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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

George Barnsley and Sons

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George Barnsley and Sons

George Barnsley and Sons specialise in the manufacture of knives and tools for shoemaking and repair, leather working and the associated industries.

18/06/2026

Today I had the pleasure of visiting Andy Bates in his studio.

Andy invited me up for a chat about leather, tools and craftsmanship, but also to teach me a few new skills. We spent a long time talking about our respective aims; mine for George Barnsley and his for the National Leather Collective Leather Collective and the leather community as a whole. It was great to discover how closely they align, with a shared belief that our craft is at its best when knowledge, skills and experience are passed on and shared with others.

Andy showed me an incredible range of his work, from masks, flasks and necklaces to miniature tubs and even a face in a jar…

Andy introduced me to the art of wet moulding which is awesome and we finished the day making a pretty sweet coin pouch. I absolutely love the opportunity to learn and make and believe it is critical to the future of George Barnsley, that and it’s good for my busy mind!

I was also able to advise Andy on how to preserve his knees, a throwback to my former career! He has a post it note on his studio door reminding him of when the gym is open!

A brilliant day, plenty learnt and lots discussed which will hopefully lead to us working together on projects in the future

Thank you for your time sir, it was a pleasure!

16/06/2026

Crazy Enough!

A huge thank you to James Cotmarsh Tannery CIC and Katie Katie Cotmarsh Knitwear for organising the UK Micro Tanners Conference and for welcoming us onto the farm and giving us a tour of the tannery. Hearing the story behind the project and seeing it in action was genuinely inspiring. James spoke about the “magic” of watching a hide begin its transformation into leather, and after spending the weekend learning more about the process, it’s hard not to share that enthusiasm.

Their vision goes far beyond producing leather. It’s about preserving skills, sharing knowledge and building a community where traditional tanning can thrive again.

A special thank you to everyone who chatted with us and purchased one of our tools. Your support means a great deal, and we’re excited to see our tools heading into workshops and tanneries across the UK and beyond. As always, we’re keen to learn, and if there’s a traditional pattern that needs reviving or a new tool that could benefit the industry, we’d love to hear from you. Our door is always open to anyone wanting to discuss developing tools for the leather and tanning industries.

We met some great people Ben Jones Ben Jones who we had the opportunity to geek out with over a beer, Andy Rumming Andrew Rumming who not only purchased some of our tools but was incredibly generous with his knowledge and experience and Steve from Welsh Organic Tannery who took the plunge and bought a fleshing knife, good luck with that sir!

And we had to share a photo of Danielle from Driftless Tannery proudly sporting a tattoo of one of our fleshing knives. It was fantastic to meet Danielle and her business partner, Bethany, and to learn more about the work they’re doing.

We would have loved to stay longer and hopefully next year we’ll come for the full event, we can’t wait for the next one!

Thanks again, good luck with the project and if there is anything we can do to help please don’t hesitate.

11/06/2026

Final preparations for the UK Micro Tanners Conference at Cotmarsh Tannery CIC

This coming Monday we’ll be travelling with a selection of our hand-made tannery knives and tools, many of them based on original George Barnsley patterns recovered from our old Cornish Works factory.

We’re looking forward to meeting tanners from across the UK and beyond, learning more about modern tanning practices, and finding out whether these traditional tools still have a place in today’s workshops.

If you’re attending, come and say hello. We’d love to hear your thoughts, discuss old patterns, and talk about the possibility of developing new tools for the trade.

See you there.

09/06/2026

Next week we’ll be attending the UK Micro Tanners Conference at Cotmarsh Tannery, and we’ll be bringing a selection of original George Barnsley tannery and currier’s tools recovered from our former Cornish Works factory in Sheffield.

Today’s selection includes traditional boning, butcher style and a round knife, patterns developed for the leather trade and made to be used, not simply admired.

These original tools will be available to purchase at the conference, but we’re also looking forward to learning as much as possible from the people using them today. We’d love to hear whether these traditional patterns are still current and relevant in modern micro tanning, and what tools or designs the industry would like to see in the future.

If you’re attending, please come and say hello. We’d be delighted to talk tools, tanning, and the future of British leathercraft.

03/06/2026

We recently sat down with Katy Warriner of .leather to discuss her journey into leatherwork, traditional saddlery training, oak bark tanned leather, craftsmanship, and the projects she’s working on today.

From a childhood ambition to become a master saddler to working on bespoke commissions and film productions, Katy’s story is a fascinating one and her passion for the craft shines through in every answer.

The full Q&A is now live on our website.

Link in bio.

A huge thank you to Katy for taking the time to take part.

02/06/2026

Prepping for our adventure down to

June 15th & 16th James Allen has kindly allowed us to visit the farm and tannery and also bring along our selection of curriers and tanners knives and tools.

Really looking forward to visiting and learning more about the tannery and the processes involved.

Tickets are still available, search cotmarsh tannery to join us

29/05/2026

French Pattern Hammers

Handmade in Sheffield by George Barnsley

Finally back in stock on our website

Address

47 Mowbray Street
Sheffield
S38EN

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk/

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