COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Crisp & Sons

Business nature: Sword manufacturers and refurbishers

Date established: 2005

Location: Oak Farm Workshops, Framfield

Number of employees: Eight

Annual turnover: In excess of £300,000

You would imagine that in this age of Tasers, unmanned military drones and precisionguided smart missiles, there isn’t much call for anything as old fashioned as swords.

But in an ironic twist, the last remaining company specialising in the production of ceremonial blades is a business only a few years old.

Crisp & Sons was set up in 2005 and prides itself on its sense of history and tradition, using techniques dating back 200 years to produce original swords for the military as well as enthusiastic collectors.

The company has its roots in the silversmith workshop started by Raymond Crisp in London in 1975.

He manufactured bespoke creations for discerning clients around the world, including the Royal Family.

After a few years he was approached by Wilkinson Sword to produce unique products as well as provide a refurbishing service to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), whose officers still carry ceremonial swords when carrying out official duties.

According to Raymond’s son Matthew, 28, the company ended up doing 75% of refurbishment work for the MoD.

He added: “Over time Wilkinson Sword went through different owners and ended up in American hands. It said that, although it had a great history, it couldn’t sustain the losses of its factory in Acton, London.

“Three years ago it closed the operations and the whole factory was auctioned off. That is when my brother and myself came in to the business because we saw an opportunity to expand by default.”

Together with his brother Alex, 30, and Raymond, the family started Crisp & Sons and continued to work on behalf of the MoD.

Sheffield steel It originally worked from a base in Kent before opening a factory closer to their home in Framfield.

Crisp & Sons is the only sword cutler left in the UK. It uses raw composite blades produced from Sheffield steel.

These are smelted and forged to the company’s exact specification.

After careful heat treatment and straightening, each sword undergoes stringent tests including the famous bend test invented by Henry Wilkinson in 1843 where the blade is deflected five inches to the left and right.

It is then passed to the master polisher who polishes the blade six times to achieve a mirror finish. The intricate engraved patterns are etched in the traditional method using wax and acid.

Matthew said: “We have gone back to basics and a traditional way of manufacturing which makes our products superior to anything else you can find.

“All our swords are made to fighting specification. If someone gathered all the guns in the world and threw them away then soldiers could still fight on horseback using our swords.”

As well as producing new blades for officers in different regiments, Crisp & Sons manufactures up to 12 brand new swords each year which are eagerly snapped up by collectors.

Matthew said: “Our market is fairly split down the middle between r e f u r b i s h m e n t and collectors.”Prices range from £600 to £1,500, although four swords the company recently made for the Canadian Parliament cost more than £3,000 each.

Matthew is particularly proud of only using British-based companies to manufacture the scabbards and display cabinets.

That is why it stung so much when last year the MoD ended its relationship with Crisp & Sons in order to use a firm which imports swords from India.

Strong future Matthew said: “It was a fairly big blow but fortunately for us we still get an immense amount of work from other commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada.

“But we still had to make three staff redundant.”

Despite the loss of income from the MoD, Matthew is confident Crisp & Sons has a strong future.

He and Alex were taught the art of the silversmith by their father, who is now semi-retired but still regularly consults on new commissions.

They are now passing these ancient skills to a new generation.

Matthew said: “We have always tried to take on young apprentices to pass on our skills to. At the moment we have two young lads and a guy in his 30s learning the master skills needed to make swords.

“My greatest achievement within this business is to know that we are the last sword makers in the UK and my great-great grandchildren will see our products still in service.

“That provides me with a great amount of pride and satisfaction.”

For more information visit www.crisp-and-sons.com.