55/66

Shaves, of various sorts, are used by coopers to smooth down the inside and outside of casks and cask heads. This round shave has a convex blade and is an inside shave, for smoothing the joints of the staves on the inside of the cask. It came from the cooper's shop at H. & G. Simonds Ltd., known as the Bridge Street Brewery, in Reading.

1 cooper's shave: wood; metal

MERL Miscellaneous note from conversation with Alistair Simms (Master Cooper), 3 September 2014 – A cooper uses a round shave to level off the staves in places that can’t be reached with an inside shave. Single-handled round shaves are often used for smaller work such as buckets and piggins., MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'This is a narrow bladed single handled inside shave for smoothing the stave joints. It has a convex blade, measures 8.5 inches in length. The blade is no more than 2 inches wide, and the craftsman by drawing the tool upwards finally smooths [sic] the joints, prior to fitting the head.', 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.'

Wood, Metal