Attributed to the Soho Manufactory, c.1790
1991 D 34.77

This gentleman’s fashion accessory, typical of the period, has a hilt decorated with cut steel beads, probably produced at Matthew Boulton’s Soho Manufactory. The steel was of such high carbon content that it did not rust easily and could be polished to a sparkling finish. Similar hilts are shown in the Soho pattern books.

Boulton was able to produce cut steel products at Soho more cheaply than his competitors in Wolverhampton and Woodstock (the other main centres of production) by utilising water and later steam to power the polishing wheels in the workshops.