About: Little mester

A little mester is a self-employed worker who rents space in a factory or works from their own workshop. They were involved in making cutlery or other smallish items such as edge tools (i.e. woodworking chisels). The term is used almost exclusively to describe the craftsmen of the Sheffield area, and is mostly archaic as this manner of manufacture peaked in the 19th century and has now virtually died out. Little mesters either worked alone or employed a small number of workers and/or apprentices. Stan Shaw, referred to as one of the last little mesters, died in 2021.