Eponymous Blades

[WhittlinAway]

The other day I posted in the Guardians of the Lambfoot thread noting that Lambfoot refers both to a pattern (i.e., the Classic Sheffield Lambfoot that we so often see here, often adorned with a "REAL LAMB FOOT" etch or stamp) and the shape of that pattern's main blade. I wondered there whether it was unique in that regard and, with the help of @5K Qs, @Jack Black, kamagong , and @Cambertree, two other examples were quickly identified: the Wharncliffe and the Ettrick.

I realized this morning that all three of these examples are (1) of British origin and (2) have straight-edges blades. Perhaps they are coincidences, but I find these commonalities fascinating.

I thought I'd open up a new thread for discussion. I'm curious whether there are other traditional folder patterns that lend their name to their main blade. I'm also curious whether folks have examples of non-Ettrick folders that sport an Ettrick blade.

And, of course, feel free to share photos of your examples of these patterns and their eponymous blades.

 

[WhittlinAway]

A lambsfoot knife and a barlow knife with a lambsfoot blade:

 

[r8shell]

What about a Pruner? I think a pruner is a hawkbill shaped blade; often, but not always, on a swayback frame. (the company that sells A.Wright Lambsfoot knives refers to a "pruner handle". I've never heard that anywhere else, and sure does confuse things:

A Lambsfoot and a Pruner, both on swayback frames:

The bottom knife is a pruner on a straight handle:

 

[Prester John]

The other day I posted in the Guardians of the Lambfoot thread noting that Lambfoot refers both to a pattern (i.e., the Classic Sheffield Lambfoot that we so often see here, often adorned with a "REAL LAMB FOOT" etch or stamp) and the shape of that pattern's main blade. I wondered there whether it was unique in that regard and, with the help of @5K Qs, @Jack Black, kamagong , and @Cambertree, two other examples were quickly identified: the Wharncliffe and the Ettrick.

I realized this morning that all three of these examples are (1) of British origin and (2) have straight-edges blades. Perhaps they are coincidences, but I find these commonalities fascinating.

I thought I'd open up a new thread for discussion. I'm curious whether there are other traditional folder patterns that lend their name to their main blade. I'm also curious whether folks have examples of non-Ettrick folders that sport an Ettrick blade.

And, of course, feel free to share photos of your examples of these patterns and their eponymous blades.

Doesn't "sheepsfoot" qualify? Not on a stockman, but if by itself, like the 2019 forum knife.

 

[kamagong]

Hawkbill perhaps?

 

[Modoc ED]

Doesn't "sheepsfoot" qualify? Not on a stockman, but if by itself, like the 2019 forum knife.

Yes Vince, I think Sheepfoot would apply such as this single blade Sheepfoot knife.

Some might say; Oh, a Halfhawk or Loom Fixer but no, a Halfhawk or Loom Fixer have a second blade, which most of the time is a pen blade.

 

[WhittlinAway]

What about a Pruner? I think a pruner is a hawkbill shaped blade; often, but not always, on a swayback frame. (the company that sells A.Wright Lambsfoot knives refers to a "pruner handle". I've never heard that anywhere else, and sure does confuse things:

A Lambsfoot and a Pruner, both on swayback frames:

The bottom knife is a pruner on a straight handle:

Hawkbill perhaps?

Yup, those work. Question: are Pruner and Hawkbill synonymous, or is there a distinction between the two?

Doesn't "sheepsfoot" qualify? Not on a stockman, but if by itself, like the 2019 forum knife.

I was actually wondering that myself...

Yes Vince, I think Sheepfoot would apply such as this single blade Sheepfoot knife.

Some might say; Oh, a Halfhawk or Loom Fixer but no, a Halfhawk or Loom Fixer have a second blade, which most of the time is a pen blade.

... thanks for answering, ED.

 

[redsparrow]

Seems GEC's Rams Foot qualifies as an eponymous blade.

 

[hornetguy]

There's always the "pen" blade... in the pen knife? Am I on the right track?

 

[WhittlinAway]

Seems GEC's Rams Foot qualifies as an eponymous blade.

Yup. They call it a "Ram's Foot Knife" and say it has a "Ram Foot" blade, so that would fit the criteria.

There's always the "pen" blade... in the pen knife? Am I on the right track?

Oh, that's an interesting one! My only quibble is that I don't really think of "pen knife" being a distinct pattern, but rather a class of patterns. The nice thing about the other examples so far is that they all evoke a mental image of a single pattern. If you say "Lambsfoot knife" or "Wharncliffe knife" (or even "Ram's Foot Knife"), you can pretty much guess that's what the hearer will imagine. I don't think that holds for "pen knife".

But, probably all of the knives you'd picture would have a pen blade. And, I'd be willing to believe that the pen blade began as the blade of a pen knife. So let's go with it.

Out of curiosity, I wonder whether any classic examples of pen knives where made without pen blades...

 

[I'mSoSharp]

.

 

[Modoc ED]

Here are two knives to illustrate a point.

A Case 61011 Pruner Knife/Curved Jack along with a 6217 Halfhawk/Loom Fixer/Curved Jack

Case simply cut off the bill of the pruner thereby making a sheepfoot blade but you can't call the new knife a sheepfoot knife because they added a pen blade to the knife that is now referred to as a halfhawk or loom fixer.

In actuality, both knives are curved jacks with different blade configurations.

Manufactures now a days call most any knife what they like thereby leaving tradition in the dust. An example of that is GEC's new Ram's Foot knife. Their designation for the knife is 933119. Their use of their blade code 3 which stands for sheepfoot just goes to show that they have no problem taking an arbitrary name (Ram's Foot) out of the air to substitute it for a more traditional name (Sheepfoot). Nothing wrong with that - I'm just using this to make an example. The 933119 too is a curved jack.

Anyway, that's my .02¢ so I'm gonna maybe take a nap.

 

[WhittlinAway]

Interesting points, Modoc ED . To make sure I understand, would you also refer to the Sheepsfoot Knife you showed above and a Lambsfoot as curved jacks?

Regarding the Ram's Foot, I don't own one, so I cannot say from direct experience, but the blade always looks to me in pictures to be an anti-lambsfoot in that it gets wider as it approaches the tip rather than more narrow. If that's indeed the case, and the hallmark of a sheepsfoot is a parallel edge and spine, then I'd say it's a distinct blade type. If that's the case, I'd agree with you that a new blade code would have been warranted. I am also unaware of whether there's an example of that blade shape being called something else historically or if this is a new thing.

I appreciate your two cents. A nap sounds good. Maybe we can continue the discussion later.

 

[Hickory n steel]

A fish knife maybe .

 

[Modoc ED]

Interesting points, Modoc ED . To make sure I understand, would you also refer to the Sheepsfoot Knife you showed above and a Lambsfoot as curved jacks?

Regarding the Ram's Foot, I don't own one, so I cannot say from direct experience, but the blade always looks to me in pictures to be an anti-lambsfoot in that it gets wider as it approaches the tip rather than more narrow. If that's indeed the case, and the hallmark of a sheepsfoot is a parallel edge and spine, then I'd say it's a distinct blade type. If that's the case, I'd agree with you that a new blade code would have been warranted. I am also unaware of whether there's an example of that blade shape being called something else historically or if this is a new thing.

I appreciate your two cents. A nap sounds good. Maybe we can continue the discussion later.

Yes, the sheepfoot knife I showed and almost all lambfoot knives are curved jacks .

It is not unusual for a sheepfoot blace to flare/widen at the tip/end of the blade.

See how the blade flares on this Case 1199

And see how it flares on this Otter-Messer

A new blade code was not necessary as they do use sheepfoot blades on other knives. They only chose to apply another name for their sheepfoot blade when they released the #93.

 

[WhittlinAway]

Yes, the sheepfoot knife I showed and almost all lambfoot knives are curved jacks .

It is not unusual for a sheepfoot blace to flare/widen at the tip/end of the blade.

Thanks. And, I stand corrected. Thanks for the edification.

Edit: ... and I concede the point about the Ram's Foot Knive's blade.

 

[Will Power]

It's late and insomnia is clutching me so I might be incoherent You asked if Ettricks had a non Etrrick blade? I tend to define Ettrick by the type of handle and having a small blade, mostly a small Wharncliffe but Ablett did some of his with small curved Pruner blades.

Interesting r8shell you show a straight framed Pruner, not seen that before(apart from SAK multis) Pruners tend to be on curved/Swayback frames and for good reason-ergonomics.

 

[Will Power]

Cotton Samplers always have this distinctive blade but I don't think the blade is referred to as a Cotton Sampler. Perhaps the same with Melon Testers too or Doctor's knives?