Arthur Wright & Son, Sheffield: Quality of six knives received in 2022 - happy customer

L Luke_Chambers , thank you so much for bringing this interview to our attention. I have purchased a few knives direct from Ashley by way of his Instagram , Ashley harrison. Each one was perfect. He is a talented craftsman. He is also a great person, and that comes across clear as a bell in the video.

In these threads we go on and on about the history and tradition of the knives we collect. Well, here is someone who embodies and honors that history as much as anyone and far more than most. He deserves our support.

Ashley’s father owns Arthur Wright and Son. Ashley works for Wright, but he also makes custom knives in his spare time. It is important to understand this distinction. Ashley’s knives are made better than those produced by the firm. He only charges a bit more which makes them an incredible value. I view the firm’s knives as rough made users intended for hard work. Ashley’s knives are much more of the quality to which we are accustomed while still being just as tough. I have found them to be equivalent to GEC knives but at a much lower price.

Ashley Harrison is humble, hardworking, and incredibly talented. He is a credit to his craft and country.
 
Very interesting interview with Ashley Harrison.
I particularly like that at the 56:14 mark, he refers to the Lamb Foot knife.
NOT "Lambsfoot". But what does he know? Ashley Harrison only represents 4 generations in the Sheffield Cutlery industry. :D
... and with his own hands, personally produces many fine Lamb Foot knives.
 
BrotherJim said:
Very interesting interview with Ashley Harrison.
I particularly like that at the 56:14 mark, he refers to the Lamb Foot knife.
NOT "Lambsfoot". But what does he know? Ashley Harrison only represents 4 generations in the Sheffield Cutlery industry. :D
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But he repeatedly refers to it as a Lambsfoot until then 😒 And that's what he's called it on every one of the scores of occasions when we've talked in person, obviously, as his father does, and every other Sheffield cutler.
 
Where in the interview does Ashley Harrison refer to it as a "Lambsfoot"?
And can you produce one single image of a knife blade produced by a Sheffield cutler in the last 100yrs that is etched or stamped with REAL LAMBSFOOT?
 
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BrotherJim said:
Where in the interview does Ashley Harrison refer to it as a "Lambsfoot"?
And can you produce one single image of a knife blade produced by a Sheffield cutler in the last 100yrs that is etched or stamped with REAL LAMBSFOOT?
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13.17.
13.21.

A knife with that blade etch was posted in the Guardians thread within the past month, (belongs to Fodderwing Fodderwing possibly?). My SFOs could have had that blade etch had I wanted them to :rolleyes:

Don't expect me to engage with you again, trying to educate you is a fool's errand, and you're simply intent on spreading ignorance about a pattern you discovered about 5 minutes ago 😣
 
Jack Black said:
Don't expect me to engage with you again, trying to educate you is a fool's errand, and you're simply intent on spreading ignorance about a pattern you discovered about 5 minutes ago 😣
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Well I don't have the depth of research into Lamb Foot knives that you have, that's for sure. Nor am I familiar with English slang. But I have owned Lamb Foot knives long before I even joined BF.
Steal from one and it's called plagiarism. Steal from many and it's called research :D

Yes I can be a bit stubborn, especially when correct. I used to be a long distance swimmer and one day decided to swim La Manche / the English Channel starting from the French side.
After hours and hours of swimming I finally got within a mile of the English shore, but suddenly realized that I didn't have enough energy left to make it all the way to the English side.
... so I turned around and swam back to France. ;)
 
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Some recent experience:
In January, I ordered
2 x Famers Blade with ebony scales. Both are very fine knives, well centered, very nice ebony, easy to open between index finger and thumb. I kept one and gave one away. Really, they were very nice and identical in quality.
3 x Spearpoint Blade with stag scales. These were a bit of a disappointment. In two cases the blade touched the liners. In two cases, the stag was very uneven, bulky on one side, thin on the other. The third knife had beautifully colored symmetrical scales. However: I wasn't able to open the knives without aid of a screwdriver or similar. So I sent them back. The seller offered to losen the blades. Some weeks later I held them in my hands, again. However, I still wasn't able to open them. So they went back a second time, for a refund.

Summary: By now I've seen 15 of Arthur Wright's traditional folders.
11 knives were nice, really nice or outstanding. Some I kept, some I gave away (all were well received), and a few surplus ones I sold. The ones I kept sit well with my other folders, all EDC, all selected for their usability and appeal.
However 4 knives I did return. Mainly it was the stag covers that were tricky.

Overall, I highly recommend this knife maker, but you can be unlucky.
 
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I'm from the UK, and have always called it "Lambsfoot". Personally "Lamb foot" doesn't roll off the tongue as easily, even though for all I know it may be the correct name for it. I do the same with "Sheepsfoot". Maybe it's a language thing and the "s" is a way of making it plural because lambs have 4 feet, or making it a possessive noun because the feet belong to the lamb. Or maybe it just flows better in sentences.

I have came across other instances like this for naming conventions of British WW2 aircraft, where in some aircraft manuals Spitfires are referred to as "Spitfire Mk IX" or sometimes "Spitfire Mk.IX" and other minor variations. We may never know the official proper name, Ashley in the video referred to both "Lambsfoot" and "Lamb foot", use whatever works for you. :)
 
Jack Black said:
The last time I had any knives from this firm was 2020. The fit and finish was terrible, off-centre blades, awful grinds, one knife had a blade so stiff I had to open it with pliers. I was their biggest customer at the time, paid extra for a higher grade of work, picked up the knives from the factory, and was assured they'd been thoroughly checked. I wouldn't buy another knife from them. Good luck if you decide to order, blind, from overseas :rolleyes:

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It's really easy to centre and sharpen a Blade though so i don't understand why people return them for something so trivial.
 
Andometto said:
I'm from the UK, and have always called it "Lambsfoot". Personally "Lamb foot" doesn't roll off the tongue as easily, even though for all I know it may be the correct name for it. I do the same with "Sheepsfoot". Maybe it's a language thing and the "s" is a way of making it plural because lambs have 4 feet, or making it a possessive noun because the feet belong to the lamb. Or maybe it just flows better in sentences.

I have came across other instances like this for naming conventions of British WW2 aircraft, where in some aircraft manuals Spitfires are referred to as "Spitfire Mk IX" or sometimes "Spitfire Mk.IX" and other minor variations. We may never know the official proper name, Ashley in the video referred to both "Lambsfoot" and "Lamb foot", use whatever works for you. :)
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They should have called it "Spitsfire" 🙂
 
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