Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[rockman0]

black mamba Thanks Jeff, yes I believe the covers are original. I think Chin is correct in a post he made one page back. I looked at it under a 10X loupe and it is definitely not wood.

ust a fantastic knife there, Rob. I love everything about it. The way the cover material has swelled around the pins and shrunk back from the bolster makes me suspect it's some sort of synthetic 'composition' material, perhaps rubber based. Also, you'll notice the 'grain' is very evenly layered and regular. I'm far from an expert on the matter, though; it just seems similar to other knives I've seen from that period in that material.

 

[Bartleby]

Thanks Bart I think I was in my twenties before I first saw a heron, but with the cleaner waterways now, I see them very regularly. That one was just a few yards from a busy road junction I believe Meako's dad used to work at the Raleigh factory at one time

My interest in the cutlery of Sheffield came about from rebuilding, repairing and restoring Sturmey Archers and Raleigh three speeds. A surprising number of them are still in use in DFW, as Raleigh had a distribution center in Oklahoma. My first Sheffield knife was purchased to ride in a Raleigh's tool bag.

 

[Jack Black]

My interest in the cutlery of Sheffield came about from rebuilding, repairing and restoring Sturmey Archers and Raleigh three speeds. A surprising number of them are still in use in DFW, as Raleigh had a distribution center in Oklahoma. My first Sheffield knife was purchased to ride in a Raleigh's tool bag.

That's fantastic

 

[black mamba]

Thanks, Rob. From the grain I thought it wood or synthetic, and from the puckering around some of the pins I didn't really think wood either. So some kind of early micarta or gum fuddy, then?

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks, Rob. From the grain I thought it wood or synthetic, and from the puckering around some of the pins I didn't really think wood either. So some kind of early micarta or gum fuddy, then?

We're thinking horn Jeff?

 

[black mamba]

I'm not sure the grain pattern is right for horn, Jack. Looks more like ivory . . . maybe from an elephant who smoked?

 

[Jack Black]

I'm not sure the grain pattern is right for horn, Jack. Looks more like ivory . . . maybe from an elephant who smoked?

LOL!

My own first guess was wood, it reminded me of the wood on this worn TEW Lambsfoot I sent Gev a few years back.



But of course, wood doesn't usually shrink around the pins, or come away from the scales, like the covers of Rob's knife have slightly. If you have a look back a few pages, there are some good shots of some of the covers on this year's Guardian's Lambsfoot knives which show a similar Micarta-like grain

Edit - Sorry Jeff, the images I'm thinking of must be more than a 'few' pages back!

 

[rockman0]

I don't have any horn to compare it to. I need to remedy that by ordering a lambsfoot with horn covers Wikipedia says micarta was first developed by George Westinghouse at least as early as 1910 so it's possible that it is micarta. It's either horn or some early form of a composite material.

 

[rockman0]

Funny stuff

I'm not sure the grain pattern is right for horn, Jack. Looks more like ivory . . . maybe from an elephant who smoked?

 

[Jack Black]

I don't have any horn to compare it to. I need to remedy that by ordering a lambsfoot with horn covers Wikipedia says micarta was first developed by George Westinghouse at least as early as 1910 so it's possible that it is micarta. It's either horn or some early form of a composite material.

There's no mistaking new horn Rob, it's lovely and glossy Micarta is pretty rare on Sheffield knives (though plenty of other synthetics have been used)

 

[rockman0]

Jack does it lose the gloss over time? This is very smooth but not glossy.

 

[Jack Black]

Jack does it lose the gloss over time? This is very smooth but not glossy.

Not if you look after it Rob, but neglected it dries out, and looks more like old wood. I'll post a couple of examples (just need to crop the pics )

 

[rockman0]

Looking forward to the pics, thanks Jack

 

[Jack Black]

The horn on this old Lockwood Brothers knife is some of the worst I've seen, but the knife had clearly seen a lifetime of abuse



You sometimes see similar dried-out horn on very old table cutlery.

 

[Jack Black]

Some nice old horn on this James Howarth



Check out Charlie's 'Hornswoggled' thread for more examples of nice old horn

 

[black mamba]

Notice how straight the grain is on the above examples. Horn doesn't seem to get the symmetrical, layered look like the EW covers show. Here are a few more.

Buff horn

Ram horn

 

[rockman0]

Thanks Jack, I'll check out the hornswoggled thread. Here's a couple of shots showing the grain pattern. Makes me think composite.

 

[5K Qs]

Thanks man I carry it everyday along with a rosewood lambsfoot. And no the hard hat is made out of resin and like burlap material it's called a bridge hat.

Today no work took off to get in one of my deer stands. So on the walk in passed this rock had to take a picture.

Splendid photo of a phenomenal lambsfoot, Keith!
"Made out of resin and ... burlap..." sure sounds like the description of micarta in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micarta, where among the applications listed is "safety gear such as hard hats." Your hard hat reminded me of some of the natural canvas micarta covers I see on knives on The Porch.

Anytime GT anytime. And yes I'm in the region Higland Indiana matter of fact. The stew only takes about 45 mins, 15 mins of prep and 30 mins to cook. My wife bought a digital pressure cooker and it takes a roast from raw to fall apart done in 30 mins makes it like it stewed all day. We cook in it all the time it's a time saver. Anytime your this way let me know would be awesome to meet you guys face to face and enjoy a beer and blade talk.

Sounds like you have a good cooking set-up with the digital pressure cooker!

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Good stuff GT The first really good pair of walking boots I ever bought were made by Scarpa of Italy, and naturally, they recommended 'Scarpa Boot Cream'. There was an independent climbing shop in Sheffield at the time, run by an old climber (who also had an interest in knives as I discovered some years later), so I called in there to pick some up. His manager was a nice guy, but a terrible salesman. "Oh, you don't want that," he told me, "it's gunk!" I asked about another product. "Gunk!" Then he gave me a pot of this stuff they had made up for them, pure beeswax and lanolin, told me to take it for free because he didn't think I'd ever want anything else. Sure enough, it was great stuff, and even with regular use, the pot lasted two years. I managed to buy some more just before the shop went bust!

Yes indeed. It was Herder who asked me to take that pic, and him holding them There's also a big difference in weight, the Sambar is solid and bone-like unlike the pithy, weightless Pere David THanks for the compliment my friend

Absolutely GT, a really nice package to receive

LOL! I went back to the same place GT, figured I'd get a clearer pic You can be our Special Food Envoy my friend!
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Thanks for the replies to my random comments, Jack. I'm honored, and humbled, to be appointed GT-SFE!!

It's garnish! And there's nothing weird about avocado for breakfast, at least not around these parts. (my healthy, low-cholesterol brekkie is egg whites, black beans and avocado)

Lambfoot content:

View attachment 794912

r8shell, as newly-appointed Guardians SFE, I approve that breakfast (even if I'm not likely to eat it )! And as a private citizen, I approve that photo of your buffalo horn-handled lambsfoot-bladed knife displayed on a rack of deer antler!

5K Qs My eyes don't work well now days but I'm seeing eyes looking back at me

5 eyes that is, I can't see or type well.

Thanks, Rob!

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Gary, if one is good, then two has got to be gooder

Can't argue with that, Ron!

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Very nice Harry, and well done Jack @mrknife. Beautiful figure on the mark side. Heh heh, I'm going to start nicknaming you Gideon, soon Jack! A Lambsfoot knife in every pocket and hotel room drawer, eh? You're a most generous Guardian, my friend.
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LOL! To Non-Knife-People, it can be hard to explain why we sometimes carry two or more pocket knives. But even amongst ourselves, I thought it might be hard to justify why I've been 'dual wielding' two Lambsfoots of the same size, since my Guardians knife arrived!
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Although, I fear that with Brother GT's influence as well, I may soon be wearing a double knife roll bandolier like a Mexican bandit from a spaghetti Western!
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And to answer your earlier question, that is indeed my Prodigal Lambsfoot knife.

Chin, I like the sound of "Guardian Gideon" as an alias for mrknife, at least in the context of this thread!

With regard to your mention of me in the same breath with bandoliers and Mexican bandits, I'll note that if one searches hard enough, one could find a related image somewhere here where someone (perhaps the inimitable Jack Black) already suggested such a system for me!

And thanks for the photo of the Prodigal Lambsfoot on the fence post. It's been many years since I've thought about stringing barbed wire along steel fence posts (although we always had to use "insulators" for attaching wire to post since we used electrified fences on our dairy farm pastures).

(Cutting my post off at this point because it was too big! I hope I can post the other part with minimal hassle via cutnpaste.)
- GT

 

[5K Qs]

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I must confess that there have also been some days when I've found myself with these two in my pocket!

View attachment 795123

View attachment 795122

I don't think that's cause for confession, Jack, but instead it's cause for grateful celebration!

It’s been crazy busy for me the past couple of weeks and will continue to be so for probably a week more. I’m way behind on this thread and the porch in general. In the meantime, I wanted to pop in and say hi to my fellow Guardians, even though it’ll be a while before I’m properly caught up on all the great recent content in this thread.

This is the one that is almost always in my pocket lately:

Thanks for checking in, Greg! Good to see your "chameleon" lambsfoot again. I hope your busyness at work isn't stretching you too thin, and you'll be able to catch up a bit on The Porch ASAP. This thread seems to be gaining content at supersonic speed lately!

Better pictures of this one.
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Cool pics of an intriguing knife, Rob!! What a find!

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Here is my Guardians Lambsfoot out in Yorkshire yesterday, at a little town called Holmfirth





The grey shape in the background of the second pic is this heron



Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and that you have a lovely Sunday

As usual, I admire your photos, Jack! But don't you worry about losing your knives while setting up the many pics you take with the knife on the edge of some precipice?? Earlier this week, I had my little flock of lambsfoot knives with me so I could take a family portrait, since I knew I'd be walking near my college's Ecosystem Preserve that day, and hoped to duck in to take some shots. But I became very nervous as I placed the knives on the railing of a wooden observation deck that stuck out over a pond in the woods! Neither the weather nor my clothing was suitable for underwater recovery efforts!!

(Here's another gratuitous heron shot from my vacation in August.

)

Sunday morning sausage sandwich

View attachment 796182

Tea time!

View attachment 796227

Those both look quite mouthwatering, Jack! Definitely SFE-approved! And definitely making me yearn to end this post and make lunch!

I wonder if there are any old cutlery company adverts where they recommend using their own brand of oil for the joints on your pocket knife.

USE ONLY A. WRIGHT & SON'S SPECIALLY-FORMULATED JOINT OIL
Obtainable from all A. Wright & Son agents.

You're up quite early on a Sunday thinking oily thoughts, Barrett!!

My interest in the cutlery of Sheffield came about from rebuilding, repairing and restoring Sturmey Archers and Raleigh three speeds. A surprising number of them are still in use in DFW, as Raleigh had a distribution center in Oklahoma. My first Sheffield knife was purchased to ride in a Raleigh's tool bag.

Fascinating to hear all the ways that people end up in this knife life!!

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If you have a look back a few pages, there are some good shots of some of the covers on this year's Guardian's Lambsfoot knives which show a similar Micarta-like grain

Good point, Jack! I was amazed to see that kind of grain in a shot of Half/Stop's Midnight Special!

- GT

 

[Jack Black]

Notice how straight the grain is on the above examples. Horn doesn't seem to get the symmetrical, layered look like the EW covers show. Here are a few more.

Ouch! Ouch! This is the Lambsfoot thread Jeff