A Tale of Two Lambsfoots Lambsfeet Lambsfoot Knives
Today, I received my second A. Wright Lambsfoot, clad in Ebony, to go with the Buffalo Lambsfoot I bought a few months back.
There are some interesting differences between these two blades (which, in theory at least, should be the same blade, as these are the same knife with different scale materials). The blade on my Buffalo Lambsfoot (top in the photo above, and on the right in the photo below) has a polished finish, no swedge at all, and a small, somewhat shallow nail nick. The edge also curves up towards the tip and gives the blade a gradual belly so that it's not really a straight edge (I had to go back and find the first photo I took of this knife, before I had sharpened it, to make sure it came that way and I didn't somehow do that by sharpening it; but it was that way from the factory).
The blade on the Ebony Lambsfoot is straight, has a nice swedge, the finish is more of a satin or as-ground finish, and the nail nick is much larger/deeper. The blade on the Ebony is also noticeably longer than the Buffalo.
These differences are mainly cosmetic and don't bother me much; I find it interesting more than anything, and I'm curious if anyone else has seen this kind of variation in their A. Wright Lamsbfoot knives.
If I could take a moment to vent about one thing I've found a bit irksome with A. Wright's knives (or at least those that I've received, which include these two and an Ettrick I just got in with the Ebony Lambsfoot), it's that I find the factory edge rather difficult to sharpen. The grind/bevel tends to be inconsistent, the edge angle can change from one point to another along the blade, and the edge gets particularly thick near the tang (I posted recently about widening/deepening the sharpening choil to help alleviate this on my Buffalo Lambsfoot). It just seems like these blades take
a lot of reprofiling to get an edge I'm happy with sharpening on flat stones (I use two DMT Diasharp continuous-surface stones in Fine -- which is fairly coarse -- and Extra Fine). Maybe it's just my sharpening skills (I've only been sharpening for a few years, though I'm very happy with the results I get with GEC, Case, SAK, U.S.A. Schrade, etc., and have never had the kind of trouble sharpening any of those that I've had with these), and perhaps these would be easier to sharpen with some sort of rod system or using a powered belt sharpener, but I don't think a straight edged knife shouldn't be this difficult to sharpen on a flat stone. Has anyone else has had difficulty sharpening/reprofiling their A. Wright knives? I'm also open to any and all suggestions.
Difficult edges notwithstanding, I must say that I
do appreciate these knives, and I'm glad that A. Wright's is still around producing these wonderful old Sheffield patterns at very reasonable prices. :thumbup:
