Footprint Tools Visit

My recent visit to Sheffield, as part of #TOOLMake16, included a fabulous tour of Footprint Tools, manufacturer of quality tools.
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Cheers, Mitch

[@tonyja661]

Amazing to see a company running for 300 odd years still sgoing strong, quality speaks for itself, well done Tim and the team and well done Mitch for shining the light on this company

[@mitchwoodwork]

Cheers Tony!

[@jimsear]

I'm sold! Until now, I'd assumed that everything was simply branded but made in the Far East. I'm so pleased to see that they actually MAKE the tools here in the UK. As of now, I'm going to make sure I buy Footprint products in preference to others. Great video! An eye opener. Thank you Mitch for taking the time to make these sorts of videos.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Thanks Jim. Indeed, and with high quality steel, forged, and properly heat treated, these will outlast foreign imports many times over. It makes sense in so many ways!

[@derek4dragons]

Nice one Mitch, great to see a true British classic being made.. I inherited both sizes of footprint wrenches from my Grandad and have used them for the last 40 years and they're still going strong, indestructible quality, and worth every penny... 😀

[@mitchwoodwork]

Absolutely, cheers

[@uktony1525]

Back in the 1990s I worked opposite their old site at Hollis Croft in Sheffield. In the summer the guys would come outside for their tea break wearing only shorts and safety boots to escape the heat of the factory. It made me appreciate working in an air conditioned office !. Great video and thanks for plugging the great city of Sheffield. Ps I found your site thanks to Old Sneelock.

[@mitchwoodwork]

I can imagine, it was pretty warm when I visited! I like Dave's channel - always something interesting going on at Old Sneelock's

[@yerman6456]

Great insight, more of this please.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Keep your eyes peeled at 20:30(GMT+1)

[@razorx9966]

Very proud of you guys!

[@danielsolowiej]

I really enjoy the visit, I loved the forges and hydraulic presses. Thank you for record and share Mitch.

[@mitchwoodwork]

That's great. It really was a pleasure to share my experience.

[@MJ-ce6tv]

Just picked up my 7in Footprint wrench and have ordered the 9in one. I’ve been a plumber for many years and have never used these. My overriding reason to buy these tools, aside from being very good, is that they are made in England.

[@BDM_PT]

Hi there from Portugal, Nice factory and tools :D Obrigado(Thanks)

[@mitchwoodwork]

Cheers :D

[@BDM_PT]

:D

[@disconeil]

Hi Mitch, I live on the outskirts of Sheffield and do a lot of business there, my background is in Steel manufacturing and although there are quite a few smaller manufacturers of tools, cutlery knives etc our steel industry has gone "down the road!" Sheffield was known the world over for it's steel! The best in the world some would say but after the closure of Tata the future looks sad. Our pits, our steel industry, South Yorkshire is really struggling at the moment. Thanks for the insight Mitch, this was a great reminder for me and I realise why my hearing is now so poor! N.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Haha - yes it was rather noisy on the factory floor! If only we were free of the shackles imposed by Brussels, just imagine the future British manufacturing could have.Ooh, bit topical! - I should shut up!

[@Frankowillo]

Sheffield steel, some of the finest swords ever made. As a knifemaker I had to get that in.

[@stevecollins9450]

That was very interesting, Mitch. I'll definitely keep them in mind in the future.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Thanks Steve!

[@stevecollins9450]

I just did a search on these and found this interesting: www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/blog/100/title/Footprint%20Tools%20-%20The%20End%20of%20an%20Era

[@willemkossen]

Wow. Still producing in Europe. Nice!

[@mitchwoodwork]

Indeed! Britain is open for business;-)

[@willemkossen]

well, don't brexit then, you'll be worse off. I wish there were companies like that in the Netherlands, but im not aware of any. Nooitgedagt ended decades ago...

[@peteschofield9063]

I have a boxed set of Footprint woodworking chisels that I bought in 1982. They are still in good condition and stand up to a set of Marple chisels. Why did Footprint stop making woodworking chisels.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Green box? I love my set. I think lines were dropped during a stagnation in hand took woodworking. The company also had to restructure in order to weather the general slump in British manufacturing as cheap imports flooded the market. I doubt you'll find better chisels on the market now, so enjoy using them.

[@meanders9221]

Really enjoy these field trips Mitch. I have some Footprint chisels but didn't know anything about the company, they're the same age as the Industrial Revolution! Saw Steve Collins' link to Tools for Working Wood site...Tim didn't mention anything about bankruptcy and liquidation...has that been averted?

[@mitchwoodwork]

Thanks Michael. Happy to report that the company are sound, and in steady growth, after the 2008/09 recession troubles. They have two radio broadcasts on their site which give more details footprint-tools.com/news/news-10/BBC-Radio-Sheffield-Interviews-Footprint-Tools Cheers, Mitch

[@Tome4kkkk]

Remember my problem with a handplane frog tilted to the side? Yup, Footprint no 5. No grounding on the pads. Still covered with factory paint.

[@Tome4kkkk]

I would still prefer a Europe-based manufacturer like Footprint though.

[@mitchwoodwork]

I remember! Made in India think, for a distributor, not Footprint, but using a licence for the brand name. This is such a shame, since it no doubt reflects badly on Footprint.

[@Tome4kkkk]

Even more so that if not for the frog I would actually prefer it over a decent state vintage Stanley.

[@Tome4kkkk]

By the way. I've read somewhere that it has been discontinued.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Tome4kkkk Makes sense. Bad reputation affects distributors as well as the brand itself.

[@Lawman212]

Hi Mitch, Perhaps some subtitles during the dodgy audio would be helpful. I was very interested in what the Footprint people had to say about their shop, but I couldn't make it out. I own a number of Footprint chisels and was interested in your depiction of their manufacturing process.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Sorry about the audio - I need to invest in a couple of radio mikes. I'll add that to my Patreon page as a priority (www.patreon.com/WOmadeOD)If you visit the Footprint website, you can view all their products and get a list of distributors. There is a link to their website on my blog right now at www.womadeod.co.uk If I get a chance to add subtitles later I shall.

[@amiddled]

Any experience of their saws? I was thinking of getting one of their dovetail saws, they are about £50...

[@mitchwoodwork]

Andy Midd I haven't Andy, except pad saw blades (which are good). They are focused on good quality tools, so I wouldn't hesitate in trying one.

[@Ricopolico]

I gave this video a "thumbs up", but it was hard to understand the dialogue in the factory and, it was too short.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Agreed. Thankfully I now have a radio lav mike for things like this in future.

[@Ricopolico]

@@mitchwoodwork - I look forward to the use of your newest gizmo. Thanks for your efforts.