Not at £300 as the wholesaler would have done. At £99. The fair price to ensure every knife finds an owner who will actually use it.

When these 634 blades are gone, it's over. No new production. No restocking. The forge will go dark and the workshop will be handed back. Fifty years of craft concentrated in these final blades.

"I don't want charity," James insists. "I want my knives to end up in the hands of people who love cooking. People who'll understand the difference between a hand-forged blade and a factory knife."

CLICK HERE TO GET ONE OF JAMES'S LAST BLADES

Thirty years of customers speak out

Word of the closure spread across the region. Former customers, some loyal for decades, got in touch. Testimonials poured in.

"I bought my first knife from James in 1994. Thirty years on, it's still in my kitchen. It's survived three house moves, two children who used it carelessly, and thousands of meals. It cuts better than any new knife I've bought since."
— Frances L., 67, Bath

"My husband gave me a knife from James for our 25th wedding anniversary. I thought it was an odd present. Fifteen years later, it's the only thing in our kitchen I've never replaced. When I heard James was closing, I cried."
— Catherine D., 61, Manchester

"I've been a head chef for 22 years. I've used Japanese knives at £500, German knives at £300. None of them comes close to a blade from James Sterling. When he closes, it's a whole chapter of British cutlery that disappears."
— Andrew B., head chef, Edinburgh

On social media, former apprentices shared photos of the workshop. A local filmmaker has even started shooting a short documentary on the final days of the forge. Sheffield City Council offered him a commemorative plaque. James declined.

"I don't want a plaque," he says. "I want my knives to speak for me. In fifty years, if someone slices an onion with one of my blades and thinks: that's a proper knife — then I'll have done my job."

What makes these knives different from anything you've used before

This is not an ordinary knife. Here is what sets a blade forged by James Sterling apart from a knife you might buy in a supermarket:

Damascus steel, 67 layers. Where an industrial knife uses a single layer of stainless steel, James's blade stacks 67 layers folded and forged by hand. The result: an edge that lasts years without sharpening, and unique wave patterns on every blade — the hallmark of true Damascus.

The noble wood handle. No moulded plastic. Every handle is cut from a block of walnut, hand-sanded, then oiled three times for a perfect grip. The wood develops a patina over time and becomes more beautiful with the years.

Perfect balance. A hand-forged knife is balanced to the gram. The weight distributes naturally between blade and handle. When you pick it up, you feel the difference immediately. The knife doesn't pull, doesn't tire the wrist.

A lifespan of several decades. James's customers have been using their knives for 20, 30, sometimes 40 years. Damascus steel doesn't wear like ordinary steel. A single pass on a sharpening stone once a year is enough to maintain a razor edge.

CLICK HERE TO GET ONE OF JAMES'S LAST BLADES

How to get one of the 634 last blades before it's too late

The 634 knives represent everything that remains of James Sterling's life's work. There will be no restock. No new series. When the last knife is sold, fifty years of craft will go dark with the forge.

The price has been set at £99 instead of £249. This isn't a marketing promotion. It's the choice of a 76-year-old man who would rather see his blades in kitchens than in a retailer's window at £300.

Every order is carefully checked and packed. James guarantees every knife: 30-day money-back guarantee. "If my blade doesn't convince you on the first cut, send it back," he says. "But in fifty years, nobody has ever returned a knife."

The first orders went out within 48 hours. Reviews have been unanimous:

"Even more beautiful in person than in the photos. You can feel the craftsmanship. You can feel the soul. This knife has a story and it shows."
— Margaret R., 58, Bristol

"My wife asked me why I was smiling while chopping carrots. I told her: because for the first time in 40 years, I have a proper knife."
— Philip G., 63, Norwich

Time is running out. Every day, dozens of blades find their owner. The count drops: 634, then 610, then 587… When it hits zero, it really is over.

For those who love cooking. For those who recognise the value of something made by hand. For those who want to own a fragment of fifty years of passion before it disappears. This opportunity won't come again.

CLICK HERE TO GET ONE OF JAMES'S LAST BLADES

James Sterling
Master bladesmith since 1976
Hartley's Forge, Sheffield, South Yorkshire