Your threads make me interested in Sheffield Lambsfoot knives Jack, but I wouldn't have a clue as to who makes a good one now. I saw an Arthur Wright Lambsfoot Senator in snakewood that looks beautiful, but I'm afraid of taking a chance having read not so complementary reviews of Wright knives over on British Blades.
I had a nice little Taylor's Eye Witness Barlow clip with wood handles that I traded with Sitflyer. He made it look a million bucks and sent it back to me for one of my Scouts who now carries it proudly!
Love the mellow look of the stag on your knife, just beautiful :thumbup:
I know exactly what you mean, the quality of Sheffield knives has been hit and miss (at best) for decades, and that Senator isn't cheap is it? Some of the remaining cutlers seem to think they can charge fancy prices for their knives now without in any way upping quality. I was talking to a woman in Sheffield recently, who worked for one of the few remaining cutlery retailers, and I had to laugh and shake my head at the prices they were charging for the knives they had on display. She told me that their main customers are Japanese tourists, who it seems to me are being conned into buying over-priced knives that trade on reputations made by the city's great-grandfather's. The place was selling Eggington Group 'Wostenholm' bowies for huge prices when those knives used to sell for peanuts (which is all they're worth). They're sold on the back of a load of quasi-historical nonsense relating to Jim Bowie, and I have to confess I had a part in that.
Years ago, when the Eggington Group couldnt have marketed water in the desert, a smarter man called Colin Pearce, who had a company called Attleborough Gun Accesories, whod previously mainly sold Brusletto knives, decided to start selling a few Sheffield fixed-blades. Since we were friends, he sent me one of the first batch of short bowies he got from the company, which were only good as letter-openers. The knife carried one of the other old Sheffield marks they picked up when Richards had finished despoiling them. Since I knew they owned the Wostenholm mark, I remarked that I was surprised that they weren't using it on the bowies. I recounted an old legend I'd read in one of the
Knives annuals about an old knife blade that had been traded for a piece of land many years ago, and the Mexican people who owned it reckoned it had originally come from the site of the Alamo, it was made by George Wostenholm . Whether that tale is true or not I dont know, but Colin had a load of bowies made up with the Wostenholm name on and they sold like hot-cakes. Now the story has been considerably embellished by the owners of the Wostenholm name to the extent that people are being sold the original Jim Bowie knife! Theyve made thousands out of it, and I wish Id kept my big mouth shut!
I used to live near the Taylor's factory, I like their kitchen knives, and I've always thought of them as one of Sheffield's better manufacturers, even if some of their pocketknives have got a little pricey for what they are.
Trevor Ablett is another local feller who's turning out traditional patterns. They're machine-ground blades with the knives finished by hand (and sold as handmade knives - not I think dishonestly on Trevor's part - I just don't think many Sheffield cutlers know the meaning of the word 'handmade'). I might pick one of those up while he's still working. If I do purchase a contemporary Sheffield-made knife though, I think I'm going to go down to wherever they're made and at least pick one out for myself, and if I had a choice I'd pick out the steel and heat-treatment for myself too!
