Opening Times

The museum is closed on Mondays and is open

Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 a.m.–4.00 p.m.

Sunday 11.00 am–4.00 p.m.

At the moment there is usually a volunteer available to speak to at the museum between 10 am and 2 pm Tuesday to Friday and from 11 am to 4pm on Sundays.

However if you email us on enquiries@hawleytoolcollection.com before your visit we can usually have a volunteer present if there is something specific you want to see in the Collection.

Ken Hawley Collection Trust

Project Officer Vacancy

Salary: £28,500 pro rata (£22,800pa)

Hours: 0.8 post (4 days a week) - a 3-year fixed-term contract Location: Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield S3 8RY

As the first step in our new exciting National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project, we are seeking to appoint a Project Officer work closely with trustees, volunteers, partners and community contributors to deliver the aims of the project.

Do you have the expertise to deliver a transformative National Lottery Heritage Fund project — and the drive to help safeguard Sheffield’s industrial story?

For further details and how to apply:

Please email Keith Crawshaw, Trust Chair

Email: chair@hawleytoolcollection.com

Deadline for applications: Sunday 29 March 2026, midnight.

Interviews are planned for the week of the 13 April 2026 and may be carried out remotely if required.

New Publications Available

You can either obtain them down at the Hawley Gallery or buy them at our online shop

"500 Sheffield Treasures, a guide to identifying and collecting Sheffield cutlery and flatware" by Nick Duggan (Sales of the book include a donation to S6 Foodbank)

Scissors: their history and use [as Made in Sheffield Series]
From medieval shears to precision surgical instruments, this book traces the fascinating evolution of scissors and their manufacture in Sheffield. Featuring photographs, historic catalogues, and examples from Ernest Wright, Whiteley and others, it is the most comprehensive guide to scissors ever produced.

Steel Files [as Made in Sheffield Series]
A rare look into one of Sheffield’s most skilled trades. Discover how files were forged, annealed, ground and cut by hand, meet the file cutters who worked in walk-up bothies and back kitchens, and explore the vast variety of file types used in engineering, silversmithing, woodworking and more.

Augers [as Made in Sheffield Series]
A complete history of wood-boring tools, from ancient spoon augers to the refined twist augers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Includes detailed descriptions of auger types, how they were made, and the many trades — from shipwrights to coopers — that depended on them.

Research

Did you know that we can help with research into local companies, tools and cutlery made in Sheffield, working conditions, methods of manufacture?  We have a large collection of tool catalogues, ephemera, photographs and firms’ histories relating to Sheffield.

Click here for more information and contact us to find out if we can help.

Exhibitions

New A-Z of Tools
Look out for our new A-Z in the Hawley Gallery featuring a fascinating mix of items from the collection.

The Story of Pen & Pocket Knives
A look at the evolution of the folding knife into the pocket knife we know today. Click here for more information

'Britain's Tool Factory' - Moore & Wright
Moore and Wright was a household name, calling itself “Britain’s Tool Factory”. The exhibition tells the story of the company and its products.

Click here for more information.

Take a look at our Digital Resources

A digital knife archive has been compiled for the Name on a Knife Blade Project, plus we have a Youtube channel and a variety of resources to download - click on the links below.

The 'Name on a Knife Blade' database

Our 'You Tube' channel - New films added!!

Downloads

The Hawley Collection is an internationally important material record of tool making, cutlery manufacture and silversmithing from Sheffield, together with complementary material from Britain and the rest of the world.

This collection is unique in that it combines finished artefacts and work in progress to illustrate how things were made. Together with published catalogues, archival material, pictures, photographs, tapes and films, it records the development of many of Sheffield's manufacturing processes and products and the skills of the workpeople involved.

Ken Hawley

For over fifty years he collected the tools, the 'tools that made the tools', catalogues, photographs and information connected with the Sheffield tool, cutlery and silversmithing industries. During his working life, including thirty years selling tools in his own shop in Sheffield, he acquired an unrivalled knowledge about Sheffield's industrial heritage.

It was Ken Hawley's wish that the Hawley Collection stay in Sheffield to provide exhibitions, displays and information for the people of Sheffield and visitors to the city. He saw the Collection as a tribute to the craftsmanship, skills and excellence displayed over the centuries by Sheffield firms and workpeople.

The Hawley Gallery at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield opened in 2010 as the first permanent display space for the Hawley Collection.

Visit the Gallery to see the displays and exhibitions and learn more about Sheffield's industrial heritage at one of our events. You can investigate the history of Sheffield tool making by using the collection for your research. If you know something about Sheffield's toolmaking history please share your knowledge with us.