55/39

Drawknives were used by coopers to shave the back and inside of the staves and for shaping the heads of the casks. This is a 'backing drawknife' and was used to shape the backs of staves while the piece of oak is held in the shaving horse. It has a straight blade and two wooden handles, and was probably made in te 1950s. It came from the cooper's shop at H. & G. Simonds Ltd., known as the Bridge Street Brewery, in Reading.

1 cooper's draw knife: wood; metal

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'This straight bladed knife measures a maximum length of 20.5 inches, and it has a blade with a cutting edge of 11.5 inches. The two wooden handles are each 4.5 inches long. // This particular type of draw knife is used by coopers for shaping the back of staves while the piece of oak is held in a shaving horse. The tool is therefore known as a Backing Knife, as distinct from the Hollowing Knife (55/43) used for shaping the inside of the staves, and the slightly more curved Heading Knife (55/37) used for shaping the head. The oak is either clamped in a shaving horse, if it is for making casks of below 9 gallon capacity, or it is fixed in a hook on the bench and held against the craftsman’s body while he shapes it.', MERL 'Catalogue index' card – [Coopering – General Card, 55/37–55/56 and 55/66–55/68] – 'This set of Cooper's tools came to the Museum from the Cooper's Department, Messrs H & G Simonds The Brewery, Reading. Although the majority of the tools are modern, indeed some of them were never used, the tools are nevertheless the same as have been used for centuries by both urban and rural coopers.'

1950 - 1955

Wood, Metal