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This edge iron, a shoemaker's tool, belonged to Wilfred E. Perry, a boot and shoe maker and repairer in Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, who retired in 1974. There are numerous types of edge iron, but their general purpose is to set the edge of the sole and improve its appearnace.

MERL miscellaneous note – ‘Collection of shoe making and repairing tools from the workshop of Wilfred E. Perry. Mid 20th c. // W. E. Perry died 1992. He was a boot & shoe maker/repairer at Bradfield from the 1930s through to 1974. The Workshop was in a separate wooden hut behind the house. // W. E. Perry remembered his father, William Thomas Perry, who had set up business making & repairing boots & shoes in 1892. The original premises were elsewhere in Bradfield. The move to Bon Air occurred in the 1940s. W. T. Perry had a club foot and so was unsuited for farm or other labouring work – this is why he turned to shoe repairing. Typical village trade serving the needs of the local community. Business continued until 1974 when W. E. Perry retired. // House was being sold in late 1992, following Mr Perry’s death, hence the workshop was cleared.’, R. A. Salaman, 1986, ‘Dictionary of leather-working tools, c.1700-1950: and the tools of allied trades’, pp.108-115.