Clayton Knife

A place to discuss & share pictures of knives made in Europe.
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smiling-knife
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Post by smiling-knife »

Thanks for the responses guys :D Stan, yes it does have a similar smooth flow to Laguiole knives. The handle is much wider though.

I have a few French knives that I will post and hopefully you will be able to provide some information. Thanks :) s-k
Edgewise
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Post by Edgewise »

stancaiman wrote:nice knife : it's look like a laguiole (general design)
Yes. A typically Western European design.
I think it's called Yatagan or something like that but I don't know the origin of the word.
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stancaiman
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Post by stancaiman »

Edgewise wrote:
stancaiman wrote:nice knife : it's look like a laguiole (general design)
Yes. A typically Western European design.
I think it's called Yatagan or something like that but I don't know the origin of the word.
yes it's a yatagan blade coming from the south of europe (spain). the legend say that the laguiole (by a knife maker nammed Calmels) was designed after he had see the knife belonging to the spanish workers (who come every spring working in this country). my english is very bad today, sorry
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orvet
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Post by orvet »

stancaiman wrote: my english is very bad today, sorry
No problem Stan, my French is nonexistent! :lol: :lol:

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Post by Gr8Scout »

Stan, your English is better than that of many of our countrymen.

Phil
mickwhitt
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Post by mickwhitt »

Hi All,

just made a member after seeing a thread about Graham Clayton. He was here at my house having a meal when we searched on his name.

He is alive and well and living in Sheffield. He stopped making knives commercially due to the downturn in business. He still makes the odd knife and does repairs as and when needed. Graham taught me to make knives and I now make the odd miniature as a hobby.

I have a couple of Clayton originals which I treasure. If anyone wants to know more about Graham and the knives he has made then I would be happy to ask him and post on this site. Who knows he may even fire up the grindstones and turn out some more of his unique work.

Mick.
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Post by Gr8Scout »

Oh my gawd! This is just wonderful. Please, please, ask Mr. Clayton to join us here. I want to thank him in person for the great knives he has made, tell him how much I appreciate them and maybe ask some quesitons.

Thank you too!

Phil
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Post by mickwhitt »

Hi Phil,

no problem, I will speak to Graham and get him to answer any questions you may have. Please psot any questions here and I'll happily ask away. Graham has a very rare skill and it really upset me when he decided that he could no longer make knives full time. But you have to earn a living.

I will take some digital images of my Clayton knives and post them here for all to see.

Thanks,

Mick
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Post by Gr8Scout »

My apologies for being tardy in posting again.

Still very excited that Mr. Clayton visited our site. Happy to show him a couple of his knives that I truly am happy and proud to own.

I collect texas toothpics, and have over a hundred of them, from 1907 to now. All five or five and a half inches long, some 4 1/4 inchers, but there is only one that measures six full inches, closed. Beautiful jigged bone handled, great polished blade. Tang mark is DIGBYS KELLAN ISLAND.

Also, showing a Britsh Commando type knife, in the sew on style sheath. Even has the 'thumb print' . Tang mark is DIGBYS.

And last, a knife I sometimes pocket carry. About the size of a Buck 112 Tanger. Nice lockback, blade etch: SWINDEN CLAYTON SHEFFIELD. I guess this was a knife made by Mr. Clayton and Roland Swinden.

In the preceeding posts, a mention is made of a nicely printed visiters guide to Kellam Island that I copied and sent to another member. Nice pics of some great knife makers at work.

I always wanted a Clayton bowie, hopefully someday I will find one.

Mr Clayton, welcome to our forum! My questions on these knives is mostly when they were made, approximately and any comments you wish to make.


Phil
Attachments
Clayton toothpick one.jpg
Clayton toothpick one.jpg (63.27 KiB) Viewed 7042 times
Clayton stiletto.jpg
Clayton stiletto.jpg (54.89 KiB) Viewed 7049 times
Swindon Clayton.jpg
Swindon Clayton.jpg (37.63 KiB) Viewed 7049 times
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smiling-knife
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Post by smiling-knife »

Very nice Phil ::tu:: . Quite a variety. This is my little Digby's knife. I'm still looking for a copy of the Kelham Island Guide if anyone has a spare. Mick really looking forward to seeing your photos. :) s-k
Attachments
26-10-07 027.jpg
26-10-07 023.jpg
Gr8Scout

Post by Gr8Scout »

Nice, S-K. I am impressed by the variety of knives made by Mr. Clayton.
Phil
mickwhitt
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Post by mickwhitt »

Hi again,
I am really happy to report that Graham is just thrilled that his work is appreciated and that you guys are writing about him and his work. I worked down at Kelham with him on my days off to learn knife making, the museum is still there but now has no "lilttle mesters" working to show their skills. This is a real shame but in my opinion is indicative of the attitude which put Sheffield knives where they are today, ie. in a very unhealthy state.

On to specifics, the knives posted are nice examples of Grahams work at Kelham. I will ask him about the custom made ones directly so he can inform you more about them. Graham used to work in collaboration with Rowland Swinden, a knife grinder, who retired from Kelham some years ago to the south coast and is no longer involved in knifemaking. Rowland taught me about grinding and his work was amazing, hand ground blades which were perfect in every way. He is still in touch but happily enjoying his retirement.

Grahams work is nearly always workbacked, that is it has file work cut into the tang and springs. It took me for ever to learn how to use a file to create little diamonds and crosses and hollows and all. But it makes a knife stand apart from the crowd and I would know Grahams file work anywhere.

I will be seeing Graham next weekend and will post information relating to the knives pictured then. He retires from work in a couple of years and I am hopeful he will use his retirement to make a few customs knives from home. I am certainly pushing him into a home shop like mine. Watch this space.

Many thanks for the encouragement guys, Speak soon, Mick
mickwhitt
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Post by mickwhitt »

Hi Phil,

the three knives you have shown images of are all made at Kelham Island in Sheffield. The lock back is a collaboration betweeen myself and my old colleague Rowland Swinden who worked as a knife grinder. We made this pattern between 1985 to 1990 approx.

The stiletto dagger with thumbprint on the tang would have been made around the same time. The blade was forged, then ground by Rowland before I finished and hafted the blade. The guard is nickel silver with hollows around the edge giving a scalloped effect.

The Toothpick is all hand made by me, with grinding by Rowland. I particularly like making folders as I was trained as a spring knife cutler. This knife would be made prior to 1993 when Rowland retired.

The small fixed blade knife in the next post shows the file work or "workbacking" which is a signature mark of my work. The patterns are random but are worked out for each knife as the size and shape allows. The random nature means no two knives are the same unless a customer specifically requested them to be so. The scales are Diamondwood called silverline which shows a nice figuring when worked.

I am very happy to see that my work is still in circulation and being appreciated. Although I no longer have a shop at Kelham island I make a small number of knives from my home workshop so if anyone wants to contact me then please do so via this page as I am not on the web and do not advertise my work widely. I still live in Sheffield and so my work is still Sheffield made Quality workmanship.

My friend Mick is typing this out for me as I am no computer whizz so please be patient if I don't respond too quickly.

Regards,

Graham Clayton, Cutler.
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smiling-knife
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Post by smiling-knife »

Very nice to hear from you Graham. Thank-you very much for the information on the knives and for taking the time to post on the site. We would love to see more photos of your work. Mick mentioned having some for us awhile ago. If you have any knives for sale I am definitely interested. Take care, :D s-k
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smiling-knife
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by smiling-knife »

Recently, I was fortunate enough to acquire this large Clayton 'Bowie' knife. The blade is 9.5 inches and the knife is 14.75 inches in length overall. It has beautiful file work on the guard and tang. The scales appear to be rosewood. :D :D s-k

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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by jonet143 »

wow!
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Gunsmoke47
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by Gunsmoke47 »

That is simply AWESOME s-k!!! ::drool::
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zorrothegreyblade
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by zorrothegreyblade »

Now that IS quality! Think I'll throw all mine out and start again! :lol:
stop me when I get boring
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smiling-knife
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by smiling-knife »

Thank-you very much for your comments guys. :D s-k
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Edgewise
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by Edgewise »

smiling-knife wrote:Recently, I was fortunate enough to acquire this large Clayton 'Bowie' knife...
A knife that dreams are made of. S-K, "fortunate" is an understatement.
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smiling-knife
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by smiling-knife »

Thanks very much edgewise. The knife really is spectacular. Everytime I walk by it I am forced to pick it up and admire it .

a few questions for Graham... hopefully he will visit here again in the near future.

What is the origin of the Digby's name? Why are some knives stamped Digby's and others with your own name? Thanks in advance.
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mickwhitt
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by mickwhitt »

Hi Guys, Apologies for the delay, I have been busy making a knife rather than checking my mail. The bowie knife SK owns is a good example of my work, made at Kelham Island and ground by my old friend and colleague Rowland Swinden who has now sadly retired to the golf course. I got a lot of pleasure from making this kind of knife and over the years have made many, many of them.

In answer to the questions posed, The name Digby was invented by my old sales partner and I had marks made for the knives I sold through him in the States. When he went to shows he always looked smart and some guys nick named him Digby and the name sort of stuck. I still have the original stamps used to mark my blades. The knives marked Graham Clayton were made for the English market and sold here on a custom basis.

The image attached is a knife I just finished making for my son's 40th birthday gift.

Hope this assists, Graham Clayton
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jonet143
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by jonet143 »

need more sons? :lol: beautiful knife.
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please support our troops - past and present
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smiling-knife
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by smiling-knife »

Thanks very much for your reply to my questions Graham. That is a very fine knife ::tu:: ::tu:: I am sure your son will be thrilled with it. Drop by again soon. I'd like to hear about using the parser if you wouldn't mind. :D s-k
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Re: Clayton Knife

Post by Gr8Scout »

Graham and Mick,
Thanks for the information about my knives. I am proud to own them.
Phil
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