Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[OLd_gUY]

Big’un arrived! A cool city map, postcard, keychain, pin, and coin also came along! Thanks so much, Jack!

With a fresh edge:

Now that a real prize
Grats - it's a beauty and would have been my 1st choice
OG

 

[Fodderwing]

JTB_5 That is awesome gorgeous Joshua. I love biguns.

Rest In Peace Doris. You are one of the best.

 

[OLd_gUY]

Just heard she passed away today.

RIP, Doris.

- GT

97! - She sure brought a lot of smiles into a lot of lives with her music and on the screen.
Thanks, Doris. RIP
OG

 

[cigarrodog]

Big’un arrived! A cool city map, postcard, keychain, pin, and coin also came along! Thanks so much, Jack!

With a fresh edge:

That Big’un is so nice, Joshua. Again congratulations.

 

[JTB_5]

Thanks guys! The big’un is a good size—not too big and not too small. Not as tough a pull as the 2019 Guardians, but good snap.

 

[black mamba]

Beautiful Big'n, Josh. Doris Day was one of my faves: her singing, acting, looks, morals, the whole package. She will be missed.

 

[JohnDF]

Big’un arrived! A cool city map, postcard, keychain, pin, and coin also came along! Thanks so much, Jack!

With a fresh edge:

Congratulations Joshua, it's a beautiful knife.

 

[Rusty1]

Big’un arrived! A cool city map, postcard, keychain, pin, and coin also came along! Thanks so much, Jack!

With a fresh edge:

Sweet looking horn on your Lambsfoot, love the ripples.

Russell

 

[Prester John]

Real men drink English Breakfast tea late in the evening; no sugar, no milk. Maybe two or three cups.

Then they drink whiskey.

 

[JTB_5]

Thanks Jeff, John, and Russell!

Question for those who know about horn:

If the scales are slightly separating, what can I do to either a) get them to settle back onto the liners, and/or b) prevent further separation?

 

[herder]

I thought it might be useful here to give an explanation about what the terms master cutler and Master Cutler actually mean, and meant historically. The term is sometimes used, usually laughably, by modern cutlery companies, with regard to themselves or their employees, with the implication that it implies some great talent or skill. It does not, a master cutler was simply a self-employed cutler, from which the term ‘Little Mester’ is derived. In Sheffield, the Master Cutler is an annual sobriquet given to some local big-wig by the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire. While they have not had a connection to the cutlery trade for many years, they always existed as a gaffer’s organisation, rather than a guild or trade organisation, and lowly cutlers were not admitted.

M. Hunter & Son were primarily a manufacturer of table cutlery (example shown here: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/one-for-the-mums-dads-grandparents.1192568/), and a factor of other goods. The good Professor Geoff of Tweedale traces the firm’s origins back to Michael Hunter I (1724-1771) a wealthy hardware merchant from Ecclesfield, which is close to Sheffield, but in the neighbouring county of Derbyshire. Having moved to Sheffield around 1760, he sold materials to cutlers in the town. His son, Michael Hunter II (1759-1831) was also a merchant, and involved in a series of partnerships, the last of which was dissolved in 1806, after which he seems to have traded alone. By 1811, he was listed in local trade directories as a table-knife manufacturer, with the firm expanding under his son Michael III (1800-1886) who took over the business after his father’s death in 1831. The firm was then listed at ‘Talbot Works’ on Sheldon Row in the Wicker area of Sheffield, and later in 1852, the year Michael Hunter III became Master Cutler, at ‘Talbot Works’ in nearby Andrew Street. Between 1849 and 1842 though, Hunter was a partner with Edward Gilbee, in Hunter, Son, and Gillbee, but Gillbee died in 1852.

Hunter III does not seem to have run a very happy ship, and had a particularly fractious relationship with his workforce, which apparently numbered more than a hundred in the early 1840’s. There were disputes over wages, contracts, and work practices, and in about 1850, Hunter was the first Sheffield manufacturer to introduce forging by tilt hammer (rather than by hand), with imported American machinery capable of producing a thousand table knife blades per day.

By 1861, Hunter employed 300 men, according to the census that year. He retired a decade later, leaving his son, the fourth Michael Hunter (1821-1898), as sole partner. By this time the company employed 150 men and 50 boys, probably being able to shed some of the workforce through mechanisation, which was not limited to machine forging. Michael Hunter III died in 1886, with an obituary recording a man ‘who had waged incessant war with the trades’ unions’, being ‘rough and blunt in manner’.

Hunter’s marks were the word/picture ‘Bugle’, granted in 1760; ‘Bison’ (picture), with the word ‘FUERTE’, and ‘Llama’ (picture), a mark acquired from Henry Ecroyd & Co. The company advertised a wide range of products, including table and butchers knives, razors, pen and pocket knives, sportsman’s and gardeners’ knives, and hay knives, as well as ice-skates, edge tools, and plated metal goods. However, most of these items would have been made elsewhere in Sheffield, and factored by the company, which seem to have mainly concentrated on manufacturing table cutlery.

Michael Hunter IV also became Master Cutler (1860), As well as Lord Mayor, Alderman, and JP. He died in 1898, after which the fifth Michael Hunter (1857-1926) took over the firm. It became a limited liability company in 1899. He became Master Cutler in 1903.

In the early 1900s, the firm were based in Reed Street, but seem to have been in decline by this point, with the owner perhaps losing interest in favour of enjoying his inherited wealth and country estate. By 1910, their assets had been acquired by Needham, Veall & Tyzack. Hunter’s were liquidated, but their marks were acquired by H.M Slater Ltd (after WWII according to Tweedale).

Hope that's of interest Harvey Would it be possible for you to post up some unfiltered pics of your knife?

I enjoy all of the friendly posts, but this kind of post really revs my motor.
Thanks, Jack.

 

[tmd_87]

Real men drink English Breakfast tea late in the evening; no sugar, no milk. Maybe two or three cups.

Then they drink whiskey.

Yes!

 

[tmd_87]

Big’un arrived! A cool city map, postcard, keychain, pin, and coin also came along! Thanks so much, Jack!

With a fresh edge:

Congrats!!!!

 

[Jack Black]

Nice pics guys

Another great treatise full of interesting info. Thank you


I find it fascinating to learn that about you. It must have been a time full of extremely unique and rewarding experiences, albeit as well as some frustrating ones. Livin' large, my friend . Nothing like a beautiful composed and well lit B&W. My daughter is coming for a visit and wants to make a day trip up to Yosemite. I'm planning on tagging along and I'm looking forward to stopping in at the Ansel Adams Gallery
Here's a digitized B&W of a color pic meant as a recognition to your profession
OG
View attachment 1127732

Thanks buddy, that's a great tribute pic

Thanks for such an interesting post, Jack...and as Harvey said on your phone. It would be all most impossible for me to do anything like that!

Thank you Preston I'm actually creating an internet 'hot spot' with my phone, and connecting my PC to it with Bluetooth. Fiddly, but not as fiddly as trying to do everything on my phone. I only have an 8GB data allowance though, so I need to sort out something else

I was not quite sure what you were dissapointed about. I’m interested in your response. Was it the subject matter or was it the use of filters? As for the glamor part. I really like the genre. The lighting, composition, coloring. It’s a recognized art form. It’s a way of presenting the knife, which many outside of knife enthusiasts, view as a scary object instead of as a thing of beauty. As for filters, the ones I use are digital, not physical round, ground glass.

OLd_gUY Thank you OG. It was a great time. Communicating in B&W without color is an interesting challenge, as your fine image does so well. The great Great Photographers like Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and whole slew of Life Magazine photographers, were my true teachers.

@dc50 Best of luck with your move, Dave.

I enjoy all the photos posted here, sometimes use filters myself, or at least play around with the light levels We are lucky to have such great photographers as yourself my friend

That's 'cos you never got your passport sorted



Aye, I was shocked myself when my mate told me and even more so when I turned up to see it for myself. Apparently it was all due to rent rises. Malton is changing and not for the better so it'll just end up as another coffee bar
They always had a decent selection of knives, tools and loads of other stuff you just don't find these days. And despite his slightly higher prices he was always popular; but end of an era as they say.
In better days.

That would be an infestation here. Parts of the UK have a cull on the grey squirrel as they've been destroying deciduous woodland. Good to hear you got on top of it.



Good luck with the move Dave.

Today.

LOL! I still didn't!

Yes, a real shame David The last couple of times I was in Malton, I was just passing through, but when I last visited properly, I noticed a few of the old pubs had closed. The place is definitely seeing gentrification. A good rail connection can be a curse to a small town these days, as well as a blessing

Lovely, colourful pic my friend

Jack Black - So here are the dull, dreary, and unfiltered images of the M. Hunter&Son Lambfoot. All images shot in open shade.

Size comparison with my AC.
View attachment 1127822

View attachment 1127823

View attachment 1127825

View attachment 1127826

I went inside and shot it again. I need a nap.
View attachment 1127829

View attachment 1127830

View attachment 1127831

View attachment 1127832

View attachment 1127833

View attachment 1127834

View attachment 1127835

Thank you Harvey, with the convoluted history typical to Sheffield cutlery manufacture, one can only learn so much about a knife from reading about the company whose name it bears, particularly when it comes to trying to date it. Really one needs to examine it in hand, but clear, unfiltered photos help, particularly of all parts of the knife, the joint, the blade well, etc (more convenient for discussion if they are not uploaded directly, so show as photos rather than links). My guess would be that your knife actually dates from the late 19th century, but I think it was almost certainly manufactured FOR Hunter's, by another quality Sheffield cutlers, rather than by the firm themselves. Sometimes forensic examination, and comparison to other knives from the same period, can give clues as to which firm or cutler might have made the knife, though generally it is not possible to tell. As with computers and search engines, for example, the better information you put in, the better information you are likely to get out

I'll be back with another photo of my stag Père David.

The Pale Rider seems to be getting paler Jose!

Alright, everything is sorted out with A.Wright. It takes about a week to make a knife with the nail nick on the other side, so my lefty in Buffalo, Stag, and lemon/lime will all be shipping when the lefty is ready. Then I can add the Guardians banner to my sig!

Great stuff Steve, hope they're nice ones, I do think it's pretty cool they make left-handed models

Jack Black Jack the write-up on Harvey's Hunter's Lambsfoot is most interesting and enjoyable. I hope your medical appointments were beneficial today.

...

Have a great evening GuardiansView attachment 1127887

Thank you for the kind words Dwight, and for yet another fantastic pic

Big’un arrived! A cool city map, postcard, keychain, pin, and coin also came along! Thanks so much, Jack!

With a fresh edge:

Glad it made it OK Joshua

Just heard she passed away today.

RIP, Doris.

- GT

The first thing I thought about, when I heard, was OLd_gUY 's post just the other day

Thanks guys! The big’un is a good size—not too big and not too small. Not as tough a pull as the 2019 Guardians, but good snap.

The nose of the blade is a tad more pinchable, and also the longer blade makes them easier to open I think

Real men drink English Breakfast tea late in the evening; no sugar, no milk. Maybe two or three cups.

Then they drink whiskey.

Cool pics Vince

Question for those who know about horn:

If the scales are slightly separating, what can I do to either a) get them to settle back onto the liners, and/or b) prevent further separation?

Is that happening here Joshua? Horn is affected by atmospheric conditions such as temperature and humidity. The only problem I've had myself is when I left a couple of horn knives out in very strong sunlight, so they got HOT to the touch. The horn started to peel away from the liners, but a couple of weeks later, the horn was back to how it was before. Joshua, if you check the index, there's a whole load of posts on looking after horn, I know that a couple of members here have had problems in the past, probably because of where they live. Horn is beautiful, but I probably wouldn't use it again for a Guardians knife, for example, simply because our members live in very different places in terms of the climate and weather

I enjoy all of the friendly posts, but this kind of post really revs my motor.
Thanks, Jack.

Thanks pal

Morning Guardians, it's only taken me an hour to get through everyone's post today, but still, I better get my skates on, and get moving. Nice sunny day here today, hope everyone's week is going OK

 

[screened porch]

Thanks Jeff, John, and Russell!

Question for those who know about horn:

If the scales are slightly separating, what can I do to either a) get them to settle back onto the liners, and/or b) prevent further separation?

There's some discussion of this you can find in the thread index. I rub mine with linseed oil and kerosene, which I figure should seal it. If I think it's delaminating anyway, I'll try painting it with a clear epoxy finish that I bought by accident.

Sorry, yours is swelling? It should shrink back when dried out, then I'd still seal it with something.

 

[JohnDF]

Good Morning Guardians

 

[Fodderwing]

Thank you for the kind words Dwight, and for yet another fantastic pic

Thanks Jack.

Morning Guardians, it's only taken me an hour to get through everyone's post today, but still, I better get my skates on, and get moving. Nice sunny day here today, hope everyone's week is going OK

If I put on skates my day would be over before it started!

Good Morning Guardians

Sometimes the beauty of Skoll catches me off guard. What incredible grain.

Have a great day Guardians.

 

[JohnDF]

Sometimes the beauty of Skoll catches me off guard. What incredible grain.

Thank you, Dwight.

The DamLamb is keeping up with the beauty of nature.

View attachment 1128131

Cool picture, Dwight. Looks like a dream.

 

[Prester John]

Good morning, Guardians!

 

[Half/Stop]

Big’un arrived! A cool city map, postcard, keychain, pin, and coin also came along! Thanks so much, Jack!

With a fresh edge:

Congratulations Joshua!