Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

Great post Chin, and thanks for the pics mate :) :thumbsup:

Blimey! I bet you have heard plenty of tales from the mad days of the Australian Gold-Rush :) All those ex-cons and poor folks must have got quite a shock when they started turning up nuggets! :D

Thanks Jack.:)

Yeah, the British government managed to suppress the news of the discovery of gold for a couple of years - didn't want a gold rush messing up the 'good order' of their prison colony. After the news got out in the early 1850s, Port Phillip Bay supposedly looked like a forest of masts - the bay outside Melbourne, was full of ships emptied of all hands. As soon as they reached port, the entire crew, officers included, would often desert, and head up to the goldfields. In fact, that's how my Mum's side of the family got here - a ships master from Aberdeen leaving his vessel to become a miner!

LOL!:D We get guys here like that at the seaside resorts here. When the afternoon finishes and the beaches empty, you see these similarly shady-looking guys, sidling around the beach 'all casual like', discreetly scanning around for jewellery and loose-change (and probably iPhones these days) with their metal detectors. There's sometimes a few of them working different spots.

I hope I've got that right! But I think I have ;)

Interesting…

Yes, I think you're right about that term, 'dishing'.:thumbsup:

I thought you had my friend :) That might the basis for a great post ;) :D :thumbsup:

You know the way you get people sometimes almost feigning enthusiasm when you give them things? Well Stan gets genuinely excited! He loves his tools, and (though his best ones are probably at home, where he does most of his filing), can point out exactly which files I've given him. He'll be really pleased with the one I have for him, though I think I'll have to carry it to his car, as it is nearly as big as Stan! :D At home, Stan has an old 'Tallboy', a few feet in front of his bench, and when he is filing or hacksawing steel, he wedges himself in there, and really goes at it! He told me a story about his 'gaffer' Ted Osborne, who like Stan, and like most Sheffield cutlers, came from a poor background. When he was a young feller, he was walking to work on a cold morning, with his head down, when he spotted a sixpence on the pavement. He was so excited because he could go and buy a new file, and make more knives with it, which is what he did :)

I'm not sure about that, the Victorian ones have a steel rod in the middle, and are a fearsome weapon! :eek: The RIC may have had Lignum Vitae, but Hallam and Crookes had Gutta Percha! ;) :D :thumbsup:

Thanks Jack: about the only good thing about that shameful Photobucket extortion episode, is while going over old photos and transferring them, it reminded me of a few posts I'd meant to do, when I have time.

I love that story about Ted Osborne, it kind of gives me a lump in the throat to think of that kind of dedication to the cutlers trade (and making an income, of course).

Thanks for the info on the truncheons, too. Yes, I did a bit more digging, and it seems that Lignum Vitae, Ebony and Teak have all been used for British truncheons, at different times. I won't digress any more on the subject, but there's some really well crafted historical pieces in this link.

You might keep an eye out when you're next at the beach - you might be lucky to find a chunk of vintage Gutta Percha, yourself! (That is, if the squads of 'grey men' haven't scooped it all up, already!;):D)

I had never thought that alley bowling predated plastic. I could really hurt myself trying to slice up a big lignum vitae ball. Thanks for your ancient lore too, Chin.

Thanks Jer.:)

Thank you, Cambertree Cambertree . I had a most wonderful time and though I didn't manage to harvest any animals myself other than a couple of wild grouse, my buddy's teenage son managed to bring down his first animal, a young bull elk! So we got to help process and pack out that animal. I had fantasies about skinning out an elk with a lambsfoot knife but in reality that is probably the one task that such a useful blade is ill suited for...

I can't tell you how much fun it is to engage a bull elk in the rut. They are vocal, angry, and just plain gorgeous to see in their prime. Much of my time was spent playing with a couple bulls that ended up being smarter than folks tend to give them credit for, so they get to live on for now. Archery hunting has its advantages and disadvantages but I wouldn't trade those disadvantages for anything, the experience overall wouldn't be what it is otherwise.

No pics of Linus in action unfortunately, I was much too busy having fun....:(

Your Unity Lambsfoot is a beautiful knife. What I find particularly intriguing is the bone covers sitting considerably proud of the bolsters, is that normal?

Sounds like you had a great time Dylan, thanks for the trip report. I've been tempted too, to experiment with using a Lambsfoot to field dress a deer, but as soon as you make that first incision here, you need to work quite fast to avoid the flies, so I usually just use the knives that were specifically designed for the job. One of the highlights of this years hunting, for me too, was seeing one of my friend's sons take his first Sambar deer, with perfect shot placement.

Regarding the bone covers not being blended into the bolsters, I don't honestly know why this is. I've noticed quite a few old Sheffield knives have the same characteristic, though. I haven't really seen enough, to know whether it is just that working pocketknives of the time were not expected to have this refinement (and additional cost), or whether it was somehow related to the production processes at the time, or whether it may have just been the fashion then.
Thomas Turner's 1901 display board of pristine knives in Sheffield's Millennium Gallery features quite a lot of knives which have covers well proud of the bolsters. It seems to be a feature of the barehead 'working' jackknife and sporting patterns, but I may be wrong.

I've wondered about this, too.

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I'm conflicted. As you all know, I've been Every Day Carrying one of my Davison's for awhile, mainly because I would never consider selling them and they are pretty much bulletproof.

But, the Lambfoot graciously gifted to me by Jack keeps calling to me. Maybe I need to start carrying two knives regularly?

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What?!! You mean you only carry ONE pocketknife, Alan?!!!:D:p

Yes, lamb pairs well with unicorn. ;)
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Great pic of that pair, R8shell - nice to see they've been getting a good bit of use too, judging from the patina.:cool:

You know, I blame you for my 2-3 slipjoint EDC loadout!:p:D But seriously, there's quite a few advantages, as you've pointed out before, in using a couple of knives with different blade shapes, instead of trying to pack too many blades into the one knife, and making it uncomfortable to use.

Received this pic from Wright's. Rosewood handled Lambsfoot with fluted bolster. They've actually ground the bolster rather than filing it. Done individually. I think it looks pretty good :thumbsup:

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Lookin' good, Jack!:):cool:

That's very nice looking. :thumbsup: I think I have a few with that type of bolster (2013 forum knife, for one) Is the filing done right where the pivot pin is? I've wondered if this would weaken the joint, though perhaps that's silly, given how many quite old knives like this I've seen that have no problems at all...

It's funny how fancy bolsters of one sort or another were such a common feature of knives once, even ordinary working knives. I guess, as companies tried to cut their costs, to compete with competition from the Far East post WW2, they were an easy feature to omit. Or maybe they just went out of fashion? I'm not bothered about anything TOO fancy, but I like bolsters with features like this, and find it particularly novel to see them included on military knives :)

I'm sure there's enough material for a sturdy pivot, I was just curious. Maybe it's the influence of the modern, over-built mentality making me question it.

I actually wondered the same thing, R8shell. When I examined my Unity Lambsfoot, I had to look very close and carefully to even see where the pivot pins were blended into the bolster, which gives an indication of how tight it still is - over one hundred years after it was made. (They're almost in the deepest part of the fluting.) That knife was used too - it has minute traces of paint in the jigging, indicating it may have been slathered in yellow paint once as a working shop knife.

I wonder if the gradual move away from fancy bolsters was also a reflection of powered belt grinding operations becoming dominant, rather than extensive hand filing work. I thought I'd heard somewhere, that GEC's fancy bolsters are actually die stamped.

In any case, I really like the look of these ones.:cool::)
 
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Thanks Jack.:)

Yeah the British government managed to suppress the news of the discovery of gold for a couple of years - didn't want a gold rush messing up the 'good order' of their prison colony. After the news got out in the early 1850s, Port Phillip Bay supposedly looked like a forest of masts - the bay outside Melbourne, was full of ships emptied of all hands. As soon as they reached port, the entire crew, officers included, would often desert, and head up to the goldfields. In fact, that's how my Mum's side of the family got here - a ships master from Aberdeen leaving his vessel to become a miner!

Amazing story Chin, did he strike any gold?! :cool: :thumbsup:

I love that story about Ted Osborne, it kind of gives me a lump in the throat to think of that kind of dedication to the cutlers trade (and making an income, of course).

From what Ted's son told Geoff Tweedale, and what Stan has said, I don't think penknives were ever far from Ted's mind. Like the rest of them, he got scant reward for his industry. When he eventually retired, pensionless, Billy Ibberson called him into the office of the firm he had spent his life working for, and presented him with a bottle of whisky. Ted was a strict Methodist and teetotal! :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info on the truncheons, too. Yes, I did a bit more digging, and it seems that Lignum Vitae, Ebony and Teak have all been used for British truncheons, at different times. I won't digress any more on the subject, but there's some really well crafted historical pieces in this link.

Thanks for the link mate, we can continue that one by PM ;) :thumbsup:

You might keep an eye out when you're next at the beach - you might be lucky to find a chunk of vintage Gutta Percha, yourself!

What a fascinating story! You are a mine of information my friend :)

Lookin' good, Jack!:):cool:

I actually wondered the same thing, R8shell. When I examined my Unity Lambsfoot, I had to look very close and carefully to even see where the pivot pins were blended into the bolster, which gives an indication of how tight it still is - over one hundred years after it was made. (They're almost in the deepest part of the fluting.) That knife was used too - it has minute traces of paint in the jigging, indicating it may have been slathered in yellow paint once as a working shop knife.

I wonder if the gradual move away from fancy bolsters was also a reflection of powered belt grinding operations becoming dominant, rather than extensive hand filing work. I thought I'd heard somewhere, that GEC's fancy bolsters are actually die stamped.

In any case, I really like the look of these ones.:cool::)

Thanks pal :) They've always really stuck with wheels in Sheffield, but it would make sense for GEC to use stamped bolsters. I think Wright's would do the same with a bigger order. I'm sure Charlie waynorth waynorth will know :thumbsup:
 

I really like your pics my friend, and that one looks great, the ebony is beautiful, and I really like that crisp new Wright's tang-stamp. I like my ebony Lambsfoot a lot, but unfortunately I got it from a dealer who sent me one with a generic Sheffield stamp, despite my request for a Wright's tang stamp. When I raised the matter, he told me that the knives were gift-boxed, and he couldn't open them - but I'd received it with no more wrapping than a jiffy bag! :rolleyes:
 
I've had a couple of really busy weeks, really can't remember the last time I had so much on! :eek: :D Just shovelled some cold food in my mouth, and then I need to get some stuff ready for tomorrow. I have to help my friend out on his tool stall in the market tomorrow (There was a bomb scare there today!), then I have a work meeting (My real work!:D), and then I'm going over to Sheffield (the weather forecast is heavy rain). I think I'm going to put this one in my pocket :) :thumbsup:

A.Wright Small Swayback Sambar Lambsfoot 2-5.JPG

Fingers crossed Guardians! ;) :thumbsup:
 
I've had a couple of really busy weeks, really can't remember the last time I had so much on! :eek: :D Just shovelled some cold food in my mouth, and then I need to get some stuff ready for tomorrow. I have to help my friend out on his tool stall in the market tomorrow (There was a bomb scare there today!), then I have a work meeting (My real work!:D), and then I'm going over to Sheffield (the weather forecast is heavy rain). I think I'm going to put this one in my pocket :) :thumbsup:

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Fingers crossed Guardians! ;) :thumbsup:
Safe travels, Jack!
 
I've had a couple of really busy weeks, really can't remember the last time I had so much on! :eek: :D Just shovelled some cold food in my mouth, and then I need to get some stuff ready for tomorrow. I have to help my friend out on his tool stall in the market tomorrow (There was a bomb scare there today!), then I have a work meeting (My real work!:D), and then I'm going over to Sheffield (the weather forecast is heavy rain). I think I'm going to put this one in my pocket :) :thumbsup:

View attachment 768360

Fingers crossed Guardians! ;) :thumbsup:
Sounds like a good luck (charm) knife Jack.
 
I've had a couple of really busy weeks, really can't remember the last time I had so much on! :eek: :D Just shovelled some cold food in my mouth, and then I need to get some stuff ready for tomorrow. I have to help my friend out on his tool stall in the market tomorrow (There was a bomb scare there today!), then I have a work meeting (My real work!:D), and then I'm going over to Sheffield (the weather forecast is heavy rain). I think I'm going to put this one in my pocket :) :thumbsup:

View attachment 768360

Fingers crossed Guardians! ;) :thumbsup:
That knife should cheer you up some.
 
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