Guardians of The Lambsfoot!
- Thread starter Jack Black
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2005
- Messages
- 65,542
screened porch
Basic Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2012
- Messages
- 16,874
+1 on the brilliant concept and execution, Chin.
r8shell
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2010
- Messages
- 23,994
Wow! That is amazing. I'm very impressed!I returned four days later and we handled and finished the knife.
This is it, my first knife: a fixed blade 'Lambsfoot'.
Thanks Christian!
This knife looks back to the classic Lambsfoots and the knives of Smith's Key in its design inspirations:
Black canvas micarta handle with red liners. 420 stainless pins. Tapered, full tang:
The classic swayback palmswell for indexing the blade angle and handling comfort:
Radiused scallops to facilitate pinch gripping the blade:
Flat ground blade to nearly a zero edge, like the classic era, forged blade Lambsfoots. It's ten thou of an inch, or 0.25mm thick behind the edge. Full swedge to reduce spine width:
Deep cryo'd D2 tool steel:
Did you put a handle on the "mule" as well? You could turn it into a matching Ettrick.
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2016
- Messages
- 2,536
Wow Chin! Fantastic design and execution. Thanks for sharing the story and the pictures from start to finish.
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
- Messages
- 1,291
Thanks so much for the kind compliments, my friends.
Yes, it goes without saying, I'm really looking forward to using this one more fully.
That's a great idea, r8shell, and I wish I had it at the time, when I had access to Christian's grinders!
If by a 'handle' you mean, crudely wrapped with paracord, so I could hold onto it while I sharpened it, then yes. But I removed it shortly after, as it looked embarassing next to the other knife, LOL!
I'm still having fun thinking what to do with the mule to get it in shape as a test blade. But it's fully heat treated and hardened now, so it would take quite a while to do anything but minimal regrinding using just my benchstones and hand sanding it. I think the D2 would blunt a file quite fast. But I really like the idea of a similar treatment of an Ettrick, maybe with handles slabbed out of Sambar antler tips.
At the moment, the truncated blade looks like a rather worn Lambsfoot, on the way to becoming a spey. But it might be interesting to see how it goes with that little hint of belly.
----------
Regarding the finished fixed blade Lambsfoot: I was looking at place names or landscape features in Sheffield or Yorkshire to go with a name for this model.
Or maybe just the 'WoodsWalker'...
I like the 'Endcliffe Lambsfoot' too, after the woods near Sheffield, but I'd just have to OK that with Paul (pmew), as I recall he suggested 'Endcliffe' as the name of the forum knife last year.
Yes, it goes without saying, I'm really looking forward to using this one more fully.
Wow! That is amazing. I'm very impressed!
Did you put a handle on the "mule" as well? You could turn it into a matching Ettrick.
That's a great idea, r8shell, and I wish I had it at the time, when I had access to Christian's grinders!
If by a 'handle' you mean, crudely wrapped with paracord, so I could hold onto it while I sharpened it, then yes. But I removed it shortly after, as it looked embarassing next to the other knife, LOL!
I'm still having fun thinking what to do with the mule to get it in shape as a test blade. But it's fully heat treated and hardened now, so it would take quite a while to do anything but minimal regrinding using just my benchstones and hand sanding it. I think the D2 would blunt a file quite fast. But I really like the idea of a similar treatment of an Ettrick, maybe with handles slabbed out of Sambar antler tips.
At the moment, the truncated blade looks like a rather worn Lambsfoot, on the way to becoming a spey. But it might be interesting to see how it goes with that little hint of belly.
----------
Regarding the finished fixed blade Lambsfoot: I was looking at place names or landscape features in Sheffield or Yorkshire to go with a name for this model.
Or maybe just the 'WoodsWalker'...
I like the 'Endcliffe Lambsfoot' too, after the woods near Sheffield, but I'd just have to OK that with Paul (pmew), as I recall he suggested 'Endcliffe' as the name of the forum knife last year.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
- Messages
- 1,291
It does do the descriptive bit, as a fixed blade it becomes a leg rather than a foot, and the shape at the butt end (which I think is really going to make this brilliant for a lot of tasks, btw) is somewhat like a joint of mutton....
It has that certain ring to it, hey.
Last edited:
r8shell
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2010
- Messages
- 23,994
I've heard a knife referred to as a "shank", but that's not usually meant as a compliment...
A muttonshank. I kinda like that even better!I've heard a knife referred to as a "shank", but that's not usually meant as a compliment...
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
- Messages
- 1,291
The Lambshank!
On second thoughts, might give the wrong idea!
On second thoughts, might give the wrong idea!
Perhaps, but it does sound the best so far.
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,217
Last edited:
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2005
- Messages
- 65,542
Regarding the finished fixed blade Lambsfoot: I was looking at place names or landscape features in Sheffield or Yorkshire to go with a name for this model.
Or maybe just the 'Woodswalker'...
I like the 'Endcliffe Lambsfoot' too, after the woods near Sheffield, but I'd just have to OK that with Paul (pmew), as I recall he suggested 'Endcliffe' as the name of the forum knife last year.
I walked through Endcliffe Woods with Herder
In the days before TVs, every adult had a party-trick (some of us still do), and my grandfather's rather lacklustre contribution was titled 'Sheep on Hallam Moor'...
'Baaaaa'
He never was much good at party-tricks that Granddad (the other one could still do hand-stands into his 70's)!
Hallam Moor is the source of the River Porter, and takes it's name from the ancient name for the Sheffield area - Hallamshire.
A name will come Chin, give it a while
Will Power
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2007
- Messages
- 31,505
Great event Chin, looks in fine fettle too so why not The Fettler? Very good quality and finish, that's the mark of a really fine knife in my view.
Very good quality and finish, that's the mark of a really fine knife in my view.
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
- Messages
- 1,291
Thanks for the kind words Spycycle, Tom and Will, my friends.
Spycycle: Both blades have given me a couple of little lovebites already, while assessing sharpness with my fingertips.
At the moment I'm running the 'Lambshank' and mule with a coarser grit edge, very lightly stropped a few times on 3 and 1 micron diamond pasted smooth side leather. Both blades pop arm hair with alacrity, but still have that 'aggressive' micro-serrated, bitey kind of feel in paper and cardboard. (I've sliced through all the stray cardboard in the house, it seems.)
This steel in this geometry and heat treat is a very impressive cutter, and still sharpens and takes light stropping very nicely too, with the abrasives I use.
Tom, it's amazing what can be done with a fully equipped shop with grinding platens and jigs, and flat discs, and precise heat treating equipment and protocols. It was a heady, almost intoxicating feeling to look at a sheet or billet of fine steel before you, and realise you could scribe out and make almost any knife concept you want.
But make no mistake, pretty much all the fine, symmetrical hand grinding of the swedges and handle shaping was done by Christian's practised hands. I did the design, some of the rough grinding and the sharpening and finishing - and a lot of learning and asking questions.
I'd love to eventually build up to having that setup and making some more variant models, but I'm solidly in the hobbyist, hand sharpener, and student of edge tool history category, at the moment.
Thanks Will, I like that suggestion, my friend. There's some interesting meanings for 'Fettler' I've just been reading about. I especially like the root word, Fetlen, from Middle English for 'to shape, prepare, make ready' apparently. Definitely one for the short list!
Nice one, Jack, and sound advice, my friend.
Hallam is also an industrial suburb in the east of Melbourne.
I must admit, I'm warming to the 'Lambshank' as a nickname.
I was chuckling, thinking of the name 'The Crookes and Hallam Lambshank'...
Spycycle: Both blades have given me a couple of little lovebites already, while assessing sharpness with my fingertips.
At the moment I'm running the 'Lambshank' and mule with a coarser grit edge, very lightly stropped a few times on 3 and 1 micron diamond pasted smooth side leather. Both blades pop arm hair with alacrity, but still have that 'aggressive' micro-serrated, bitey kind of feel in paper and cardboard. (I've sliced through all the stray cardboard in the house, it seems.)
This steel in this geometry and heat treat is a very impressive cutter, and still sharpens and takes light stropping very nicely too, with the abrasives I use.
Tom, it's amazing what can be done with a fully equipped shop with grinding platens and jigs, and flat discs, and precise heat treating equipment and protocols. It was a heady, almost intoxicating feeling to look at a sheet or billet of fine steel before you, and realise you could scribe out and make almost any knife concept you want.
But make no mistake, pretty much all the fine, symmetrical hand grinding of the swedges and handle shaping was done by Christian's practised hands. I did the design, some of the rough grinding and the sharpening and finishing - and a lot of learning and asking questions.
I'd love to eventually build up to having that setup and making some more variant models, but I'm solidly in the hobbyist, hand sharpener, and student of edge tool history category, at the moment.
Great event Chin, looks in fine fettle too so why not The Fettler?
Thanks Will, I like that suggestion, my friend. There's some interesting meanings for 'Fettler' I've just been reading about. I especially like the root word, Fetlen, from Middle English for 'to shape, prepare, make ready' apparently. Definitely one for the short list!
I walked through Endcliffe Woods with Herder
In the days before TVs, every adult had a party-trick (some of us still do), and my grandfather's rather lacklustre contribution was titled 'Sheep on Hallam Moor'...
'Baaaaa'
He never was much good at party-tricks that Granddad (the other one could still do hand-stands into his 70's)!
Hallam Moor is the source of the River Porter, and takes it's name from the ancient name for the Sheffield area - Hallamshire.
A name will come Chin, give it a while
Nice one, Jack, and sound advice, my friend.
Hallam is also an industrial suburb in the east of Melbourne.
I must admit, I'm warming to the 'Lambshank' as a nickname.
I was chuckling, thinking of the name 'The Crookes and Hallam Lambshank'...
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2014
- Messages
- 127
Your knife is beautiful. And I like all the names.
But I would name it the Guardian, after this thread.
But I would name it the Guardian, after this thread.