Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

I am so excited! My first lambsfoot is here! This knife is absolutely amazing! The F&F are perfect! There's no half-stop, but the walk and talk are excellent! This will be my carry for the rest of the week!

Thanks for your kind words, my friends.

Jack, I've thought the same thing regarding a Resources thread. Thanks for taking the time to post those links and references. I'm looking forward to working my way through the papers I haven't seen before and hunting down some of those books.

Here are links to those William Jno. Baker catalogues from 1924 and 1939 I've posted images from a number of times.

Baker was a Kiwi working cutler who found success with his 'House of Steel' in Sydney, which sold enough Sheffield (and also some Schrade) knives that they were made with his own tangstamps.

Most of them, I think would have been made by Joseph Rodgers and Taylors Eye Witness, some possibly also by Harrison Bros. and Howson, though the eagle eyed among you may spot ten or eleven models originating from the Phoenix Cutlery Works in the 1890s.

There are some quite interesting patterns and blade shapes, including some specific to Australia, which you don't see anymore.

(Just click the download icon on the toolbar above the digitised pages.)

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52859854/view?partId=nla.obj-104217049#page/n0/mode/1up

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52859973/view?partId=nla.obj-104259965#page/n0/mode/1up

Most of the Real Lambsfoot and Lambsfoot variant images I've previously posted in this thread, come from these catalogues.

netguy1999 said:

I am so excited! My first lambsfoot is here! This knife is absolutely amazing! The F&F are perfect! There's no half-stop, but the walk and talk are excellent! This will be my carry for the rest of the week!

Click to expand...

John, you got a real beauty there. I love the wear marks on that stag and the milled liners. Outstanding!

netguy1999 said:

I am so excited! My first lambsfoot is here! This knife is absolutely amazing! The F&F are perfect! There's no half-stop, but the walk and talk are excellent! This will be my carry for the rest of the week!

Click to expand...

Congratulations John, that's a looker, thanks for posting it here. Hope you like the pattern

Cambertree said:

Thanks for your kind words, my friends. :thumbup:

Jack, I've thought the same thing regarding a Resources thread. Thanks for taking the time to post those links and references. I'm looking forward to working my way through the papers I haven't seen before and hunting down some of those books.

Here are links to those William Jno. Baker catalogues from 1924 and 1939 I've posted images from a number of times.

Baker was a Kiwi working cutler who found success with his 'House of Steel' in Sydney, which sold enough Sheffield (and also some Schrade) knives that they were made with his own tangstamps.

Most of them, I think would have been made by Joseph Rodgers and Taylors Eye Witness, though the eagle eyed among you may spot ten or eleven models originating from the Phoenix Cutlery Works in the 1890s.

There are some quite interesting patterns and blade shapes, including some specific to Australia, which you don't see anymore.

(Just click the download icon on the toolbar above the digitised pages.)

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52859854/view?partId=nla.obj-104217049#page/n0/mode/1up

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52859973/view?partId=nla.obj-104259965#page/n0/mode/1up

Click to expand...

Thanks for the links my friend

Not exactly a lambsfoot but close enough for me, just got this two days ago

barnaby said:

Not exactly a lambsfoot but close enough for me

Click to expand...

Beautiful knife, but if you think it's a Lambsfoot you need to read through this thread

Just returning to this earlier point..

Jack Black said:

...Your perspective in terms of the wrecked ships is fascinating, and certainly knives were subject to fashion as you say. It is obvious that the Sheffield cutlers specifically named and marketed patterns at the the US market, and the same was also the case with Australia. I guess that they would prefer to sell an expensive Senator or Congress to a relatively affluent individual than a lowly Lambsfoot or Sheepsfoot to a farmer, particularly since the cost of export would be much the same. The two market were obviously different though, and I'm sure they sold far more inexpensive Bunny Knives in Australia than they did pearl-handled Lobsters.

Click to expand...

Yes, that makes sense. Melbourne was flush with gold wealth at this time too, so I imagine that the great cutlery houses of Sheffield would have been maximising their profit by producing and exporting many patterns which previously may only have been sold in lesser numbers to the gentry and 'best quality' buying end of the trade.

I think the increasing popularity of some of the multibladed pen, jack, and sporting knife patterns associated with Sheffields Golden Age may also have been in part, stimulated by the rise in affluence and discretionary spending power of many ordinary working people in the latter part of the 19th century as a result of the Gold Rushes in Australia and the US, and the expansion of pursuits such as the fur trapping trades. I've been reading an interesting paper which claims many rabbit shooters and trappers in Australia, for example, could earn up to 20 times what they would have as a waged worker or tradesman.

(By the way, rather than sidetrack off the Lambsfoot topic any more than I have been, I started a new thread here, regarding those knives of the Shipwreck Coast. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ria-s-Shipwreck-Coast?p=16689141#post16689141.)

Once again Chin, you bring great insight and an interesting perspective to this thread I had neglected the Australian Gold Rush in my thinking, and had no idea that bunny men could earn so much. Thanks again my friend

The Shipwreck thread is fascinating

Well, I'm pretty excited to be able to finally post in this thread.

This package from Sheffield was waiting for me in today's mail.



Here's a better look at the knife itself, an A. Wright Lambsfoot in Buffalo.







I love how dark and glossy the buffalo covers are on this one, especially the mark side. I think this pattern is really comfortable in hand, and the blade is nice and thin behind the edge (I'm not sure why I didn't expect it to be, but it's great!). F&F isn't perfect, but no deal breakers here by any means. I'm really happy I picked one of these up!

(Also, this is my first Sheffield-made knife! :thumbup

Looks like you got a nice one.

btb01 said:

Well, I'm pretty excited to be able to finally post in this thread.

This package from Sheffield was waiting for me in today's mail.

Here's a better look at the knife itself, an A. Wright Lambsfoot in Buffalo.

I love how dark and glossy the buffalo covers are on this one, especially the mark side. I think this pattern is really comfortable in hand, and the blade is nice and thin behind the edge (I'm not sure why I didn't expect it to be, but it's great!). F&F isn't perfect, but no deal breakers here by any means. I'm really happy I picked one of these up!

(Also, this is my first Sheffield-made knife! :thumbup

Click to expand...

Looks great! I have to admit I like those buffalo covers as well. I just received my first Sheffield knife this week, and already I'm hooked!

btb01 said:

Well, I'm pretty excited to be able to finally post in this thread.
...
Here's a better look at the knife itself, an A. Wright Lambsfoot in Buffalo.

...
I love how dark and glossy the buffalo covers are on this one, especially the mark side. I think this pattern is really comfortable in hand, and the blade is nice and thin behind the edge (I'm not sure why I didn't expect it to be, but it's great!). F&F isn't perfect, but no deal breakers here by any means. I'm really happy I picked one of these up!

(Also, this is my first Sheffield-made knife! :thumbup

Click to expand...

Congratulations, Barrett! :thumbup::thumbup:
I like the buffalo handles that have some lighter-colored "feathering" in them, too, but it's hard to beat a pitch black/brilliant silver combo for sheer elegance, IMHO!

- GT

btb01 said:

I love how dark and glossy the buffalo covers are on this one, especially the mark side...

Click to expand...

Barrett, congratulations on your first Lambsfoot and Sheffield-made knife. That deep black glassy buffalo horn is stunning. I hope you enjoy getting to know it!

Thanks guys, I'm really happy with it so far! (Also, thank you Greg for the heads up on where to get one. :thumbup

I sat down and sharpened it last night (factory edge was sharp but a bit rough, and I don't usually make it very long carrying a traditional knife with the factory edge before I want to go ahead and put my own on it). Sharpening was interesting, as I found it tough to get the very heel of the blade (if that's the right term) onto the stone because of the way the thickness tang sort of slopes down to the blade. I just tried to get as much of it on the stone as I could. You can see in the photo below where I was able to start sharpening from and where I wasn't able to sharpen because the blade starts to get thicker.

I don't really consider this a problem, but I did find it a bit odd that on a knife with a sharpening choil, you can't really sharpen the full length of the edge back to that choil. Anyone else experience this with their A. Wright Lambsfoot?



Anyways, now that I've got it sharpened up, I think this Lambsfoot it going spend a lot of time in my pocket.

netguy1999 said:

I am so excited! My first lambsfoot is here! This knife is absolutely amazing! The F&F are perfect! There's no half-stop, but the walk and talk are excellent! This will be my carry for the rest of the week!

Click to expand...

btb01 said:

Well, I'm pretty excited to be able to finally post in this thread.

This package from Sheffield was waiting for me in today's mail.

Here's a better look at the knife itself, an A. Wright Lambsfoot in Buffalo.

I love how dark and glossy the buffalo covers are on this one, especially the mark side. I think this pattern is really comfortable in hand, and the blade is nice and thin behind the edge (I'm not sure why I didn't expect it to be, but it's great!). F&F isn't perfect, but no deal breakers here by any means. I'm really happy I picked one of these up!

(Also, this is my first Sheffield-made knife! :thumbup

Click to expand...

Congrats on two outstanding knives fellas. They are both lookers to say the least:thumbup:

StoneBeard said:

Congrats on two outstanding knives fellas. They are both lookers to say the least:thumbup:

Click to expand...

Thanks! I've been carrying mine every day since it arrived. I'm looking forward to my next!

btb01 said:

Click to expand...

Congratulations on your first Lambsfoot and first Sheffield-made knife my friend, those dark, glossy covers looks fantastic. I might have to see if I can pick one up like that myself

btb01 said:

Click to expand...

Glad you're liking the pattern Barrett In terms of the choil, which I've heard Sheffield cutlers refer to as the 'grinding notch' or 'cutler's notch', I've not noticed the same problem myself, but need to go and check my Wright knives now!

I'm giving these a third go, one is on its way, just have to hope it's better than the previous two from years back...Fingers crossed then.

Will Power said:

I'm giving these a third go, one is on its way, just have to hope it's better than the previous two from years back...Fingers crossed then.

Click to expand...

Good luck Will, I've certainly seen a few lemons in the past, but Wright's quality control seems to have got a lot better in recent times, I've been very pleased with the knives I've had from them in the past year or two. Some dealers seem to be better to deal with than others though, and I think it's worth stating what you expect

In anticipation of seeing Will's new Lambsfoot (see http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...e-Christmas-Wish-List?p=16716138#post16716138), I thought I'd give this thread a bump!