Charles Holmes was listed in the 1849 directory as a spring knife cutler at Portland Place in Upperthorpe.   It appears that he had been active as a spring knife manufacturer in Furnace Hill, Shalesmoor, during the 1840s.  Between 1852 and 1860, Holmes’ works address was Allen Street, with a residence in Upperthorpe.  In the early 1860s, Charles Holmes advertised in Sheffield directories as a maker of fine pen, pocket, and desk knives.  In 1861, Charles Holmes employed five men and a girl.  Between 1861 and 1867, he relocated to Albion Works in Green Lane, Shalesmoor.   In 1865, he was listed as a Bowie knife maker.  Holmes died, aged 55, on 12 June 1867 after ‘a long and painful affliction’ and was buried at Wardsend Cemetery (his wife Rebecca, who died aged 50 in 1862, had been buried in the same cemetery).  He left under £1,500.