Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

Jack Black said:
Nice work Chin, and thanks :) I didn't see Stan today, but I had a very satisfying visit to Arthur Wright's, and discussed a lot of stuff with John Maleham, and his deputy Mick. I think some good projects will come of it :) Mick's son, Ashley, who did the bolsters for the 2017 Guardians Lambsfoot, also came downstairs from the workshop to say hello, which was nice. I also saw a knife Ashley had produced himself, which was an interesting design, and showed a lot of talent I think. As we had been discussing fancy bolsters, Mick, who served his apprenticeship at Joseph Elliot's, where his dad also worked, showed me this old die. I think Charlie @waynorth will find it particularly interesting, as he has at least one Elliot knife with those bolsters. Sorry about my poor photos.

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I picked up a few things for folks who'd contacted me. If you're one of those, please be patient, and I'll be in touch in due course :thumbsup:

I'll also be sending out an email to the Lambsfoot list in due course. If you're not on it, and would like to be, please PM me your email address :thumbsup:
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Great to hear the trip went well, mate, and I'll be interested to see some of the outcomes of your discussion with John Maleham and Mick. It's also gratifying to hear that young cutlers like Ashley will be carrying the torch for quality Sheffield cutlery into the next generation.:thumbsup::cool:

We've touched on it before, but I wonder if it's worth inviting one of the more internet savvy Wright's cutlers, to drop by this thread?

Fascinating to see that triple 'rat tail filed' bolster die, too - although presumably it can't be called that, as it's not really filed. I wonder when the large firms transitioned from filing their fancy bolsters to striking them in dies? It certainly makes sense from a production standpoint. I had thought my Unity Lambsfoot was filed, but I could be wrong, and the marks on it may be from the buffing and polishing operations. I suppose Stan Shaw still uses files for his custom bolster work.;):):cool:
 
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Cambertree said:
Great to hear the trip went well, mate, and I'll be interested to see some of the outcomes of your discussion with John Maleham and Mick. It's gratifying to hear young cutlers like Ashley will still be carrying the torch for quality Sheffield cutlery into the next generation.:thumbsup::cool:

Fascinating to see that triple 'rat tail filed' bolster die, too - although presumably it can't be called that, as it's not really filed. I wonder when the large firms transitioned from filing their fancy bolsters to striking them in dies? It certainly makes sense from a production standpoint. I had thought my Unity Lambsfoot was filed, but I could be wrong, and the marks on it may be from the buffing and polishing operations. I suppose Stan Shaw still uses files for his custom bolster work.;):):cool:
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Thanks mate, I'll keep you posted ;) Yes, Ashley certainly has cutlery in his blood :) Like everyone in Sheffield at one time, but no longer of course :(

You would be right about Stan! :D :thumbsup:
 
Jack Black said:
Thanks guys, I'm just on the train now (a rare phone post for me)! :) :thumbsup:



Nice work Keith :thumbsup:



Very nice my friend :thumbsup:



LOL! :D Looking forward to seeing your review :) :thumbsup:

I've got my ebony Lambsfoot and my Guardians Lambsfoot in my pockets today, and half a dozen more in my bag. No doubt I'll have even more with me on my return journey from Sheffield ;) Happy Friday folks, the weekend is nearly here :) :thumbsup:
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looks like hogwarts express eh to the magic land of knives!!! :D:D:D
 
While visiting the Arthur Wright factory the other day, I took the opportunity to ask John Maleham about their Lambsfoot and Pen model. John told me there is very little demand for this one, so they only make them occasionally. I told him that some users had found the pulls overly stiff. He said that they get some people asking for stiffer springs, others wanting weaker springs, they could do them to order (with an SFO), but it's hard to please everyone. Most British users would probably expect a fairly stiff spring I think. I examined the knives they had in stock of this pattern, they were all quite nice knives in Rosewood, with centred blades, and decent fit and finish. I could pinch open the Lambsfoot blades, but struggled more with the Pen blades, though I had just cut my nails. John Maleham was able to open them easily enough! I also raised the issue of blade cant, as the only 2-blade example I've bought had cant (blade droop) on both blades. I checked their stock though, and the knives I examined were fine. I still much prefer the single blade Lambsfoot though, I have to say :thumbsup:

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Let the midnight special, shine a light on me
Let the midnight special, shine a ever lovin' light on me......and all of you Guardians!!! :D

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One of the things I learned at Wright's was that they refer to their 'straight' Lambsfoot pattern as a 'Candle-end' Lambsfoot. That's actually a very traditional cutlery term, but I think I've only heard it used in relation to table cutlery before, as in the knife handle on this child's cutlery set :)

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Jack, thanks for permission to post this knife of questionable lambyness for opinions from the experts on lambsfoot blades. Here's pics in different light and a side by side with a lambsfoot. I need to dig out my calipers and measure. Thanks in advance for opinions and comments.
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Being only an apprentice to the order, I'm definitely no expert. When I saw and admired your posts of this knife, one thought I had looking at it was that I didn't recall ever seeing a lamb foot blade on any pics of his knives previously. The shape of the blade and the taper of the spine towards the tip looked to me to be a lamb, even the angle of the point looked right. Whatever it is, it's a beauty!
 
rockman0 said:
Jack, thanks for permission to post this knife of questionable lambyness for opinions from the experts on lambsfoot blades. Here's pics in different light and a side by side with a lambsfoot. I need to dig out my calipers and measure. Thanks in advance for opinions and comments.
DpfEnn6.jpg

bexTfwx.jpg

0s77F0j.jpg
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Many thankls Rob, both for respecting this thread, and for sharing that interesting knife here with us :) Here's a link to Rob's original post in the EDC thread Guardians: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ya-totin-today.547127/page-5446#post-17770184 :thumbsup: What does everyone think? It's certainly a beautiful knife, but does it have a Lambsfoot blade?

I think it looks closest to a Lambsfoot in Rob's top pic, compared to an older TEW Lambsfoot. The other pics, well hmmm....I'm not sure it is quite a Lambsfoot, but it does come very close, and after a decade of sharpening, it may come even closer. What's your own opinion Rob? If it's not too much trouble, would it be possible to see a pic of the blade in question taken from directly above? :thumbsup:

As folks may remember Mr Lloyd told us here that he was intending to produce a few Lambsfoot knives, but I think this one would have been produced before that? :)
 
rockman0 rockman0 that's a great looking knife. The jigging is fantastic.

It's not unusual for us to have debates here about whether a particular blade is a lambsfoot or a sheepsfoot, but I think yours lays more on the continuum between a coping blade and a lambsfoot. Both have angular noses and both are thinner, at least towards the tip, than a sheepsfoot. Your blade is a bit wide to call a coping blade in my opinion, and the shadow line created by the lovely swedging gives the nose a lambsfoot appearance, so I'm going to go with lambsfoot that's a bit light on taper.

I'm excited to see a blade like that. I'd love someday to have a whittler with a small lambsfoot secondary and that blade looks like a step in that direction to me. :thumbsup:
 
Jack, this knife was made in mid December last year. My friend Justin ordered a Lannys clip and this barlow. He was over his budget with Christmas coming on so I got lucky and bought it. Justin's first impression was coping blade. I'm leaning that direction myself, regardless it's a joy to use and cuts like a laser so I'm loving the knife.

I'll add some more pics of the blade soon.
 
Thanks Greg, I'm glad you like it and I was wondering if the size of the blade disqualifies it as a coping blade. Appreciate your opinion.
WhittlinAway said:
rockman0 rockman0 that's a great looking knife. The jigging is fantastic.

It's not unusual for us to have debates here about whether a particular blade is a lambsfoot or a sheepsfoot, but I think yours lays more on the continuum between a coping blade and a lambsfoot. Both have angular noses and both are thinner, at least towards the tip, than a sheepsfoot. Your blade is a bit wide to call a coping blade in my opinion, and the shadow line created by the lovely swedging gives the nose a lambsfoot appearance, so I'm going to go with lambsfoot that's a bit light on taper.

I'm excited to see a blade like that. I'd love someday to have a whittler with a small lambsfoot secondary and that blade looks like a step in that direction to me. :thumbsup:
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