Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[Rufus1949]

Beautiful Old Lambsfoot my friend! Love that Bone colour and the awesome checkering!

Thank you kindly Duncan. I just admire old world craftsmanship.

Bob

 

[Jack Black]

Sounds like fun. But when you say "two more pints", do you mean per person?

Just one apiece Vince

I can't say what he does or does not get from Wright's but, I am pretty sure at least the blade is now a Michael May thing though, he could be starting from blanks stamped by someone like Wright's.

Why do you think that Sid? Michael May's blades and springs were made by Wrights, from when he ran out of Trevor Ablett's old stock, which was also made by Wright's, many years ago. They were originally stamped with the generic Sheffield stamp preferred by many vendors, and more recently they stamped them for him with his own stamp. If that has changed it would be interesting to know

I am unsure what stainless Wright uses, if any, but the two "standard" stainless options from Michael are SF100 (Sheffield-based) and AEB-L.

Wright's have long listed one or two stainless models (not Lambsfoot knives), but they may very well be made by one of the other surviving firms, Eggington I would think, if that is the case. This kind of thing is, and always has been, extremely common in the Sheffield cutlery trade, Wright's have made pocket knives, for ALL the other surviving firms, for example. SF-100 and SF-77 are steels I have some experience with from my first venture into cutlery, many years ago. Samuel Fox-77 was a steel used in Sheffield for the production of kitchen knives, but British Steel (Avesta at the time) did not believe it could be hardened beyond 53RC. Back in 1993, with the use of specialist vacuum-hardening, and a 2 stage gaseous nitrogen treatment, together with extensive testing, I proved otherwise. I subsequently asked British Steel to supply samples of SF-100, which if I remember correctly, was not recommended for cutlery production at all, at the time, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to continue with my cutlery endeavours. If Mr May is using SF-100, I can guess where it is coming from, but would think he would need Wright's to blank out the blades for him.

I know he is also making other slip-joint models for significant money that are NOT on his website so, the question of SOLE AUTHORSHIP is an open question but, it looks like he is headed in that general direction with his more premium multi-blade slip joints.

Who knows? As myself and other long-standing contributors to this thread know, Mr May has made many claims in the past. It would be nice if, at this stage in his career, he were producing his own knives

For something about twice the cost of an A Wright lambfoot base model, I think there is a lot of value there for the money spent. That is not meant to slight A Wright's offerings but, they seem to be a bit rough to me for the cost. Personally, I think if A Wright put another 25%~50% into their knife's cost and used that for more "spit and polish", I think they would appeal a lot more to someone like myself that lives on a different continent and doesn't raise sheep for a primary occupation.

They can certainly be rough and ready knives, and their QC is often non-existent (one has to rely on a reliable vendor to check them). What you say was first mooted very early on in this thread, and I personally invested a lot of money, under Wright's previous ownership, paying that extra cash, in order to get better quality knives made. However, like other Sheffield cutlers I've known, their default is producing cheap and shoddy products, sadly, and they revert to that whenever they can get away with it. It's a sad thing Other members have had very bad experiences with Michael May knives in the past, but more recently, the knives he sells look to be of better quality, at least as can be seen by the the ones shown

Afternoon Guardians! Heavy rain this morning. Nice and cool now. Hope everyone has a good evening.

View attachment 2259576

Good-looking Blue David, almost a Sheffield Wednesday blue!

I would have loved to be with you there on that Train Jack - I love the big Steam Trains! kinda like Beer too

Maybe we can do it sometime Duncan, it is always a pleasure to be in your company my friend

 

[Jack Black]

Love everything about this Jack! Awesome post!

Thanks a lot Duncan, I wish you could have joined us

 

[btb01]

Hope everyone is having a good day We actually have a little sunshine this afternoon!

Steady day at the market

Fishmongers setting up on Fish Row. Even 10 years ago, both sides of this market row were lined with fishmongers, now I think there are four

Nobber Al

Eddie Two Quiffs

Born Again (Ted) Barry

Captain Birdseye

Hell-On-Wheels and Ridiculously Overpriced Ray

Kandahar Fashions

Special Needs Scott

Tool Man

Ex Para Steve

Captain Clot

Quite a crew, Jack!

Tool Man thinks it's outrageous that a man of Eddie's age has that much hair!

And only going grey in the sideburns, incredible!

This is one of the two lambs I custom ordered several months ago for @cigarrodog Harvey and myself. They were made by Ashley Harrison. The other is on its way to Finland to our Porch friend @Will Power who graciously offered to help after Harvey’s passing . I will be making a donation from the funds received from Will’s to Harvey’s favorite charity PAWS of Chicago. Mine came a few days ago but Will tells me that their postal service is somewhat slow. The handles on mine are 3,000 year old bog oak. Will’s has smooth white bone handles and he promised to post pics upon arrival.
View attachment 2258578

Nice looking Lambsfoot, Dan.

I had a pleasant afternoon out with Nobber Al, but while it was an enjoyable time, I can't say it was a great pub crawl. We were headed to a Leeds suburb, close to where I live, but as I arrived at the bar where we were meeting - Further North - I discovered that they had changed their opening time from 12 to 1pm. I rang Al, to let him know, and said I would meet him at The Queen's Arms further out of town. I walked on to the Queen's Arms, only to find it closed for refurbishment, so I rang Al again, and told him I'd meet him at another pub, half a mile away,

The Regent used to be a darts and dominoes pub. Not so much of either of those, but still not a bad pub, in an area, where there are mainly bars.

They had one of my favourite Leeds beers on, Northern Monk Virtuous, so we grabbed a couple of pints

After that, I grabbed a sausage roll, from a local bakery, and we walked back up the hill to Further North, and ordered a couple of pints of bitter

As we were leaving, I noticed a poster for a tap-takeover by the small Zapato brewery, which is run by a friend of mine, Matt. I asked the barman if Matt would be there, and was told he was away on holiday. By coincidence, there was a text on my phone, from Alice, Matt's wife, asking if I could attend the event, as Matt would love to see me!

Al and I walked back down the hill, and went to a bar called The Woods. I ordered a pint of Kirkstall Brewery's Virtuous, another favourite, while Al opted for a different beer, which he didn't like.

We left The Woods, heading for the Black Sheep Brewery, which was closed for refurbishment, as was the Nag's Head. What was going on?! Al, who clearly doesn't understand the idea of a linear pub crawl, wanted to go back to The Regent, because we had had a good pint there. Maybe consider what you order Al!

Back at The Regent, we were greeted by loud, raucous singing, chanting, and shouting, from within! Perhaps a bunch of football hooligans we thought, but no, it was actually a large group of primary school teachers, who had just finished for the summer vacation, and were busy getting drunk! We got 2 more pints, and drank them amidst the carnage!

It was now after 4.30pm, and I was still petitioning for lunch, so after leaving The Regent, we headed to Sami's, a local Algerian restaurant, only to find that closed for refurbishment too!

We ordered food back at The Woods, but the pasta dish we ordered was less than mediocre, and very overpriced. I thought I was a moaning old sod, but Al had me beat! We had another couple of pints

We were supposed to be heading to The Three Hulats, where I was last night, and possibly a couple of other bars, but Al had had enough, and bailed out. To be fair, he has to work tomorrow

Glad you’re staying hydrated this summer, Jack!

Thought I’d give the Rosewood HHB a little love.

 

[Rufus1949]

Quite a crew, Jack!



And only going grey in the sideburns, incredible!



Nice looking Lambsfoot, Dan.



Glad you’re staying hydrated this summer, Jack!

Thought I’d give the Rosewood HHB a little love.

Barrett, that one belongs in the lambfoot hall of fame. Located somewhere in Leeds.

 

[echoscout]

You must have a thing for blue bone this week.

Good-looking Blue David, almost a Sheffield Wednesday blue!

Thank you buddy! Had to look up Sheffield Wednesday blue.

 

[sf fanatic]

Quite a crew, Jack!



And only going grey in the sideburns, incredible!



Nice looking Lambsfoot, Dan.



Glad you’re staying hydrated this summer, Jack!

Thought I’d give the Rosewood HHB a little love.

Thanks Barrett! I can’t wait to see Will’s.

 

[cudgee]

Rosewood HHB a little love.

That is some nice wood.

 

[Sid Post]

Why do you think that Sid? Michael May's blades and springs were made by Wrights, from when he ran out of Trevor Ablett's old stock, which was also made by Wright's, many years ago. They were originally stamped with the generic Sheffield stamp preferred by many vendors, and more recently they stamped them for him with his own stamp. If that has changed it would be interesting to know

I say that based on personal emails from him discussing stainless options. I did not ask specifically about the O1 carbon steel blades but, I would not be surprised if that was still true for those blades.

Stainless discussions were well past a simple die change and we discussed blades that Wright's simply do not offer. With the low numbers in production, I would be shocked to learn he was using a custom die to stamp a half dozen blanks for a custom knife.

Whether he used a Wright die to strike a blank for my knife out of stainless is not a huge concern either way and if it lets him keep his knives at the same or similar prices to common production knives many people buy, I say more power to him for a good business decision!

Keep in mind, I am asking him to build a knife on an existing pattern with materials he doesn't normally offer in a blade steel he doesn't work currently with. Final pricing is TBD but, without the 'custom' one-off blade steel we were in the ~100£ range give or take a little for shipping and scales.

That is reasonably close to a production Case multi-blade slip-joint in many cases and a lot less than something like the Benchmades or Spydercos I am familiar with and, probably consistent with a lot of Kershaw knives. None of these companies will build me ONE KNIFE out of my steel and scale choice so, what's not to like? While not a K'roo from South Africa, it also is a fraction of the cost and about half the cost of the Alber Cutlery knives I see occasionally which seems to be like winning a state lottery prize!

Since he now builds some custom one-off high-end slip joints, I would tend to think he is "spreading his wings" and offering a bit more than just line-production lambfoot knives if you are willing to pay a bit more.

 

[Sid Post]

Wright's have long listed one or two stainless models (not Lambsfoot knives), but they may very well be made by one of the other surviving firms, Eggington I would think, if that is the case. This kind of thing is, and always has been, extremely common in the Sheffield cutlery trade, Wright's have made pocket knives, for ALL the other surviving firms, for example. SF-100 and SF-77 are steels I have some experience with from my first venture into cutlery, many years ago. Samuel Fox-77 was a steel used in Sheffield for the production of kitchen knives, but British Steel (Avesta at the time) did not believe it could be hardened beyond 53RC. Back in 1993, with the use of specialist vacuum-hardening, and a 2 stage gaseous nitrogen treatment, together with extensive testing, I proved otherwise. I subsequently asked British Steel to supply samples of SF-100, which if I remember correctly, was not recommended for cutlery production at all, at the time, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to continue with my cutlery endeavours. If Mr May is using SF-100, I can guess where it is coming from, but would think he would need Wright's to blank out the blades for him.

With the long history of piece work in Sheffield, what you say makes a lot of sense from a historical perspective.

Who knows? As myself and other long-standing contributors to this thread know, Mr May has made many claims in the past. It would be nice if, at this stage in his career, he were producing his own knives

I think this is true on a limited basis today.

They can certainly be rough and ready knives, and their QC is often non-existent (one has to rely on a reliable vendor to check them). What you say was first mooted very early on in this thread, and I personally invested a lot of money, under Wright's previous ownership, paying that extra cash, in order to get better quality knives made. However, like other Sheffield cutlers I've known, their default is producing cheap and shoddy products, sadly, and they revert to that whenever they can get away with it. It's a sad thing Other members have had very bad experiences with Michael May knives in the past, but more recently, the knives he sells look to be of better quality, at least as can be seen by the the ones shown

When you are geared to piece work, whether working in an Asian sweatshop making clothes for discount or fast fashion stores or, cranking out working-class knives, the production that passes whatever QC is present is all that counts.

What you mention with Wright's is consistent with my experience. For the extra money, I am expecting a Micheal May not to have the shoddy construction that needs end user correction for reasonable functionality.

 

[Fodderwing]

Good morning Guardians. Been in France for the last two weeks. Got home and tested positive for Covid. Feel crappy and meeting with the Dr. Wish me luck.

I hope you feel better soon Bill. At least you made it home before the diagnosis.

Afternoon Guardians! Heavy rain this morning. Nice and cool now. Hope everyone has a good evening.

View attachment 2259576

I really like this blue lamb David.

 

[JJ Cahill]

I put one of Jack's beauties with another ebony Lambsfoot today.

 

[Jack Black]

Quite a crew, Jack!

And only going grey in the sideburns, incredible!

Yes, quite incredible! Those Teddy Boys are a vain lot!

Glad you’re staying hydrated this summer, Jack!

Thanks Barrett, my social life is like English buses, all coming at once!

Thought I’d give the Rosewood HHB a little love.

Great to see it my friend

Thank you buddy! Had to look up Sheffield Wednesday blue.

I should have included a link David

I say that based on personal emails from him

Oh, OK

Whether he used a Wright die to strike a blank for my knife out of stainless is not a huge concern either way and if it lets him keep his knives at the same or similar prices to common production knives many people buy, I say more power to him for a good business decision!

Certainly not a new thing, he is not the first cutler, to buy his parts from Wright's. Nothing wrong with that, so long as there's honesty, it makes perfect sense. The blades are stamped out from a strip using an ancient press, with the tang stamps being applied in the same way. It's not a question of Mr May stamping the blades out using a die, Wright's do the work, but there's still plenty to do to make a finished knife

Since he now builds some custom one-off high-end slip joints, I would tend to think he is "spreading his wings" and offering a bit more than just line-production lambfoot knives if you are willing to pay a bit more.

Who knows Sid, I learned many years ago, that unless I am there in the workshop in Sheffield, I really don't know what's going on, but I hope that is the case

With the long history of piece work in Sheffield, what you say makes a lot of sense from a historical perspective.

Piecework has always been central to the Sheffield pocket knife trade. Even in the heyday of big firms like Joseph Rodgers, most of their cutlers were self-employed. One of the reasons the trade never really mechanised is that labour was so cheap.

When you are geared to piece work, whether working in an Asian sweatshop making clothes for discount or fast fashion stores or, cranking out working-class knives, the production that passes whatever QC is present is all that counts.

That is very true Sid, it's a shame Wright's can't pay more attention to it

What you mention with Wright's is consistent with my experience. For the extra money, I am expecting a Micheal May not to have the shoddy construction that needs end user correction for reasonable functionality.

I hope you get a good one Looking forward to seeing it

I put one of Jack's beauties with another ebony Lambsfoot today.

Happy Double Lambsfoot Day my friend Great pic

Good morning Guardians, I hope everyone is well, and that you have something exciting planned for the weekend Poor old Bill, I do hope he's going to be OK soon With my pub-crawl yesterday, I keep thinking I've already had my Saturday! I have a neighbour from the Ivory Coast, and he has invited me to watch Ivory Coast play Cameroon at football - in the local park - but some of the players have played for their national sides! My neighbour, who was in the national Ivory Coast basketball squad, was supposed to be playing, but he has gone down with flu. He was still hoping to attend yesterday, but I guess it depends how his flu is, to some extent. It's also raining heavily currently, so who knows Meanwhile, my brewer pal, Matt, is also coming over, so I may have to do some juggling! Slipping my lovely K'roo Lamb in my pocket, to give me a bit of Waboom! Have a great day Guardians

 

[echoscout]

I really like this blue lamb David.

Thank you buddy!

I should have included a link David

Thanks Jack!

Good morning Guardians, I hope everyone is well, and that you have something exciting planned for the weekend Poor old Bill, I do hope he's going to be OK soon With my pub-crawl yesterday, I keep thinking I've already had my Saturday! I have a neighbour from the Ivory Coast, and he has invited me to watch Ivory Coast play Cameroon at football - in the local park - but some of the players have played for their national sides! My neighbour, who was in the national Ivory Coast basketball squad, was supposed to be playing, but he has gone down with flu. He was still hoping to attend yesterday, but I guess it depends how his flu is, to some extent. It's also raining heavily currently, so who knows Meanwhile, my brewer pal, Matt, is also coming over, so I may have to do some juggling! Slipping my lovely K'roo Lamb in my pocket, to give me a bit of Waboom! Have a great day Guardians

WaBoooooooooom!

 

[Jack Black]

WaBoooooooooom!

 

[SteveC]

Good morning Guardians, I hope everyone is well, and that you have something exciting planned for the weekend Poor old Bill, I do hope he's going to be OK soon With my pub-crawl yesterday, I keep thinking I've already had my Saturday! I have a neighbour from the Ivory Coast, and he has invited me to watch Ivory Coast play Cameroon at football - in the local park - but some of the players have played for their national sides! My neighbour, who was in the national Ivory Coast basketball squad, was supposed to be playing, but he has gone down with flu. He was still hoping to attend yesterday, but I guess it depends how his flu is, to some extent. It's also raining heavily currently, so who knows Meanwhile, my brewer pal, Matt, is also coming over, so I may have to do some juggling! Slipping my lovely K'roo Lamb in my pocket, to give me a bit of Waboom! Have a great day Guardians

Have a great day Jack, with Waboom in your pocket how could you not !

 

[screened porch]

 

[Jack Black]

Have a great day Jack, with Waboom in your pocket how could you not !

Thanks Steve

Looks like you're well prepared Jer

 

[SteveC]

Good morning Guardians !

I hope everyone has a great weekend

Current Lamb in my pocket

 

[Jack Black]

Good morning Guardians !

I hope everyone has a great weekend

Current Lamb in my pocket


View attachment 2260205

Great pic of a fabulous-looking Lamb Steve