Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

Chuffed.

I don't really keep a pulse on GEC's goings-on, so when these Charlie's newest SFO came out I was left wanting. A very generous spirit, knowing my affection for traditional cutlery, took pity on me and sent a lamb foot my way. Thank you so much, you know who you are.

It doesn't get more traditional than this. Gorgeous jigged bone covers, fluted bolsters, and all steel fittings! This is a worthy homage to those old Sheffield knives.

 

That's a beauty Christian. I'm glad you have one.

 

Thanks - I'm thrilled with it. Charlie Campagna helped me a lot and so did Jack Black.

 

Got it. Sorry if my mistake hit a raw nerve. This forum and the people who participate in it are extremely interesting to me.

 

To own one of the new Lambfoot models would be wonderful, but to be fortunate enough to own both is simply fantastic!!!
Hard to relay just how impressed and thrilled I am with both these recent Lambfoot knives, each emanating both beauty and quality.
A great thank you to Jack and Charlie for producing such spectacular knives!!!

 

Catching up again. This post has been sitting as a draft for a few days, so apologies if I’m covering a bit of old ground.

Just regarding the recent ‘recalibration’ of this thread, I also offer my apologies if any of my posts have crossed the mark into unwarranted off-topic chatter. I’m a terrible digressor at the best of times, although I do always try to return to Lambsfoot content, at least by the end of a post - not always successfully, I’m sure.

Thanks for the reminder Jack, and sorry if I’ve added to the grumble quotient at Guardians HQ, my friend.

Thanks Dwight, I felt like I was there my friend, down to my heart starting to beat faster as I imagined the hounds nearing...

...with my Lambsfoot in pocket, as always!

Wonderful Lambsfoot photo, Dwight.

Good to see RALF getting some colour, Jeff. I had my ebony 2018 Guardians knife out the other day too, just to let her know I still love her. What a great knife. A couple of older pics with rather less patina than she sports these days:

Great pic, mi amiga. Hey, how did you sharpen this one up, Rachel?

I started on the Atoma 140 diamond plates to thin it out, then realised taking it too thin behind the edge, would remove some of that great etch.

So I just ended up going with the Sharpmaker diamond rods at 15dps to set the edge, then progressed through the M, F and UF rods, finishing with a few passes of the UF rods at 20dps, and the obligatory strop with 1, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.1 micron diamond and CBN emulsion on balsa and smoothside leather.

It took off a little of the bottom of the Yorkshire White Rose, but that’s an acceptable trade off to have a straight-razor keen knife.

Nice work Dave, well done mate.

Thank you, my friend.

Cheers my friend. Asbury also wrote other books on the Gangs of San Francisco, Chicago and New Orleans, IIRC. Although the Chinese tongs and triads were really a closed book to him.

I noticed Dwight picked up a copy of Mayhew’s Victorian Underworld, which I heartily recommend to any British history buffs. I have the Kindle edition, which allows you to search keywords. Those cracksmen really used their pocketknives for all sorts of tasks, including a whole lotta prying. There’s some great references to some of the master thieves having custom toolkits made on the sly by master cutlers in Sheffield, London and Birmingham. Although I think that (~1850s) period probably predates the Real Lambsfoot pattern, unfortunately.

Yes it’s very interesting what you say about the Lambsfoot being pretty much universally appreciated as a using and working knife.

Thanks David. LOL. As well as being mostly alcohol, that Mother Baileys Quieting Syrup was comprised of 10% opium!

Cheers Greg. I’ll post that recipe in a following piece, as I’m always wary of falling afoul of the BF character limit. Cutting up a post on your phone can be quite time consuming.

Absolutely. Here’s the first task it had:

Hmmm, what could be in that package? More on that later, my friends....

Thanks GT, yes I’m curious about how that old jigging must have been applied, and haven’t found much information on it.

Victorian morality always cracks me up. Here’s a company selling opiates to babies, children and mothers who feel obliged to include some moral homilies with their wares!

Thanks for the reference and kind words, Greg.

I appreciate that, my friend.

Nice one, Kevin.

Yes, what was called ‘iron’ then and still is in Sheffield, Solingen and Japanese knifemaking is actually more analogous to what we would call ‘mild steel’ - with about 0.03% carbon. The Japanese have a grade called Gokunantetsu, which is used as a cladding laminate, that has about the same carbon content, but much ‘purer’, in that it has about 10 times lower content of impurities like sulphur, silicon, and phosphorus.

I thoroughly enjoy all your posts, David. Why not just continue as you were, and ensure you work in Lambsfoot content?

You’ve got a lot to answer for mate!

Ha ha, great to see another Nemesis The Warlock fan, mate!

I’ve been enjoying the B&W pics some of the Guardians have been posting.

 

I think most of us have done it ourselves... Just once...

 

Thanks, amigo. I'll bet yours slices like a laser!
I just used medium and then fine ceramic stones. I don't really know the angle I'm at when I'm hand sharpening, except that it's somewhere less than 20 dps, so I can maintain it with the Sharpmaker. I really should learn how to strop. Whenever I try, it seems to get less sharp, and I'm especially wary on a lambsfoot, as I don't want to round off the tip. I always seem to hit the tang with the corners of the stones, but I've decided not to let it bother me.

 

Nice pictures and related subjects, Kamagong, Cambertree and r8shell.

 

Maybe i can help you. Go to a thrift store[ i think that is what you call them over there ] and buy a cheap LEATHER belt, preferably one with a smooth and rougher side. Loop it through a drawer handle or hang it from somewhere. Get a old knife that you have sharpened and practice on the belt. Just take your time, get the angle fairly close to the bevel edge and light strokes. You will be surprised if you take your time how proficient you will get. And always ask on the forum or you can PM me, only too willing to help. Good Luck.

 

Thanks Dwight.

 

Thank you Dennis, a hammer in would be a blast! I was playing around with some old 14mm bmx bicycle axles. It was my first time forging ( I have always done stock removal for my knife making ) so I didn't want to ruin good steel. After I get some practice in I have some W2 that needs to get beat on.
I have a fixed blade Lambsfoot started. I'll have to post a pic of it later.

Thanks Jack.

No way man, those things had 40hp!

This is how I picture you once it is all over with.

Congrats on getting such a wonderful looking Lambsfoot.

YES!

Thanks, Chin.


I didn't actually carry this one today but I did admire it for a good bit.

 

Thanks for the further info Rachel. Yes, I tend to use a benchstone as well, to thin out the edge at a freehand low angle, then it’s a breeze to resharpen with a few passes on the Sharpmaker from that point on.

My Desert Ironwood 2019 and stag Lefty Lambsfoot were sharpened that way.



My ebony user was originally sharpened like the Hartshead with Sharpmaker only. Here it is getting a ‘spa’ and cleanup before, going into the pocket to accompany me on a walk:



Regarding stropping, I find it’s useful to make sure the knife is razor sharp and cleanly deburred (as much as possible anyway) before going to the strop.

I’ve had good success using very thin strops made of leather or balsa (about as wide as a Sharpmaker rod), stuck to the thin sides of a piece of timber, to preserve the tip.

Yes, like you I also tend grind right back into the sharpening choil/cutlers notch, so it becomes like a mini scalloped serration.

Thank you, my friend. It’s difficult to keep up with every post in this thread, let alone coment on all the posts I’d like to, but just know that I always like seeing your posts here.

That sounds very interesting Kevin, I’ll be looking forward to seeing more of that.

 

Looks like some treasures for the Australian chapter of the Guardians! Not only are you a magician, Charlie @waynorth , but a gentleman as well!

 

Thank you, Jack, then maybe I can just chill and be myself again Oooommm

Thank you, my friend, I got lucky on this one

Its party time Kevin.

 

Chin, like some of my fellow Canucks, would say, that Barlow is a "Beauty"

 

FWIW, I've never had success stropping with a hanging belt except for a convex grind where it works great. For other grinds, in the past I've used a piece of a belt glued to a piece of wood. I found the support of the solid backing (and light pressure) to be the key for me in achieving good results.
For stropping a Lambsfoot, I now use a "strop block" which is a pre-loaded 2 1/2 x 8 inch strip of leather attached to a block of wood. The stability/support of the wood (again with the correct pressure) and the grain of the hand selected leather, consistently gives me excellent results. The manufacturer of these is not on the paid dealer list but if anyone shoots me a PM, I'll be happy to give you the info so you can check it out.
OG

 

Thank you very much Preston...

 

Thank you very much Matt...

 

Good morning, Guardians.