Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[5K Qs]

Been a great weekend. Highlight was probably seeing my two grandaughters together for the first time. The three-year-old from Fort Worth came to visit us and her newborn cousin.
Hope you had a good holiday, Gary.

Sounds great, Vince; definitely something for which you can be thankful!

Ya gotta dig around in the local Newspaper archives to find these ones. I didn't want to mention names but now that its out.

You're a master researcher, Dave!

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Can't blame Union Jack for not wanting to vacate the dock of the bay.
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Very true, Dwight. In fact, I was thinking I wish I could be back up there in Michigan's Upper Peninsula until I realized what the weather is like there from now until June! Your stag lambsfoot looks superb in the autumn leaves!

Just droppin' in to raise a glass to my fellow Guardians and post this fun photo of the Senator.

Your Senator obviously supports the Rainbow Coalition, FBC! (Forgive my being stuck in 1960's politics. )

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Great pic of your Union Jack Is it all-change now for next week?
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Thanks, and yes, sir; I usually carry out the weekly rotation before breakfast on Monday morning.

Morning Guardians, the start of a new week, and I'm finding it hard to kick my AC out of my pocket Have a good week folks

I know what you mean, Jack. If not for my prescribed schedule, I'd probably be carrying my Cracker Jack AC lambsfoot full time. I do like stag, but I was surprised how much I'm drawn to my AC stag lambsfoot!

Urgh....people... A million of them as well...
Unless, of course, you like people...
Actually I know how you feel. I'm also an ex-farm boy who now lives slap bang in the centre of the 2nd most densely populated part of the UK. Luckily relatively empty places are less than an hour bus/train/drive away

That August shots looks nice. I'd rather have August back than this 5c still misty but quite humid weather I've had for the past week.
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Not for breakfast.

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You have the right approach to crowded areas, David. I can get to some open space without traveling too far, but I rarely make the effort to do so! Weather-wise, I'm in enduring mode. I tend to classify months as good or bad, with May through September being good, and November through March being bad. My opinion of an entire year hinges on where April and October fall on my good/bad continuum!
I try to avoid commenting on food here, but I can't resist looking at your meat pies with a hungry eye.

+1
Black Friday exists here for less than 10 years and will probably follow Halloween's fate (they try every year but it never catches really, except with little schoolboys maybe). Today they try to inoculate us the Cyber Monday. There are no grounds for all this except purely commercial thoughts....

This is one Yank that HATES black Friday and cyber Monday.

I'm another (and I'm not fond of Small Business Saturday or Giving Tuesday, either).

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Nice pic!

Good Morning Guardians! Today I am carrying an A Wright Golden Buffalo Horn Lambsfoot.
View attachment 1026879

That's a handsome model, Dave!!

That's hilarious! I WOULD rather listen to talk (however inane) of sausage rolls than boys, makeup, & pop stars, but I probably would have just turned off my hearing aids!

Yikes! I have done a miserable job at keeping up on this thread. It is good to see that it continues to chug along nicely.

Some of you might remember that some time ago, I ordered a couple of Lambsfoot knives from a shop (that shall not be named) in the UK. The two knives that I received were a rather bitter disappointment. Though I warmed to the ebony (not so black), the horn clad example was almost unusable. I sent it to glennbad and he dressed it up in something far nicer.

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Absolutely sensational jigging, Dylan, and the color fits your rojo mojo! Glenn done you proud!

I wasn't intending a spa day for my workhorse lambsfoot. But, then again, I wasn't intending it to slip from atop an unruly stack of things in the garage and land point first on the concrete floor.

As luck would have it, this happened toward the end of straightening up my work area in the garage before my intended task of sharpening some other knives. It was helping me break down a pile of accumulated cardboard boxes. Oh well, the time was already earmarked for maintenance; I just had to reprioritize the queue.

I took the opportunity to clean up the bevels on the wet grinding wheel and then honed the edge back to shaving sharp. Next I oiled the joint and cleaned out accumulated gunk and a bit of stray pocket lint. Finally, the horn handles got a mineral oil and beeswax balm treatment and were buffed with a piece of an old t-shirt. Here it is, relaxing afterward:

You might be able to tell in the photo that the tip could use a little more work. I think I might end up filing just a hair off the nose, maintaining the same angle, so that I can get back to having a nice crisp tip. But, that's for another day.

I've noticed that the horn has accumulated a lot of very small scratches and has lost a bit of its luster. Has anyone ever tried polishing their horn handles with honing compound or anything else that might help with that?

I like that side, too, Jack.

I have other things to attend to today, but spent a few minutes with honing compound on both a strop and a rag and realized its going to need more help than that. So, I quickly worked through my finest grits of wet/dry sandpaper on the pile side, which is in the worst shape. The results were promising, so I’ll come back to it in a day or three and see what I can do when I have time to do it carefully.

Interesting stories of some of your adventures with the horn lambsfoot, Greg!! Keep the updates coming!!

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The talk of horn has edged me to carrying this 'un (pictured here we the ACs!) Hope everyone's week is off to a good start

Quite a bag of goodies, Jack!

Your lovely model toy gave me some ideas.

View attachment 1027431

View attachment 1027432

Thanks for the intriguing photos, @Jolipapa!

Oh, and by the way, I carry a lambsfoot...

... because the tasty part of a Meyer lemon is on the inside!

How ‘bout you?

G'day y'all. View attachment 1027560

Remarkable pic of a notable knife, Dwight!

This week I have my Black Jack representing my lambsfoot flock. Here he is new, with a friend:


- GT

 

[glennbad]

I was hoping to get your thoughts on this one. It's a wonderful Brookes & Crookes Sheffield.







I really enjoy all the interesting things on this knife...2 blade, rough steel pins, brass bolsters.

 

[lambertiana]

How many lambsfoot knives can say that they were held in Buddha's hands?

 

[flatblackcapo]

Cheers Kevin, that's a cool pic

Thank you, my friend. I was browsing meat pies ( from a shop you recommended... I think. ) and came across this one. Sadly, they don't deliver to my neck of the woods.

Yikes! I have done a miserable job at keeping up on this thread. It is good to see that it continues to chug along nicely.

Some of you might remember that some time ago, I ordered a couple of Lambsfoot knives from a shop (that shall not be named) in the UK. The two knives that I received were a rather bitter disappointment. Though I warmed to the ebony (not so black), the horn clad example was almost unusable. I sent it to glennbad and he dressed it up in something far nicer.

Really nice, really really nice , Dylan!

glennbad nicely done!

Your Senator obviously supports the Rainbow Coalition, FBC! (Forgive my being stuck in 1960's politics. )

I was thinking more World Champ' colors, but I see now that the black is out of frame. But hey, rainbows, and the coalition, are cool too!

Ya hippie

 

[Jack Black]

I know what you mean, Jack. If not for my prescribed schedule, I'd probably be carrying my Cracker Jack AC lambsfoot full time. I do like stag, but I was surprised how much I'm drawn to my AC stag lambsfoot!

Me too GT, I have other stag Lambsfoot knives I like, but nowhere near as much as my AC, and I have been surprised how much I have taken to the smaller size. Previously, I found it a bit 'dinky', but I really enjoy everything about the AC

Quite a bag of goodies, Jack!

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This week I have my Black Jack representing my lambsfoot flock. Here he is new, with a friend:
View attachment 1027848

- GT

Thank you my friend, so it turned out

Great pic of Black Jack - and friend

I was hoping to get your thoughts on this one. It's a wonderful Brookes & Crookes Sheffield.

View attachment 1027907
View attachment 1027913
View attachment 1027914



I really enjoy all the interesting things on this knife...2 blade, rough steel pins, brass bolsters.

What a great find Glenn Brookes & Crookes were one of Sheffield's finest cutlers, they did a lot of the fancier 'high-end' patterns, so it is interesting to see that, like so many other Sheffield firms, they did a Lambsfoot. It says a lot about the demand for the pattern I can post a potted history of Brookes & Crookes if it's of interest Glenn

How many lambsfoot knives can say that they were held in Buddha's hands?

Very good!

Thank you, my friend. I was browsing meat pies ( from a shop you recommended... I think. ) and came across this one. Sadly, they don't deliver to my neck of the woods.

Really nice, really really nice , Dylan!

glennbad nicely done!



I was thinking more World Champ' colors, but I see now that the black is out of frame. But hey, rainbows, and the coalition, are cool too!

Ya hippie

I've had that one Kevin! It was a really nice pie

I guess I better slip my AC in my pocket again Hope everyone is having a good week

 

[donn]

LOL! I don't think I have ever actually visited Wigan, though I've read about it quite a bit! If I ever get the chance, I'll definitely go though With respect to the sausage rolls, I think Barnsley may be a bit similar. I was once travelling from Leeds to Sheffield, and when the train stopped at Barnsley, a group of about 10 teenage girls got on, and sat at and opposite my table. I thought I was going to have to listen to a lot of excited chatter about boys, makeup, and pop singers for the next 30 minutes, but the sole topic of conversation was sausage rolls! Much as I enjoy a sausage roll, I would be hard-pressed to talk about nothing else for 30 minutes, particularly when the level of conversation went something like: "Oooh, I love a sausage roll!"
"Oooh, I like a sausage roll too!"
"I really love a sausage roll!"
Something wrong with the kids in Barnsley

A grand pic my friend

Lambsfoot/Sausage roll content

Just the same here JP

According to a good friend of mine, (Barnsley born and bred), there's nothing wrong with the kids in the Barnsley. There's just something wrong with Barnsley
Before you jump the train and venture over the border into the wilds of Greater Manchester, I should tell you I can only think of three reasons to visit Wigan.

1. The Trencherfield Mill Steam Engine.
https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Museums-archives/Trencherfield-Mill-Engine.aspx

2. Pies.
https://www.lifeofpies.co.uk/buy/the-top-ten-pies-in-wigan/

3. The World Pie Eating Championship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Pie_Eating_Championship

And I remember a few months ago Dave posted a pic of a huge head in Canmore, Alberta. Well I was wondering around Wigan a couple of months ago and stumbled across this...

Anyway that AC and sausage roll both look delicious. But I wonder if, on your next Guardians knife, you could have A.Wright's use bone covers but made to look like sausage roll pastry...???

but I probably would have just turned off my hearing aids!

You can do that? That's inspired! I'm cursed with bats eyesight but bats hearing. Makes public transport a torture.

Good Morning Guardians! Today I am carrying an A Wright Golden Buffalo Horn Lambsfoot.
View attachment 1026879

Great colours on that Dave.

Yikes! I have done a miserable job at keeping up on this thread. It is good to see that it continues to chug along nicely.

Some of you might remember that some time ago, I ordered a couple of Lambsfoot knives from a shop (that shall not be named) in the UK. The two knives that I received were a rather bitter disappointment. Though I warmed to the ebony (not so black), the horn clad example was almost unusable. I sent it to glennbad and he dressed it up in something far nicer.

Every cloud has a silver lining. That's very nice work And certainly better looking than the coloured jigged bone A.Wright's offer.

Good news my friend - though not about the bike crash! - There original Sheffield trams finished in the early 1960's, but similar ones to these have run since the early 1990's. A bit of a nightmare for the city when they were working on the system, but it works well now

Years ago Jack I was told that those things were nicknamed 'The Slugs'. Is that true?

I'm another (and I'm not fond of Small Business Saturday or Giving Tuesday, either).


This week I have my Black Jack representing my lambsfoot flock. Here he is new, with a friend:
View attachment 1027848

- GT

Giving Tuesday? Coming to the UK shortly I'm sure
Great looking ebony on the Black Jack there GT

I was hoping to get your thoughts on this one. It's a wonderful Brookes & Crookes Sheffield.

View attachment 1027907
View attachment 1027913
View attachment 1027914



I really enjoy all the interesting things on this knife...2 blade, rough steel pins, brass bolsters.

Oh now that's very nice. Beautifully aged but still exudes that old Sheffield quality Especially the brass bolsters, which I wished more knife makers used.

How many lambsfoot knives can say that they were held in Buddha's hands?

What the blazes are those things? Never seen them before.

Thank you, my friend. I was browsing meat pies ( from a shop you recommended... I think. ) and came across this one. Sadly, they don't deliver to my neck of the woods.

That feeling must be the same us Brits get when we find that US makers don't deliver fine US made cutlery to the UK.

I like autumn but it's nice to see the sun and blue sky occasionally; but I've seen neither for over a week now. So from a couple of Saturdays back

 

[Jack Black]

According to a good friend of mine, (Barnsley born and bred), there's nothing wrong with the kids in the Barnsley. There's just something wrong with Barnsley
Before you jump the train and venture over the border into the wilds of Greater Manchester, I should tell you I can only think of three reasons to visit Wigan.

1. The Trencherfield Mill Steam Engine.
https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Museums-archives/Trencherfield-Mill-Engine.aspx

2. Pies.
https://www.lifeofpies.co.uk/buy/the-top-ten-pies-in-wigan/

3. The World Pie Eating Championship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Pie_Eating_Championship

LOL! I had been meaning to read Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice for some years (I'm a sucker for puns, and the pie reference was definitely a bonus), and finally got round to it about a year ago. It was a disappointing read, but from what I remember he spends a disproportionate amount of paper talking about Wigan, which sort of made me think I should visit at some point. Pie eating aside though, (and that great-looking engine), you're probably right though my friend! Thanks for the great links - though I have to be suspicious of a pie connoisseur who'd eat from the Pound Bakery, a friend once bought me a sausage roll from their Barnsley branch, and after I turned my nose up, even his dog wouldn't eat it! Those lasses on the train presumably went somewhere else! The Pie Barm made me think of the idea I had to put a fried breakfast in a pie! I have a mate who regularly enters pie-eating contests, but he's not at the international level!

And I remember a few months ago Dave posted a pic of a huge head in Canmore, Alberta. Well I was wondering around Wigan a couple of months ago and stumbled across this...

That must have been a frightening thing to come across (as 'art' often is)!!

Anyway that AC and sausage roll both look delicious. But I wonder if, on your next Guardians knife, you could have A.Wright's use bone covers but made to look like sausage roll pastry...???

Thanks mate, from a stall in York market. Unfortunately, the orange canopies they have up always tint the photographs! I would love that if I thought Wright's could pull it off!

You can do that? That's inspired! I'm cursed with bats eyesight but bats hearing. Makes public transport a torture.

I carry ear-plugs

Years ago Jack I was told that those things were nicknamed 'The Slugs'. Is that true?

I've never heard them called that David, but while I was living in Sheffield when they built the first line, I wasn't living there when they rolled out the full network. They certainly weren't popular then, as there was a huge amount of disruption caused, lots of accidents from cars skidding on the tram tracks, and they were very expensive. Maybe I'm just not down with the kidz!

Giving Tuesday? Coming to the UK shortly I'm sure

Is that to keep Yorkshiremen out?! Hope we get some sunshine again soon my friend, but I think the forecast is rain for the rest of the week

 

[bonzodog]

 

[dc50]

And I remember a few months ago Dave posted a pic of a huge head in Canmore, Alberta. Well I was wondering around Wigan a couple of months ago and stumbled across this...

That's the same guy!

 

[dc50]

Jack, here's hoping the Sun comes your way.

 

[dc50]

You're a master researcher, Dave!

Thank you, thank you very much spoken like Elvis.

 

[glennbad]

What a great find Glenn Brookes & Crookes were one of Sheffield's finest cutlers, they did a lot of the fancier 'high-end' patterns, so it is interesting to see that, like so many other Sheffield firms, they did a Lambsfoot. It says a lot about the demand for the pattern I can post a potted history of Brookes & Crookes if it's of interest Glenn

That would be an interesting bit of info, if it's no trouble. Thanks!

 

[JohnDF]

Dr. Manhattan?

 

[dc50]

Dr. Manhattan?

lol, John maybe that's who he is.

 

[Prester John]

lol, John maybe that's who he is.

The one in Wigan looks like the Silver Surfer.

 

[flatblackcapo]

I've had that one Kevin! It was a really nice pie

I guess I better slip my AC in my pocket again Hope everyone is having a good week

I am very sad to say that I have never had a meat pie.... I will have to fix that one way or another.
I would be tempted to sew an extra pocket in my pants, just to make sure I had room for that AC.
Btw, I really liked your idea of a long bolstered Lambsfoot in stag.

That feeling must be the same us Brits get when we find that US makers don't deliver fine US made cutlery to the UK.

I don't know if it's that bad... but I do feel like I am missing out.

old pic just because.

 

[JTB_5]

Both of those heads remind me of the Sentinels from the X-Men series comics.

 

[Jack Black]

View attachment 1028025

That's the same guy!

Are they trying to encouage traffic accidents along that stretch of road?!

View attachment 1028031 Jack, here's hoping the Sun comes your way.

Thanks pal, that is some spectacular scenery, and a great shot of your AC

That would be an interesting bit of info, if it's no trouble. Thanks!

I'll go and drag out my Tweedale shortly

Dr. Manhattan?

I am very sad to say that I have never had a meat pie.... I will have to fix that one way or another.
I would be tempted to sew an extra pocket in my pants, just to make sure I had room for that AC.
Btw, I really liked your idea of a long bolstered Lambsfoot in stag.


I don't know if it's that bad... but I do feel like I am missing out.

old pic just because.

I wish I could send you one! Not too hard to make though 'Kevin' is actually one of their vegetarian pies (https://www.pieminister.co.uk/pies/kevin/), pretty darn tasty though Thanks buddy, we'll have to sort that one out at some point, just hope they can find some stag as good as they used on the ACs Nice to see your 2017

 

[dc50]

Are they trying to encouage traffic accidents along that stretch of road?!

I'm sure there have been accidents at that spot, there are three pubs and an intersection adjacent to the head.

 

[Jack Black]

That would be an interesting bit of info, if it's no trouble. Thanks!

According to the good Prof. Tweedale, the company had its roots in the activities of John Brookes (1825-1865), the son of Jonathan Brookes, a cutler living in Broomhall Street, Sheffield.

By 1851, John had launched his own business, and displayed at the Great Exhibition of that year, receiving an Honourable Mention for his work.

By 1854, he had moved to Mulberry Street in the centre of Sheffield (on the street @Cambertree stayed when he visited! ).

In 1858, Brookes was joined by Thomas Crookes (1827-1912), and they acquired a warehouse, workshops, engine-house, and grinding wheel behind a house at 58 St Philip's Road. The factory had previously been occupied by Thomas Wigfall and Charles Cutts.

Brookes and Crookes were already committed to producing 'first-class goods', and promised to remunerate their cutlers fairly for their labour. They were also willing to pay bonuses for new designs.

In 1861, Brookes & Crookes claimed to employ about 50 men. The partnership was, however, short-lived, with Brookes dying on 14th February 1865 in the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum. , aged only 39.

Thomas Crookes took over the firm, being helped by William Westby, the works manager. Becoming a partner, Westby managed the business, while Crookes undertook sales trips. In the 1871 Census, Westby claimed to be employing 80 men, 20 boys, and 8 girls. By 1879 he had moved his home from Atlantic Works to Broomspring Lane, Broomhall (I am very familiar with all the locations if you have any questions about them). He retired in 1891, dying the same year.

After Westby's death, Thomas Crookes continued to run the firm, but spent long spells away from home, travelling through Ireland, Scotland, throughout England, and to Paris and Brussels. He was later joined in the business by his sons Herbert (1853-1954) and Willis (1859-1941).

While never among the largest Sheffield cutlery firms (in 1881 they employed 130 workers), they were always noted for their quality, and they could command high prices for their knives, with multi-bladed knives selling for as much as £30 in the 1890's. The firm won a range of awards for their work.

By 1900, the sons of Herbert Crookes, Herbert and Cyril, had joined the firm, and after Thomas Crookes died in 1912, they took control. Brookes & Crookes was, by now, a 'Ltd' company.

Sadly, like the other Sheffield cutlery houses, Brookes & Crookes now went into slow decline. According to Geoffrey Tweedale, it was one of the last firms to employ skilled grinders, buffers, and knife makers, but after WW2, demand for its high quality products fell dramatically. Willis Crookes had died in 1941, and his brother Herbert passed away in 1954. Cyril died in 1966, but by then the family's long involvement in the cutlery trade had already come to an end. In 1957, Atlantic Works was closed, and the factory demolished. Brookes & Crookes was formally liquidated in 1964.