Sykes & Sons

The Knight Company was founded in 1936 by Alfred E. Knight, a man who dedicated his life to producing pianos of exceptional tone and quality. Alfred followed his family's occupation and began his career as an apprentice at just 14 years old. In 1923, at only 24 years old, Alfred was appointed as a junior director at Cremona Ltd, a position he held for 8 years before he left to begin building his own business in 1931.

 

The Knight Piano Company quickly grew to be one of Britain's most recognised manufacturers of fine, high-quality pianos, which are famous for being extremely well-made, with only top-quality materials used in their construction. 

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The K15 is one of the most iconic pianos from Knight's range and is widely regarded as one of Alfred's most notable triumphs in piano engineering and design. 

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All Knight models in the 'K' range have a Knight-designed, full perimeter frame, which was built on the girder principle from premier heavy-duty cast iron. These frames were carefully developed to accommodate the greatest possible string length, supply the highest levels of strength and stability, optimise the position of the bridges on the soundboard, and facilitate the evenest tone and volume.

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The strings in the K15 are designed to cross over at a much greater angle than what can usually be achieved in an upright piano of this size. The extra string length is a contributor to how this piano can match the tone and volume of instruments with much larger external dimensions. The string angle which enabled additional length also allowed Knight to reposition the bass bridge to a more optimal location, further away from the edge of the soundboard, to enhance amplification.

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Knight engineers dispensed the brace bar in these frames that is normally found in the treble section of other upright pianos, which was made possible by the extra strength of the frame. A brace bar in the traditional position requires a notch in the long bridge for it to pass through, which can cause tonal discrepancies within the notes on either side of the notch. The removal of this brace bar eliminated the need for a break in the bridge, resulting in a very consistent tone across all registers of the keyboard.

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Knight carefully selected forest-grown spruce from the Northern slopes of European mountain ranges for the soundboards in the K-range pianos. The long, regular, and uninterrupted growing conditions on the Southern Carpathians result in trees with very large interiors comprised of very straight grains, minimal knots, and very consistent growth rings, making the wood the desired density, strength, and elasticity required for the all-important soundboard of a Knight piano. The spruce was air-seasoned and kiln-dried at the Knight factory and the completed soundboards were finished in a specially developed moisture-resistant varnish which not only protected the natural material but also enhanced its tonal qualities. 

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The frame is anchored to a four-post quarter-sawn hardwood back, with the soundboard permanently secured between. This exceptionally sturdy method ensures superior tuning stability and strength and is one of the reasons why Knight was considered a standard-bearer in piano manufacturing around the world.

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Knight ensured the most attractive and stable cabinets by fabricating the case components from very heavy, crossgrained laminated wood of many layers and finished the material with hand-selected exotic hardwood veneers which were applied by highly skilled craftspeople using the most pre-eminent equipment and quality glues.

 

This K15 has been owned by the same family since it was purchased brand new in 1973. It was a treasured part of the family home and has benefited from regular servicing and care throughout its life.

Housed in a beautiful satin teak cabinet, this piano would make a wonderfully eye-catching feature for the right home. This piano also boasts a celeste pedal which allows the player to lower the volume of the piano for more private and discrete playing.

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After being lovingly reconditioned and serviced in our workshop, this Knight offers a very responsive and consistently balanced touch that is coupled with a warm, rich tone. Typical of Knight pianos supplied by Sykes & Sons.