Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[mike Berkovitch]

Again, very interesting post Chin and some lovely knives.

Mike

 

[Campbellclanman]

Thank You chin and 1500 for sharing.
I loved that nice line up of beauty Lambfoot knives.

 

[Will Power]

Most interesting Chin, fantastic blade stamps and I was surprised by the Swell Centre handle, a bit like the GEC 92 Talon actually.

Thanks, Will

 

[r8shell]

Seeing some of the great A. Wright Lambsfoot examples posted recently has almost tempted me to buy one sight unseen, but I still think I'll hang on so I can enjoy the added cachet of selecting one 'from the source', in the new year.

The barehead ebony models are quite appealing to me, but those beautiful horn covered Lambsfoots in the last few pages also seem quite fitting with the patterns agrarian roots.

I found this interesting blade stamp on one of Stan Shaw's knives while reading Geoffrey Tweedale's article on the Two-legged Parser.

Thanks for posting the wonderful Lambsfoot pictures. Lovely examples.

The question has come up a few times regarding the "Real Lamb Foot" stamp: Was there any other kind than real? Now I see a stamp declaring "Current Lamb Foot"! Do you know when it was made? Is there something different about that one, perhaps a newer variation on the pattern? I could be mistaken, but it looks like there's something like tweezers at the butt-end, much like on a SAK.

 

[Jack Black]

I found this interesting blade stamp on one of Stan Shaw's knives while reading Geoffrey Tweedale's article on the Two-legged Parser.

Thanks for posting the wonderful Lambsfoot pictures. Lovely examples.

The question has come up a few times regarding the "Real Lamb Foot" stamp: Was there any other kind than real? Now I see a stamp declaring "Current Lamb Foot"! Do you know when it was made? Is there something different about that one, perhaps a newer variation on the pattern? I could be mistaken, but it looks like there's something like tweezers at the butt-end, much like on a SAK.

Great post Chin (as per usual!), and I hope you don't mind me breaking it up in order to best try and answer r8shell's question That's a beautiful Lambsfoot knife, but the blade stamp is a little confusing. 'Current' was the mark of Albert Oates (acquired from an earlier cutler Younge Wilson). Stan has a collection of old hand-forged blades, which he sometimes uses when someone requests a carbon-steel knife (most of the collectors who buy his knives want stainless).

After some of my previous posts and some offline chat, I received a kind invitation from fellow member 1500international, to visit and view some of his absolutely outstanding collection. I say 'some of his collection' because, although we spent the best part of a Saturday afternoon examining and discussing many wonderful knives and tools, he tells me I have still only seen a small part of it!

Mate, that was just a fantastic day, and I can't wait to catch up again!

So for the second official Love for the Lambsfoot day, here's some knives from that collection, I've been saving up for you Guardians.

(Sorry about the photo quality too - I think my hand was a wee bit unsteady from the excitement of having so many superb knives in front of me! )

A Wingfield.


An interesting Joseph Rodgers, in that it's on a coke bottle type frame.


A Herbert Robinson.


'Hand Forged' stamp on the pile side of the tang.


And a close up of the great blade stamp featuring a working cutler at his trow.


(Charlie C, if you happen to be pondering on an appropriate blade stamp or etch for a projected future Real Lambsfoot SFO on GECs 47 or 74 frame, well, look no further, my friend! LOL! )

I was quite excited to see this old 'Western Castrator' with a Lambsfoot secondary blade, after seeing old catalogue images of a very similar knife recently.






And a group shot.

That sounds like a wonderful meeting, and thanks for sharing the Lambsfoot pics with us in this thread my friend The Rodgers Lambsfoot with the coke bottle frame is certainly unusual, but I believe it was produced in the 1960's or 70's when Joseph Rodgers was in its death throes, and their work was really not at its best. I think that the frame should probably have had a Spearpoint, though by the look of it, they did a better job of the Lambsfoot than the knife currently sitting on my kitchen table, which I think also has a blade which was not originally intended for that frame.



The full Herbert Robinson stamp is one of my absolute favourites, and it's great to see it on a Lambsfoot

A fantastic selection of Lambsfoot blades I wonder Chin, do you possibly have an individual pic of the beautiful horn-handled Lambsfoot, which I presume is made by Harrison Brothers & Howson?

Thanks once again for sharing them with us

 

[r8shell]

Great post Chin (as per usual!), and I hope you don't mind me breaking it up in order to best try and answer r8shell's question That's a beautiful Lambsfoot knife, but the blade stamp is a little confusing. 'Current' was the mark of Albert Oates (acquired from an earlier cutler Younge Wilson). Stan has a collection of old hand-forged blades, which he sometimes uses when someone requests a carbon-steel knife (most of the collectors who buy his knives want stainless).

Thanks, Jack. That makes sense.

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks, Jack. That makes sense.

 

[herder]

Seeing some of the great A. Wright Lambsfoot examples posted recently has almost tempted me to buy one sight unseen, but I still think I'll hang on so I can enjoy the added cachet of selecting one 'from the source', in the new year.

The barehead ebony models are quite appealing to me, but those beautiful horn covered Lambsfoots in the last few pages also seem quite fitting with the patterns agrarian roots.

I found this interesting blade stamp on one of Stan Shaw's knives while reading Geoffrey Tweedale's article on the Two-legged Parser.



After some of my previous posts and some offline chat, I received a kind invitation from fellow member 1500international, to visit and view some of his absolutely outstanding collection. I say 'some of his collection' because, although we spent the best part of a Saturday afternoon examining and discussing many wonderful knives and tools, he tells me I have still only seen a small part of it!

Mate, that was just a fantastic day, and I can't wait to catch up again!

So for the second official Love for the Lambsfoot day, here's some knives from that collection, I've been saving up for you Guardians.

(Sorry about the photo quality too - I think my hand was a wee bit unsteady from the excitement of having so many superb knives in front of me! )

A Wingfield.


An interesting Joseph Rodgers, in that it's on a coke bottle type frame.


A Herbert Robinson.


'Hand Forged' stamp on the pile side of the tang.


And a close up of the great blade stamp featuring a working cutler at his trow.


(Charlie C, if you happen to be pondering on an appropriate blade stamp or etch for a projected future Real Lambsfoot SFO on GECs 47 or 74 frame, well, look no further, my friend! LOL! )

I was quite excited to see this old 'Western Castrator' with a Lambsfoot secondary blade, after seeing old catalogue images of a very similar knife recently.






And a group shot.

Great to hear that you could visit with a fellow collector and share first hand in this fine hobby. And thanks for the many great pictures.

 

[Cambertree]

Thanks very much for your kind comments, Charlie, Mike, Duncan, Will, r8shell, Jack and herder.

Good questions r8shell - I'm glad Jack was able to clear that up about Stan's curious Lambsfoot stamp. That explains what appears to be slightly different text size in the two words, as well.

There do seem to be at least a couple of distinctly different Lambsfoot blades though, if you discount minor variations - at least to my uneducated eye.

I don't know if it's just Wright's 'house style' or if it represents an actual evolution in the accepted 'Town Pattern' (the two may even be synonymous these days), but their modern Lambsfoots seem to have a bit less taper toward the tip, and a generally stouter looking blade profile. Whereas some of those classic 19th century examples look like they have a more elongated blade shape, ending in a narrower, more pointed tip angle.

I wonder if it's perhaps a product of forged blades versus stamped ones? If you're stamping blades out of sheets of carbon steel, maybe having less taper down towards the tip minimises leftover steel wastage?



That set of tweezers you identified on Stan's knife, r8shell, which probably also has a picker on the other side, seems to have been an upgrade option on many patterns of knives back in the day, not just Sportsmans models.

(Sorry I could't find specific Lambsfoot examples, but here's a bit of a W. Jno. Baker catalogue page to illustrate the point.)



It's a bit of a pity, I think, given the many superb revivals of classic traditional patterns around these days, that you only really see that option on customs and SAKs now. I guess anyone who likes knives will have at least one SAK lying around, but I'd enjoy having those tools on a nice ebony hafted knife, too.

I guess it's like those intricately threaded, pinched and rat-tail filed bolsters, as well: a legacy of quality that was only really feasible then with skilled and underpaid Littlemesters' hand work.



Jack, I'm sorry, I don't have a close up of that 'Alpha Knife' - which I'm pretty sure was a Harrison Brothers and Howson, as you say. I was running out of memory on my phone, so between deleting old photos and taking batches of new ones, I unfortunately neglected to take some photos I should have.

In my defence, I can say that I do have some more pictures of some superb Rope knives, Pruners and Barlows from 1500international's collection which I'll be sprinkling into the appropriate threads, and I'm sure you Guardians will also enjoy.

Oh, and what you said about that coke bottle framed Lambsfoot, fits with what I learned about it too. 1500international said he traded a nice new Rodgers or Wostenholme Bunny knife for it IIRC, from a family member who was using it as a working farm knife.

The walk and talk, and fit and finish on that one did seem a bit rougher than some of the older examples.

 

[WhittlinAway]

I'm late to the party, but still wanted to say "Great stuff, Chin!" Thanks for sharing it.

I particularly enjoyed the blade stamp complete with worker on the Herbert Robinson. And, yes, it would be very cool to see it recreated as an etch on an SFO. :thumbup:

Also another thought on your observation that stamped bladed have less taper: could it be that a narrower profile near the tip is more prone to deforming during the stamping process?

 

[Cambertree]

I'm late to the party, but still wanted to say "Great stuff, Chin!" Thanks for sharing it.

I particularly enjoyed the blade stamp complete with worker on the Herbert Robinson. And, yes, it would be very cool to see it recreated as an etch on an SFO. :thumbup:

Also another thought on your observation that stamped bladed have less taper: could it be that a narrower profile near the tip is more prone to deforming during the stamping process?

Thanks my friend.

Yes, I guess that's possible, although I'm no expert on that process, of course. I was interested to see that A. Wright stamp out the whole blade shape, whereas I recollect that GEC stamp out a little point protector on the end of the blade, which is later ground off to ensure fine tip integrity.

 

[Jack Black]

There do seem to be at least a couple of distinctly different Lambsfoot blades though, if you discount minor variations - at least to my uneducated eye.

I don't know if it's just Wright's 'house style' or if it represents an actual evolution in the accepted 'Town Pattern' (the two may even be synonymous these days), but their modern Lambsfoots seem to have a bit less taper toward the tip, and a generally stouter looking blade profile. Whereas some of those classic 19th century examples look like they have a more elongated blade shape, ending in a narrower, more pointed tip angle.

I wonder if it's perhaps a product of forged blades versus stamped ones? If you're stamping blades out of sheets of carbon steel, maybe having less taper down towards the tip minimises leftover steel wastage?

...

That set of tweezers you identified on Stan's knife, r8shell, which probably also has a picker on the other side, seems to have been an upgrade option on many patterns of knives back in the day, not just Sportsmans models.

...

Jack, I'm sorry, I don't have a close up of that 'Alpha Knife' - which I'm pretty sure was a Harrison Brothers and Howson, as you say. I was running out of memory on my phone, so between deleting old photos and taking batches of new ones, I unfortunately neglected to take some photos I should have.

In my defence, I can say that I do have some more pictures of some superb Rope knives, Pruners and Barlows from 1500international's collection which I'll be sprinkling into the appropriate threads, and I'm sure you Guardians will also enjoy.

Oh, and what you said about that coke bottle framed Lambsfoot, fits with what I learned about it too. 1500international said he traded a nice new Rodgers or Wostenholme Bunny knife for it IIRC, from a family member who was using it as a working farm knife.

The walk and talk, and fit and finish on that one did seem a bit rougher than some of the older examples.

Your posts always make for a fascinating read my friend

The difference between the styles of Lambsfoot blade is an interesting one to discuss, and your hypothesis holds some merit I think. It's worth considering however, that Wright's stamp out Ettrick and Tackler blades in exactly the same way, and using the same ancient presses. There is still some difference between house styles within the town (though Wright's supply Lambsfoot blades to some smaller firms), Taylor's Eye Witness Lambsfoot blades have a more rounded tip for example (but who knows where those knives are made these days).

My grandfather's Joseph Rodgers Lambsfoot (his last was no older than the 1960's), had a set of tweezers. No pricker though. Sadly I no longer have it.

No worries about the Alpha Lambsfoot Chin, it sounds like you had your hands full with that extensive collection, and I look forward to seeing more of your pics elsewhere. Always great to hear of forum members meeting up too

Towards the end, Rodgers were in a sorry state it has to be said

I particularly enjoyed the blade stamp complete with worker on the Herbert Robinson. And, yes, it would be very cool to see it recreated as an etch on an SFO.

Also another thought on your observation that stamped bladed have less taper: could it be that a narrower profile near the tip is more prone to deforming during the stamping process?

I buttered my morning toast with a knife marked with that stamp Greg



That sounds feasible, but as I say, Wright's stamp out their Ettrick blades, for example, exactly as they do the Lambsfoot blades

Yes, I guess that's possible, although I'm no expert on that process, of course. I was interested to see that A. Wright stamp out the whole blade shape, whereas I recollect that GEC stamp out a little point protector on the end of the blade, which is later ground off to ensure fine tip integrity.

I've not seen any Sheffield cutlers stamp out blades like GEC does

 

[WhittlinAway]

Arthur Wright meets Jack Frost.

 

[netguy1999]

Arthur Wright meets Jack Frost.

That's a great picture! And a very nice knife, too. You've inspired me to take some more outdoor pictures. It's warm here today (0 C), but recently we've been hovering around -35 C with the wind chill. I'll try to take some while we have a brief reprieve from the cold.

 

[Jack Black]

Great picture Greg

Ouch! That's cold John!

It's unseasonably mild here at the moment.

 

[Will Power]

Progress update: a very good food knife indeed, despite quite a small blade it deals with a large hard apple with ease. Many smaller knives can get stuck in an apple which is annoying. Nice slicer for tomatoes, salami and cheese - these are a lot tastier than Sheep hoof anyway...:barf:

 

[Cambertree]

Progress update: a very good food knife indeed, despite quite a small blade it deals with a large hard apple with ease. Many smaller knives can get stuck in an apple which is annoying. Nice slicer for tomatoes, salami and cheese - these are a lot tastier than Sheep hoof anyway...:barf:

Maybe you just aren't frying the shavings in the pan long enough! :barf:

Nice one, Will. :thumbup: I think I like hearing about peoples reflections on using their knives almost better than the reviews of the actual knives themselves.

And Jack: I'd never heard of the Tackler knife before: I had to look it up. What a great knife shape! I really like that. A kind of cousin to the Lambsfoot. I guess the American equivalent knife for that role would be the Loomfixer.

 

[screened porch]

We've got a Loomfixer?

 

[Cambertree]

We've got a Loomfixer?

There's an informative thread on them here, SP.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/790895-Case-Loomfixer

Basically a large, two bladed Swayback Jack, with a sheepsfoot main, it seems.

The A. Wright Tackler looks like it's on the same frame as their Lambsfoot, just with a more Wharncliffe style spine taper down to the point.



Another A. Wright I saw looked like a sheepsfoot with a spine running parallel to edge, but with more of a pointy tip.

I wonder if there is a 'Real Tackler'?

The Tackler and the Loomfixer sound like they were basically different names for the same job on either side of the Pond.

From Wikipedia:

"A tackler was a supervisor in a textile factory responsible for the working of a number of power looms and the weavers who operated them. The title derived from the job, which was to "tackle" any mechanical problems encountered with the looms in their charge. Invariably male, they had a reputation for gullibility and were the butt of many jokes."

Sorry for the thread diversion.

 

[Jack Black]

Progress update: a very good food knife indeed, despite quite a small blade it deals with a large hard apple with ease. Many smaller knives can get stuck in an apple which is annoying. Nice slicer for tomatoes, salami and cheese - these are a lot tastier than Sheep hoof anyway...:barf:

LOL! Thanks for the report Will

And Jack: I'd never heard of the Tackler knife before: I had to look it up. What a great knife shape! I really like that. A kind of cousin to the Lambsfoot. I guess the American equivalent knife for that role would be the Loomfixer.

I have a nice example which was gifted to me by another member. I'll post a few pics...but in another thread

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/527126-quot-Old-Knives-quot?p=16761684#post16761684