Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[JohnDF]

I couldn't resist taking this picture today...

 

[r8shell]

I couldn't resist taking this picture today...

Manly, yes, but I like it too!

 

[screened porch]

I couldn't resist taking this picture today...

Manly, yes, but I like it too!

And it's not just for storage lockers anymore! (It is said to discourage vermin.)
Next time I see a bale of it cheap I'll get some to scatter in my garage.

 

[cigarrodog]

Not an entry from me...
What do I think of when I think of Jack Black? I think of Grumble Towers mixed with the most friendly and welcoming person on the Porch.

He used to get so mad at us Guardians... When he'd go to sleep at night we'd keep posting and usually end up getting way off topic. He'd have to set us straight in the morning and sometimes he'd close the thread and have Gary clean things up. But he was always our friend and I think he knew, way down deep, that nobody likes gets more off-topic than he does (Admit it, Jack ).

When I fist started hanging around with the Guardians in this thread, it was just before the release of his '18 SFO, still sorry I missed that one but I wasn't aware of the process back then. I got to witness all the excitement as Guardians received their Lambsfoot knives. So I hung around for quite a while without owning a Lambsfoot. I learned a lot from him and the other Guardians, and knew I just had to have one. I obviously didn't hang around because of a knife, I hung around for Jack, the Guardians, and the wonderful interactions that happen here.

Jack ended up sending me one of his African Rosewood SFOs just so I could try the pattern. That's what he does, he's a true ambassador of the Lambsfoot. That Lambsfoot has become one of my most treasured and used knives and will always hold a special place with me, both for its usefulness and the generosity it represents. I guess you can say that Jack taught me how to be generous with my knives (maybe the lesson took ahold too well). I'm sure there are days that I frustrate Jack and he probably thinks, "Why did I encourage this guy to hang around?" But I think most of the time we are "friends that have never met".

We owe him a lot here in the Guardian thread and on the Porch as a whole... that wonderful mix of Grumble Towers and Friendly Generosity. Cheers Jack.

That first African Rosewood Lambsfoot... The one I lovingly refer to as "My Usual Lamb"

Great words and a great first Lambfoot, John.

Thank you for this extremely generous giveaway, Dylan. It's a wonderful tribute to Jack and I'd like to participate, please.

As my entry, I offer the final installment in the "Tales of Future Jack" series that I started a couple of years ago as a tribute to both Jack and his beloved pattern that he has spent so much of his time, treasure, and energy sharing with us. For those who are curious, the first two installments can be found in posts #26,196 and #27,637.

Although fiction, I hope they convey some of Jack's attributes that I admire most: his friendliness, his knowledge, and, of course, his generosity.

---

The Tales of Future Jack - Part III
November, 2047, Yorkshire, England

“Hello Jack! I haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve you been?” the bartender said to the elderly gentleman who had just walked up to the bar.

“Yes, I’ve been—and still am, frankly—quite busy. You’d think that retirement would give you endless free time, but you’d be wrong. I’ve got more going on now than ever. But, better to be busy than bored, I think!

“Say, I heard from David that you were heading back to the States and I wanted to make sure I said goodbye before you left. It’s been a real treat getting to know you, Gwen.”

“Thanks, Jack. The feeling’s mutual. And, yeah, I didn’t think I’d be heading back so soon, but I got an opportunity that was too good to turn down. I’m buying a pub! It’s not much now, but I’m going to do my best to make it feel just like the ones here in England. They’ve really grown on me!”

“Wonderful! Congratulations! I know you’ll make a fantastic publican.

“Before you go, we must complete your lambsfoot education. Last time we talked about them, you asked whether there are other patterns that feature a lambsfoot blade. There are indeed, and I’ve brought one to show you.”

He withdrew a knife from his pocket, opened the blade to reveal the lambsfoot shape, and carefully handed it to her to examine.

“Oh yeah! I see the difference. The handle isn’t curved like the other ones and the metal parts at the end are much longer. What’s this pattern called?”

“You’ve got good eyes, Gwen. It's called a barlow and its handle shape and those elongated metal parts—we call them bolsters—are the hallmarks of the pattern. Not all barlows have lambsfoot blades, but this one does.

“It was part of a special run that I commissioned a few years after the first one I showed you. It was a labour of love and I was very happy with how it turned out. Some had handles made from beautifully figured pieces of stag antler. And, a few like the one you’re holding had that deep, rich rosewood. The barlow run wasn’t large, but the Guardians who have them treasure them.”

“Guardians?”

“Oh, yes, my apologies. The Guardians of the Lambsfoot—or just The Guardians—are an international society of knife enthusiasts that share a love for the pattern, its lore and history, and, of course, its use. It’s hard to believe that it was over thirty years ago that it was founded as a thread in an internet forum, but it’s still going strong. It’ll outlast me, I’m quite sure.”

“Wow, that’s really cool. I’m not surprised, though, these lambsfoot knives of yours are pretty neat. I can see how they’d gain a following.”

Before they could continue their discussion a large group came through the door. Anticipating their order, she pulled a few limes from under the bar and placed them on a cutting board.

“Hey Jack, how about you give me a hand slicing these for old times' sake?”

She turned to hand the knife back to him, but discovered he was already halfway to the door.

“Slice them yourself,” he said and added with a twinkle in his eye: “Guardian.” With that and a broad smile, he turned and departed.

He’d also left a card on the bar with a hand-written URL. She knew where that would take her and was eager to follow. But first, she had limes to slice.

Fabulous read. Cheers!

After what passes for summer here, I find myself looking forward to being able to wear my tweed cap again When I was a boy, you rarely saw a man without one

Lovely backyard.

as my boiler is making more racket than before he attended I need to get onto that this morning, and then sort my new phone out, but I am hoping I can get out later,

Your troubles require the “patience of Job.” May order and good fortune arrive shortly.

While I do "guard" a few Lambsfoot knives, I am not a regular in this thread. I do have to pop on here and brag on this one a bit. I just picked this one up. Maybe someone will correct me, but I understand that this was made by Ashley Harrison, son of the owner of A Wright & Son. It's a fine knife, no doubt.

View attachment 1768495
View attachment 1768496

Very nice Ashley Lambfoot.

I understand that Ashley has taken to using that mark, one day he might have an original idea

Good Morning Guardians and Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Package of corned beef ready to go. Throwing it in the crock pot along with a bottle of Guinness. Let it cook all day.

You are so funny, John, Excellent image.

Good Morning Guardians

 

[euroken]

 

[JohnDF]

Great words and a great first Lambfoot, John.

Thank you, Harvey.

You are so funny, John, Excellent image.

Thanks again, my friend.

That's the cutest donut ever, and a wonderfully fun picture.

 

[cigarrodog]

Thank you John.

 

[Jack Black]

Wonderful, generous giveaway. Not an entry, as I already have one.
What to say about Jack Black? The man embodies the perfect blend of grumpiness and enthusiasm.

Thanks for the flattery Rachel!

That's a nice one Great pic

Good luck with the plumbing and phone stuff, Jack Black . I hope you get a chance to visit at the market today. Regarding the phone stuff: I know one can have a new phone delivered, but I prefer going into the phone store and making one of the young folks there set it up for me, even if it costs a little more. Once they realize it'll be faster to help me so I'll leave, they at least can get it to a usable state, and I can customize the display and turn off most of the bloatware I don't want myself.

Thanks Rachel, my boiler finally got fixed at 4.30pm, so I wasn't able to get down to the market I'm afraid. Good move in the phone store! You could do that sort of thing here once, but the kids they employ now seem to be even more clueless than I am. It used to be the case here, that you'd barely walk in the door before some tech-savvy youngster was blinding you with science, a bit like a fat little man in Hollywood ("I'm going to ride a trojan horse through a back-door into the worm-hole!") I think they took the commission away or something, and the smart kids moved on. Now, you have to go and find someone, and the first thing he does is say, "I'm going to hand you over to Terry..." Terry, looks about 15, is still eating his lunch, and can barely string a sentence together. He hasn't a clue about any of the stuff they sell, and he doesn't care less if he conveys that impression. I never thought I'd miss those annoying tech-nerds

As I recall, the pub occupies a sort of mezzanine, and there's non-pub stuff in there, but who cares?

That's a 45-pounder.

Cool pic Jer I mainly bought various lures for pike, including a Swimming Mouse I remember! Most of them ended up in weed-beds, except the mouse, which I think an old girlfriend had!

I couldn't resist taking this picture today...

LOL! That soap gets mentioned every year (we don't even have it here)

Lovely backyard.

Thank you my friend

Your troubles require the “patience of Job.” May order and good fortune arrive shortly.

A stressful week Harvey, and it isn't over yet I'm afraid Thank you kindly good sir

Good Morning Guardians

What a work of art! Great pic Harvey, you not only have a great collection of vintage Sheffield Lambs, but you have examples of some classic blade/tang stamps, that most definitely being one of them

Very handsome Ken

I hope everyone has had a good day I'm pretty exhausted, but glad to have got my boiler fixed

 

[Pt-Luso]

 

[Angry Waiter]

 

[Jon0385]

Alright, Guardians.

'Tis time for a giveaway.

I would like to enter please.
I know of Jack through the forums as most, but I would say he holds a unique position amongst us. Look at this thread that he started years ago that is still going. Jack is definitely an influencer of this community. He has taken his enthusiasm for the pattern and civic pride from his and the knife’s home to another level that has benefited all of us who have participated in this thread. It is because of him that most all of us have been able to enjoy a useful, affordable and available knife.

 

[cudgee]

Wonderful, generous giveaway. Not an entry, as I already have one.
What to say about Jack Black? The man embodies the perfect blend of grumpiness and enthusiasm.

Good luck with the plumbing and phone stuff, Jack Black . I hope you get a chance to visit at the market today. Regarding the phone stuff: I know one can have a new phone delivered, but I prefer going into the phone store and making one of the young folks there set it up for me, even if it costs a little more. Once they realize it'll be faster to help me so I'll leave, they at least can get it to a usable state, and I can customize the display and turn off most of the bloatware I don't want myself.

Nice looking edge on the Lambsfoot.

 

[btb01]

Honestly mate, me and my pal are the youngsters down there (and he is clueless when it comes to post-1960 technology), there are a bunch of old men, a rather eccentric bunch at that, who probably haven't had another conversation all week, and look forward to bending our ears, with a combination of ancient tales of glory, and medical problems! We should receive a government subsidy!

Sounds like all the old timers that would sit around at the donut shop in my hometown, except they seemed to be there every morning.

Thank you for this extremely generous giveaway, Dylan. It's a wonderful tribute to Jack and I'd like to participate, please.

As my entry, I offer the final installment in the "Tales of Future Jack" series that I started a couple of years ago as a tribute to both Jack and his beloved pattern that he has spent so much of his time, treasure, and energy sharing with us. For those who are curious, the first two installments can be found in posts #26,196 and #27,637.

Although fiction, I hope they convey some of Jack's attributes that I admire most: his friendliness, his knowledge, and, of course, his generosity.

---

The Tales of Future Jack - Part III
November, 2047, Yorkshire, England

“Hello Jack! I haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve you been?” the bartender said to the elderly gentleman who had just walked up to the bar.

“Yes, I’ve been—and still am, frankly—quite busy. You’d think that retirement would give you endless free time, but you’d be wrong. I’ve got more going on now than ever. But, better to be busy than bored, I think!

“Say, I heard from David that you were heading back to the States and I wanted to make sure I said goodbye before you left. It’s been a real treat getting to know you, Gwen.”

“Thanks, Jack. The feeling’s mutual. And, yeah, I didn’t think I’d be heading back so soon, but I got an opportunity that was too good to turn down. I’m buying a pub! It’s not much now, but I’m going to do my best to make it feel just like the ones here in England. They’ve really grown on me!”

“Wonderful! Congratulations! I know you’ll make a fantastic publican.

“Before you go, we must complete your lambsfoot education. Last time we talked about them, you asked whether there are other patterns that feature a lambsfoot blade. There are indeed, and I’ve brought one to show you.”

He withdrew a knife from his pocket, opened the blade to reveal the lambsfoot shape, and carefully handed it to her to examine.

“Oh yeah! I see the difference. The handle isn’t curved like the other ones and the metal parts at the end are much longer. What’s this pattern called?”

“You’ve got good eyes, Gwen. It's called a barlow and its handle shape and those elongated metal parts—we call them bolsters—are the hallmarks of the pattern. Not all barlows have lambsfoot blades, but this one does.

“It was part of a special run that I commissioned a few years after the first one I showed you. It was a labour of love and I was very happy with how it turned out. Some had handles made from beautifully figured pieces of stag antler. And, a few like the one you’re holding had that deep, rich rosewood. The barlow run wasn’t large, but the Guardians who have them treasure them.”

“Guardians?”

“Oh, yes, my apologies. The Guardians of the Lambsfoot—or just The Guardians—are an international society of knife enthusiasts that share a love for the pattern, its lore and history, and, of course, its use. It’s hard to believe that it was over thirty years ago that it was founded as a thread in an internet forum, but it’s still going strong. It’ll outlast me, I’m quite sure.”

“Wow, that’s really cool. I’m not surprised, though, these lambsfoot knives of yours are pretty neat. I can see how they’d gain a following.”

Before they could continue their discussion a large group came through the door. Anticipating their order, she pulled a few limes from under the bar and placed them on a cutting board.

“Hey Jack, how about you give me a hand slicing these for old times' sake?”

She turned to hand the knife back to him, but discovered he was already halfway to the door.

“Slice them yourself,” he said and added with a twinkle in his eye: “Guardian.” With that and a broad smile, he turned and departed.

He’d also left a card on the bar with a hand-written URL. She knew where that would take her and was eager to follow. But first, she had limes to slice.

That’s great, Greg! Can I suggest an alternate title for your series?

Me too Leon, and it looks like we have very similar caps Falling on August 1st, it is often a bit warm for a flat-cap on Yorkshire Day, but I have to wear one of course After what passes for summer here, I find myself looking forward to being able to wear my tweed cap again When I was a boy, you rarely saw a man without one

I had a similar tweed flat cap that belonged to my dad, but I’m not sure what happened to it (and it never fit me, despite the fact that we had equally large heads). Great photo, Jack!

Here's another of our string of downtown gentlemen's clothiers. We still have one in a strip mall (how vulgar) down south, but I can't afford them either. I should go there again before they close.

Jer, I don’t think I ever realized that you live in Kalamazoo, although after a quick search, I should have known from your reply to this photo that I posted before.

Good Morning Guardians and Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Package of corned beef ready to go. Throwing it in the crock pot along with a bottle of Guinness. Let it cook all day.

I don’t think I’ve ever had corned beef in any form other than a deli sandwich.

Good move in the phone store! You could do that sort of thing here once, but the kids they employ now seem to be even more clueless than I am.

 

[cudgee]

I don’t think I’ve ever had corned beef in any form other than a deli sandwich.

You don't know what you're missing.

 

[r8shell]

I think they took the commission away or something, and the smart kids moved on. Now, you have to go and find someone, and the first thing he does is say, "I'm going to hand you over to Terry..." Terry, looks about 15, is still eating his lunch, and can barely string a sentence together. He hasn't a clue about any of the stuff they sell, and he doesn't care less if he conveys that impression. I never thought I'd miss those annoying tech-nerds

It's definitely the luck of the draw here. I've had incredibly helpful clerks, and I've had some much like you describe. I walked in one phone store, and they had music playing very loudly. That alone I can deal with, but the front of the store and the back had different music playing, with the tech help desk situated right where the sound overlapped. I had a somewhat complicated question to ask and I couldn't think straight. The fellow I was speaking to had his own music blaring out of his earbuds. I've never felt so old.

Nice looking edge on the Lambsfoot.

Thanks!

 

[echoscout]

Evening Guardians!

 

[screened porch]

Jer, I don’t think I ever realized that you live in Kalamazoo, although after a quick search, I should have known from your reply to this photo that I posted before.

I've been cagey about it, because of my rabid paranoia. But now that I've had rabies shots, ...

 

[btb01]

You don't know what you're missing.

I don’t know, a good corned beef sandwich is pretty hard to beat.

I've been cagey about it, because of my rabid paranoia. But now that I've had rabies shots, ...

Understandable. Everyone has their own preferred level of anonymity on a place like this. I’m always happy to redact the city from my post if you’d like.

 

[bigfish64]

“it’ll put hair on your chest”

I heard that one too, and also I was told that it would stunt my growth…turns out both were true for me.

View attachment 1768505
Reporting for duty before the Sun is up. As always I hope y’all have a good day

Cool light.

Good Morning Guardians and Happy Saint Patrick's Day
Package of corned beef ready to go. Throwing it in the crock pot along with a bottle of Guinness. Let it cook all day.

Sounds delicious!

Good Morning Guardians

You have the best treats Harvey.

 

[bigfish64]

I would also like to enter Pàdruig , thank you for the opportunity. I haven’t been around long enough to go back too far but I remember sending Jack a PM right after joining the forum. I was asking about the guardians and where I might look to pick up a Lambsfoot. He took the time to write a very informative and gracious response to which I was very grateful, and still am to this day.