Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

Leslie Tomville said:

It is great the way they all collaborate and help each other in Sheffield. Hopefully, that the golden age of folding knives we are experiencing in the US will spread to the UK and Sheffield. It seems like they are capable of much more creativity if the market would develop. That’s why Michael’s artistic license does not bother me that much. It is either develop or die in this world. Would love to see a photo of a Jack Black knife!

Click to expand...

It's certainly not always been like that unfortunately Leslie. Old cutlers will tell you how prices were so low they all ended up undercutting each other. I would love to see the spread of that golden age to Sheffield, but it's probably too late in the day for that. The sort of practices I'd like to see develop are things like better steels, better HT, and better QC, as well as greater skill among working cutlers.

I'll have to try and find a link to another thread or PM you that Leslie, not a Lambsfoot unfortunately

I just had a nice call from John Maleham at Arthur Wright's to wish me all the best for the holidays. They finish at Wright's now until the new year. But there is some new super horn on the way... Personally, I'm hoping for more of the red stuff like this

Jack Black said:

Jack Black Knives was a long time ago...

View attachment 816611

Click to expand...

Jack Black said:

Very nice, my friend Yes, I can see how time would be referred to like that. Even here in Britain, time was only standardised when the railroads came, and the main purpose of the 1870 Compulsory Education Act was disciplining workers in terms of time (and their 'place'). Since the Little Mesters of Sheffield were, to a large extent, self-employed, 'time-discipline' never really worked, and 'Saint's Day' practices continued into living memory, with work being task-focused rather than time-focused, much as it was with farmers and agricultural workers

It is much the same here with regard to carry. While reverse onus is not yet enshrined in law, it is certainly enshrined in practice

Always a treat to see your well-used ebony Lambsfoot

Click to expand...

Cheers my friend.

Great pics too. I wonder what tool steel Mr Shaw uses for the stamps?

I was fascinated to read about the St. Monday practice, and have certainly known a couple of people who would have been devout St. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday men!

I've been curious to ask you before too: is the Phoenix depicted in your makers mark, a nod to your Irish heritage?

Cambertree said:

Cheers my friend.

Great pics too. I wonder what tool steel Mr Shaw uses for the stamps?

I was fascinated to read about the St. Monday practice, and have certainly known a couple of people who would have been devout St. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday men!

I've been curious to ask you before too: is the Phoenix depicted in your makers mark, a nod to your Irish heritage?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what steel he uses actually, but John Maleham may know.

Yes, me too mate! Historically, Sheffield is supposed to have had more pubs and ale-houses, per head of population, than any other place in the country!

When I was a boy, up to about the age of 10, my paternal grandparents lived in a small terraced house on a cobbled street. It was classified as a slum, and torn down as one under the British Slum Clearance Act. At the time, they had two adult sons, a teenage son, and two daughters. The house was so small, one of my aunties used to have to sleep in my great-grandmother's house two doors down. The living room, which Sheffield people call the 'house', was small and crowded, there were a few fading photographs, but very few ornaments, if any. In the corner of the room, against the wall, was a small table, on which my grandmother would leave bread to rise. Under the table was my Khukri knife and a couple of WW1 bayonets. An old sideboard next to it was full of all sorts of uncared-for junk - books and a few lead toys from my father's childhood, the war medals and insignia of various family members, my uncle's old sailor's hat, old penknives, catapults, etc. There was no reverence for any of this stuff, and it was just given to me to play with. Along with the various buttons and badges, I found a wee medal or pocket-watch fob, and it was one of the few things which survived with me to adulthood, stuck in a box or drawer at my parents house. It was actually made of hallmarked silver, with the face beautifully enamelled in red, blue, and white. It had the phoenix, as above, and if I remember correctly, the legend, 'British Iron & Steel Confederation'. Where it came from I have no idea, but when I set up my company Jack Black Knives, with the hope of making decent knives in Sheffield, something which certainly wasn't happening there in the 90's, I thought the phoenix would make a nice symbol, and got my brother to reproduce the symbol from the old silver fob. Sadly, I no longer have the fob, and 'Jack Black Knives' is just a minor episode in 20th century Sheffield cutlery history. The few knives produced at Portland Works however, are well-loved by the small number of people who have them, and others certainly benefited from the project, including other Sheffield cutlers.

I had a call from Paul Iseard at The Famous Sheffield Shop earlier, and during our conversation he told me that Michael May had recently, (December 14th I think), become the father of a baby girl

View attachment 816724

That explains why Michael has not responded to my email about a new Lambsfoot. I guess having a child is a good enough excuse.

Jack, if Wright’s is getting in some special golden red horn, does that mean a new Guardian Knife? I missed the last one and would love to participate this time. Could I be so bold as to suggest a pruner handle this time as a change of pace?

Also Jack, I really enjoyed the story about the origination of your beautiful maker’s mark. Very interesting. Please send a link to view one of your creations.

Leslie Tomville said:

View attachment 816724

That explains why Michael has not responded to my email about a new Lambsfoot. I guess having a child is a good enough excuse.

Jack, if Wright’s is getting in some special golden red horn, does that mean a new Guardian Knife? I missed the last one and would love to participate this time. Could I be so bold as to suggest a pruner handle this time as a change of pace?

Click to expand...

Is that the knife you're after Leslie? Nice covers, but it doesn't look very Lamby, perhaps the photograph is deceiving?

Certainly, and this is a busy period for most of us I know that cutlers get inundated with requests for Xmas knives. I'm sure he has his hands full anyway

I'm not actually sure what colour the horn will be. I do hope to get my hands on some of it - in Lambsfoot form! I certainly hope to do another Guardians edition next year, but straight after Xmas might be a bit early in the year for that, and I would hope to make it a little different to this year's. If you PM me your email address Leslie, I'll be sure to add you to my email list for future projects. The last one did have a Pruner handle (as Wright's/TFSS call it), ie a Swayback frame

Leslie Tomville said:

Also Jack, I really enjoyed the story about the origination of your beautiful maker’s mark. Very interesting. Please send a link to view one of your creations.

Click to expand...

Thank you, it was a long-winded explanation I'll have to see what I can find with the forum search function. Other forums have had whole threads about those knives

Just munching a festive mince-pie, and it made me think of the giveaway I'll probably draw it on Boxing Day - the 26th, so please throw your hat in if you are eligible. Details are in my original post (link in my sig line). Prize is this A.Wright Lambsfoot in Sambar :



Or if you want to go large, you can have this 'second'

Jack, I believe that one is a Lambsfoot. I would not dare to make the same mistake twice in my first week of posting. (Just kidding!). Michael seems to modify the end of the blades in a way that make them look similar to his Sheepsfoot. But if you look at the tang stamp it appears to be one of Wright’s with their generic Sheffield stamp. That knife is similar to what I would like for Michael to make for me, but without the modified blade. I do like the look of that Ram’s horn though. He also has great looking woods that interest me as well.

I really wish I would’ve been around when these were being done.

Whoever is in charge, or able, I have my memership ‘donation’ ready to apply. I would love to be part of this club.

I’ve always tried to pass on, sell for cost, and take care of others concerning knives - I will be an honorable custodian of such a club’s knife. I am also enamored by the club’s pocket sheath. Instead of staring, I’d thought I’d ask to be a member.

A big thanks to Jack Black for being a proper “Guardian of the Lambsfoot” and sharing his county’s knives with others. @mrknife thanks for your efforts, as well. I enjoy coming out here to see, however, I really would like to participate. There’s so many pages, if I missed something for membership, please, excuse me, for not catching that detail.

Lovely, lovely, knives, everyone.

Leslie Tomville said:

Jack, I believe that one is a Lambsfoot. I would not dare to make the same mistake twice in my first week of posting. (Just kidding!). Michael seems to modify the end of the blades in a way that make them look similar to his Sheepsfoot. But if you look at the tang stamp it appears to be one of Wright’s with their generic Sheffield stamp. That knife is similar to what I would like for Michael to make for me, but without the modified blade. I do like the look of that Ram’s horn though. He also has great looking woods that interest me as well.

Click to expand...

Thanks Leslie I was just looking on his site, some of those reground Lambsfoot blades look a bit 'stubby' in my opinion, and more akin to a Sheepsfoot. Again, maybe it is the camera angles to some extent, but I'm not sure the modification is a good one. I think you're right to stick with a standard blade. I remember having a Sheepsfoot which Trevor Ablett rounded like that, he softened the blade though Yes, the horn looks very good, and the wood too, and the prices on his site are fair I think. TEW use some Ram's horn, but their blades are all stainless. I would like to maybe get some knives made up using exterior Sheep's horn, like this



All joking aside Leslie, it's good to have you here

HST said:

I really wish I would’ve been around when these were being done.

Whoever is in charge, or able, I have my memership ‘donation’ ready to apply. I would love to be part of this club.

I’ve always tried to pass on, sell for cost, and take care of others concerning knives - I will be an honorable custodian of such a club’s knife. I am also enamored by the club’s pocket sheath. Instead of staring, I’d thought I’d ask to be a member.

A big thanks to Jack Black for being a proper “Guardian of the Lambsfoot” and sharing his county’s knives with others. @mrknife thanks for your efforts, as well. I enjoy coming out here to see, however, I really would like to participate. There’s so many pages, if I missed something for membership, please, excuse me, for not catching that detail.

Lovely, lovely, knives, everyone.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for your interest The Guardians Lambsfoot was a very limited run, but hopefully we can have another club knife next year. If you PM me your email address, I'll add you to my email list for when that time comes. If you do get the time, this thread is well worth a read through, and we'll soon have an index to make it easier to find specific content. There are lots of great 'standard' Lambsfoot knives available, and you'll find many examples of them in this thread. Please feel free to PM me if I can help with obtaining one, and I'm sure that many of our other members will be equally happy to help. If you do decide to pick up a Lambsfoot, please come back and show it here. Then you're in

My, my, this thread has been busy! Been difficult to keep up with all my favorite spots with work, holidays, and such. @WhittlinAway Greg, I applaud your indexing efforts and I apologize for not offering to help sooner. You and your work are a great asset to this thread and our fellow Guardians. I cannot realistically commit to lending aid to your project until after the new year due to work and family obligations but if there is still work needed then, I will do my best to throw myself into it and help get this squared away.

Cambertree Chin, great to see you back. It is absolutely wonderful to hear of your adventures, hopefully you can get your phone situation squared away with little fuss. I also empathize with you in regards to your country's rather draconian approach to knife ownership and use. I think we here in the states often forget that the freedoms most of us enjoy are limited to the scope of our borders and it can be rather easy for us to take them for granted. We can always hope for a day when more sensible men and women take office and stump for more positive changes when it comes to knife laws and beyond.

Jack Black said:

Thanks Leslie I was just looking on his site, some of those reground Lambsfoot blades look a bit 'stubby' in my opinion, and more akin to a Sheepsfoot. Again, maybe it is the camera angles to some extent, but I'm not sure the modification is a good one. I think you're right to stick with a standard blade. I remember having a Sheepsfoot which Trevor Ablett rounded like that, he softened the blade though Yes, the horn looks very good, and the wood too, and the prices on his site are fair I think. TEW use some Ram's horn, but their blades are all stainless. I would like to maybe get some knives made up using exterior Sheep's horn, like this

All joking aside Leslie, it's good to have you here

Click to expand...

Jack, it has been wonderful reading through your posts here. The connections you have made, your knife making endeavors, and the story behind your avatar image have all made for some good reading on a somewhat slow Wednesday afternoon. If you are able to secure Sheep's horn as a cover for a future run of knives, you have my full and enthusiastic support (for whatever that is worth ). I am having one of my lambsfoot knives (the one with the badly shrunken horn) re-covered and Sheep/Ram's horn was an option I was considering until I discovered how expensive a material it is over here. I selected something different which I will remain mum about until it is finished, it will be nice surprise.

Recycled pic, I think, of my Ebony Lambsfoot (pile side)

Pàdruig said:

My, my, this thread has been busy! Been difficult to keep up with all my favorite spots with work, holidays, and such. @WhittlinAway Greg, I applaud your indexing efforts and I apologize for not offering to help sooner. You and your work are a great asset to this thread and our fellow Guardians. I cannot realistically commit to lending aid to your project until after the new year due to work and family obligations but if there is still work needed then, I will do my best to throw myself into it and help get this squared away.

Cambertree Chin, great to see you back. It is absolutely wonderful to hear of your adventures, hopefully you can get your phone situation squared away with little fuss. I also empathize with you in regards to your country's rather draconian approach to knife ownership and use. I think we here in the states often forget that the freedoms most of us enjoy are limited to the scope of our borders and it can be rather easy for us to take them for granted. We can always hope for a day when more sensible men and women take office and stump for more positive changes when it comes to knife laws and beyond.



Jack, it has been wonderful reading through your posts here. The connections you have made, your knife making endeavors, and the story behind your avatar image have all made for some good reading on a somewhat slow Wednesday afternoon. If you are able to secure Sheep's horn as a cover for a future run of knives, you have my full and enthusiastic support (for whatever that is worth ). I am having one of my lambsfoot knives (the one with the badly shrunken horn) re-covered and Sheep/Ram's horn was an option I was considering until I discovered how expensive a material it is over here. I selected something different which I will remain mum about until it is finished, it will be nice surprise.

Recycled pic, I think, of my Ebony Lambsfoot (pile side)

Click to expand...

Good to see you here Dylan, and thanks for the kind words my friend I am looking forward to seeing your re-covered Lambsfoot. The pic of those Sheep's Horn covers is actually taken from a US site - http://www.knifehandles.com/sheep-horn - I'd be happy to pay $8 for them. In fact, I'd love to get some shipped over to see if Wright's can work with them Cool pic of your ebony Lambsfoot there

Jack Black said:

Good to see you here Dylan, and thanks for the kind words my friend I am looking forward to seeing your re-covered Lambsfoot. The pic of those Sheep's Horn covers is actually taken from a US site - http://www.knifehandles.com/sheep-horn - I'd be happy to pay $8 for them. In fact, I'd love to get some shipped over to see if Wright's can work with them Cool pic of your ebony Lambsfoot there

Click to expand...

Oh, that's interesting. I can't recall the website where I had priced the sheep's horn I was looking at but they were going for around $60 for a set! $8 is far more reasonable.

Pàdruig said:

Oh, that's interesting. I can't recall the website where I had priced the sheep's horn I was looking at but they were going for around $60 for a set! $8 is far more reasonable.

Click to expand...

Yeah, definitely! I've no experience of dealing with them. Wright's have tried using domestic ram's horn in the past, but found it difficult to work with because the top layer can flake off. With a custom knife, you'd build that into the cost, but with Wright's prices, I can understand why they are wary of it, you'd end up with too many 'wasters'. Buying in ready-made covers might be a solution, but I'd need to buy a few to try first, and then persuade them to experiment. I do think some ovine horn would be cool on a Lambsfoot. I know TEW use it on some of their high-end (Russell White) knives, and Michael May is using it, but in this case the horn is polished, and while it looks attractive, I think the exterior horn could look really special

Forgive the recycled photo but I've had my Ebony Lambsfoot in my daily carries!

Jack, exterior ram’s horn would be a great selection. My collection is lacking a knife with that cover, and I have been looking for one. Dave Ferry of Horsewright Knives often pops up in the traditional forum. He makes top notch western fixed blades and leather sheaths. He often uses ram’s horn, and I bet would have much helpful advice. What better blade for such a knife than a Lambsfoot?There, now that is settled. I will pm my email, once I figure out how to do that! Thanks for the information you forwarded. I have not had a chance to read it yet, but I look forward to it and will get back to you.

Jack Black said:

Just munching a festive mince-pie, and it made me think of the giveaway I'll probably draw it on Boxing Day - the 26th, so please throw your hat in if you are eligible.

Click to expand...