Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[mitch13]

These candies were to be used in an upcoming gaw, but my wife ate most of them.
Stay tuned.View attachment 2638085

C'mon Bob
You know the rules
What's your's, is only if wife approved. Otherwise it goes in the OUR pile
Great pic.

 

[Rufus1949]

C'mon Bob
You know the rules
What's your's, is only if wife approved. Otherwise it goes in the OUR pile
Great pic.

Very prophetic.

 

[Jack Black]

What a feat Jack Black !!!

Hats off!!! Woohoo!

Let's keep it going! My contribution...banana bread made by my daughter...yum!

That looks delicious Ken

My first lamb is on the left in this pic - I won Jack Black 's Yorkshire Day giveaway a few years ago. It has been carried (and used!) a lot, but once I got the HHB (also from Jack) it became the lamb I carry the most. Great knives, and this is a great thread. Thanks to Jack and all my fellow Guardians for this cool space on the internet.

By the way, this is not an entry - I've been the recipient of so much generosity from Jack already that I'd be embarrassed to win anything else here. Good luck to all the participants!

That's a cool pic Tyson Feel free to edit your post if you change your mind about entering

Wow ! so many lovely lambs today. I've had a busy day and won't try to comment of each one but well done Guardians !


Carrying one of Jack's Big Bagpipe Lambs today





View attachment 2637514



Bonus pic of the day

View attachment 2637513

Great pics Steve

This is my first Lambsfoot. It started my appreciation of the pattern and led me here when I joined BF.

This is an entry but I would like it to go to my buddy David echoscout

Thanks Jack

I have always admired that one my friend, glad you have it

Since we're celebrating a couple milestones I thought a chip buttie was in order.

View attachment 2637575

Great stuff David!

Has anyone heard from fellow Guardians @JohnDF or @Onebigbill lately? I’ve tried getting ahold of them both, but haven’t heard anything back.

Hope you manage to get hold of them mate

Geez
Go to bed- open this up and it’s moved another 5 pages
Jack you have created a Monster here!

LOL! I know what you mean Duncan!

Cheers Jack

Cheers mate

I didn't realize the significance of The Knife with No Name's history!
and,

It IS The Silent Lambsfoot!

Wow 100k! I haven’t participated in this thread because I’m new to the lambsfoot blade. I’ve watched it grow over the past decade and enjoyed reading. Congratulations Jack Black you have created an amazing thread. I finally purchased my first lambsfoot and it arrived today…so here’s my entry

View attachment 2637634

Congratulations on that beauty, and welcome to the Guardians

Ahh, thanks Jack! Great to hear your wear your AK on your sleeve.

LOL! The fellers in the barber's shop were very admiring of it Pete One of them said his dad had the same T-shirt!

So I’ve made my way home and wanted to share now that I was lambless in the Smithsonian museum of Natural History. We flew up Tuesday for a work conference and being so close, there was no way for me not to visit the National Mall. It had been about 20 years since my last visit. I ended up spending most of my time in the Human Origins section. Here are some of the things that captivated me below.

So for the sake of entering said museum, I had to find a work around for my knife. It was fun. All of it.

View attachment 2637665


View attachment 2637666


View attachment 2637667

View attachment 2637668

View attachment 2637669

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View attachment 2637671

And I visited the gems as well.View attachment 2637672View attachment 2637673View attachment 2637674View attachment 2637675View attachment 2637679

Wow, absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing buddy

Congrats to all of you lambsfoot lovers for your continued success in sharing the pattern with knife enthusiasts everywhere.


By coincidence I have a new one to share today. This one was done by Michael May and I was able to scoop it up on the exchange.

It is covered with grapevine from Chatsworth House. Apparently a couple centuries old and he had enough to do ten knives with it. It's really a very pretty material. The vine style file work adds to the whole motif.

View attachment 2637681View attachment 2637682View attachment 2637683

That's very interesting Rick

View attachment 2637684View attachment 2637685View attachment 2637686View attachment 2637687View attachment 2637688View attachment 2637689A few more.

Cool pics

Jack, you’ve got a few notifications there, mate.

Oh yeah! Up to 687 now!

Congrats again on such a huge milestone for the thread! Not an entry for me (seeing as I just won your Yorkshire Day giveaway a couple weeks ago), but I will share my first Lambsfoot (not that it’s very exciting).

My first Lambsfoot was a horn-handled A. Wright’s model that I ordered sight unseen from a shop in Sheffield (the shop may or may not have been famous). The blade had no swedge, the edge was slightly curved rather than straight, and the horn had shrunken back from the liners. (I don’t remember if the horn shrinkage was present when I first received it, but it certainly was there shortly after I got it.)

Here it is (on top) along with my second Lambsfoot, a standard A. Wright in ebony that was much more satisfying.

Thankfully I’ve received many wonderful Lambsfoot knives since then, many of which were a gift from Jack Black , commissioned by Jack (the wonderful Guardians SFOs), or in some cases, both.

Here are some Lambsfoot pics I’ve posted over the years.

Thanks for all you've done here my friend Some great pics there Is that a Big 'Un in the bottom of the wooden bowl? Nice wood

 

[Jack Black]

I should post another photo of Union Jack before I head for bed. Here he is with a necktie that my wife got for me. She eventually wanted me to never wear it anymore when she noticed that a politician whose policies she despised once wore a similar tie.
View attachment 2637909

- GT

LOL! Cool pic

That really has some beautiful character Dwight, great pic my friend

Violet

Violet is a sweetheart Mitch

Well guardians I managed to survive my comeback game of football. Given how sore I am now not looking forward to tomorrow. Home now relaxing with a lamb and ale.
View attachment 2638059

My two eldest played “minis” at half time. My three are on the right including the non combatant in blue.

View attachment 2638060

Awww Glad you made it mate, enjoy your beers

Thanks David, we are trundling along. Funny, my daughter has been in London almost a year now, enjoy everything.

Is your daughter still in London Bob? Blimey, she sure picked a time to visit! I hope she's doing OK

At least your having a go and playing aussie rules

There are RULES?!

These candies were to be used in an upcoming gaw, but my wife ate most of them.
Stay tuned.View attachment 2638085

Fantastic photo Bob

Good morning Guardians, thread has been busy! We're well on our way to the next milestone! After a few days with his elderly father, (and uncle and kids), Matt was in a thirsty mood, and we ended up having 9 pints, and then walking home in the early hours! He sure told me some funny stories He is off to Sheffield today, and I am heading into town to meet Wolfie, and a few other people, so I better get moving. Have a great day Guardians

 

[Rufus1949]

Is your daughter still in London Bob? Blimey, she sure picked a time to visit! I hope she's doing OK .

Fantastic photo Bob

A fine Albers Jack.
I admire your energy and stamina, hangin' with the boys.

My daughter is doing well in the city of London, thanks for asking.It seems to be a hub for her. She is usually traveling the world for her job. Last stop, Tanzania & Zimbabwe.

 

[SteveC]

Well guardians I managed to survive my comeback game of football. Given how sore I am now not looking forward to tomorrow. Home now relaxing with a lamb and ale.
View attachment 2638059

My two eldest played “minis” at half time. My three are on the right including the non combatant in blue.

View attachment 2638060

I hope your not too sore after your game. Good looking boy's !

I have always admired that one my friend, glad you have it

Thanks Jack !

Good morning Guardians, thread has been busy! We're well on our way to the next milestone! After a few days with his elderly father, (and uncle and kids), Matt was in a thirsty mood, and we ended up having 9 pints, and then walking home in the early hours! He sure told me some funny stories He is off to Sheffield today, and I am heading into town to meet Wolfie, and a few other people, so I better get moving. Have a great day Guardians

Hope your not too hungover , have a great day !

 

[Hatchet_Jack]

I hope you’re not too sore after your game. Good looking boy's !

I agree, very fortunate they took after their mother! I’ve got a face for radio.

 

[btb01]

Thanks for all you've done here my friend Some great pics there Is that a Big 'Un in the bottom of the wooden bowl? Nice wood

Thanks, Jack. Nah, that’s a standard size Wright’s Lambsfoot that you sent me years back, a small run you had made in Indonesian Rosewood, I think?

The bowl is a souvenir from high school or college. A buddy of mine and I were driving through Missouri, delivering (or picking up) an RV for my dad (I did a lot of that back then), and they used to have these billboards along the highway every few miles, “WALNUT BOWL FACTORY STORE, 126 MILES.” After driving past dozens of them (122 MILES… 116MILES… 109 MILES… etc.) and laughing about it, we decided what the hell, we’d stop at the Walnut Bowl Factory Store. Of course, we were the youngest people in there by several decades, and I don’t know what we were expecting, but it was just a huge store full of wooden bowls. We each bought the smallest bowl we they had and went on our way.

Good morning Guardians, thread has been busy! We're well on our way to the next milestone! After a few days with his elderly father, (and uncle and kids), Matt was in a thirsty mood, and we ended up having 9 pints, and then walking home in the early hours! He sure told me some funny stories He is off to Sheffield today, and I am heading into town to meet Wolfie, and a few other people, so I better get moving. Have a great day Guardians

Sounds like you had fun, Jack. You might have to roll me home after 9 pints!

 

[btb01]

Well, Guardians, seeing as these will be showing up for several of you today (and, in fact, made it to a few of you yesterday), I suppose it’s time for me to post about this here in the thread. Of course, those of you with whom I’ve exchanged PMs this past week will already know about this, but I want to post about it here so that you all can feel free to share your knives as they arrive.

Since the beginning of the year — and with Jack’s blessing, of course — I’ve been working with Eric Albers to make a 2024 Guardians of the Lambsfoot SFO for us. This is the first Guardians knife we’ve had in 5 years; the last one prior to this was done in 2019.

The knife is the same swayback Lambsfoot patterns that Eric has been making for a couple years now: 3 5/8” closed, a satin-finished CPM154 blade, and stainless liners and bolsters. The handle material is a vintage Micarta from the 1950s/60s, which Eric sourced from Poland. It came in a large cylinder measuring 4” in diameter and about 6.5” long. According to Eric’s Polish source, these Micarta cylinders were used in elevators, though we couldn’t really figure out exactly how they were used. Perhaps just as an electrical insulator, maybe something more interesting, but who knows. If we have any Guardians here who are experts in mid-century Polish elevators, feel free to chime in!

Eric cross-cut the cylinder into disks that were the proper thickness he needed for scales. Of course, cutting into a big hunk of Micarta like that, we didn’t really know what the finished product would look like, but I have to say I’m quite happy with the end result. It has a somewhat more rustic look than, say, vintage Westinghouse Micarta, but I think that gives the knives an extra bit of character. The color is a warm butterscotch tan, with a bit of grey here and there, and (on some of the knives) sporadic dark brown spots. The texture/grain of the Micarta varies from knife to knife.

For previous Guardians SFOs, Jack would always take a big group shot of all the knives laid out on his table, so I figured I should probably do the same.

Now, as we all know, discussion of purchasing knives is against the rules of both the subforum and this thread, but I will briefly address how the distribution of these knives was handled to hopefully answer any questions those of you seeing this for the first time might have and hopefully help avoid any discussion about buying. I believe these knives belong in the hands of the folks who have helped this thread what it is today, and the fairest way I could think of to do that was to offer them to Guardians based on participation in the thread. I pulled quite a bit of data from over the past year, and came up with a list of the people who had contributed the most in that time period, with some allowances made for longtime Guardians members (even if the frequency of their recent posts didn’t put them up at the top of the list). I reached out to these members starting last weekend, only reaching out to as many people as I had knives available. If someone opted out, I moved to the next person down the list.

Long story short, these knives are all essentially spoken for at this point. There are a few Guardians I’m still waiting to hear from (unfortunately it seems the recent forum upgrades have caused some issues with notifications for PMs), so there is a slight possibility that I might reach out to one or two more people on the list that I haven’t contacted yet, but I will be sticking to the list, so please don’t message me asking if you can buy a knife. I wish I had enough knives to offer to anyone and everyone who wants one, but of course we all know it rarely works out that way, and I’m grateful Eric was able to make as many as he did for us.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned yet is the special liner stamp that I asked Eric to do for these knives. Sheffield cutler (and Jack’s friend) Stan Shaw, along with other cutlers working for Ibberson’s, including Stan’s mentor Ted Osborne, would sometimes stamp their initials and the year inside the liners of knives they made. This was, at least in part, a practice done to keep other cutlers from nicking parts off each others workbenches, but it has also, more recently, served as a means for collectors to identify knives that were made by Stan. So, as a way to identify our Guardians knives, and as a nod to Stan Shaw, I asked Eric if he could do a similar stamp inside the liner of these. Here’s a liner stamp on a Stan Shaw knife (I believe this photo is waynorth Charlie’s), which I sent to Eric as an example of what I had in mind.

And here is the Guardians stamp that Eric did on the liner of these knives, GL for Guardians of the Lambsfoot, and 24 for 2024.

Eric was kind enough to share some pics with me while he was making the knives, which I’ll share soon in a separate post, but for now I’m just excited for you all to get these in hand, and I can’t wait to see your pics of them. I hope y'all like them! Thanks to Jack Black for allowing me to take this project on, and thanks of course to Eric ea42 for making these knives for us!

I know what Lambsfoot I’ll have in my pocket today.

 

[Rufus1949]

Well, Guardians, seeing as these will be showing up for several of you today (and, in fact, made it to a few of you yesterday), I suppose it’s time for me to post about this here in the thread. Of course, those of you with whom I’ve exchanged PMs this past week will already know about this, but I want to post about it here so that you all can feel free to share your knives as they arrive.

Since the beginning of the year — and with Jack’s blessing, of course — I’ve been working with Eric Albers to make a 2024 Guardians of the Lambsfoot SFO for us. This is the first Guardians knife we’ve had in 5 years; the last one prior to this was done in 2019.

The knife is the same swayback Lambsfoot patterns that Eric has been making for a couple years now: 3 5/8” closed, a satin-finished CPM154 blade, and stainless liners and bolsters. The handle material is a vintage Micarta from the 1950s/60s, which Eric sourced from Poland. It came in a large cylinder measuring 4” in diameter and about 6.5” long. According to Eric’s Polish source, these Micarta cylinders were used in elevators, though we couldn’t really figure out exactly how they were used. Perhaps just as an electrical insulator, maybe something more interesting, but who knows. If we have any Guardians here who are experts in mid-century Polish elevators, feel free to chime in!

Eric cross-cut the cylinder into disks that were the proper thickness he needed for scales. Of course, cutting into a big hunk of Micarta like that, we didn’t really know what the finished product would look like, but I have to say I’m quite happy with the end result. It has a somewhat more rustic look than, say, vintage Westinghouse Micarta, but I think that gives the knives an extra bit of character. The color is a warm butterscotch tan, with a bit of grey here and there, and (on some of the knives) sporadic dark brown spots. The texture/grain of the Micarta varies from knife to knife.

For previous Guardians SFOs, Jack would always take a big group shot of all the knives laid out on his table, so I figured I should probably do the same.

Now, as we all know, discussion of purchasing knives is against the rules of both the subforum and this thread, but I will briefly address how the distribution of these knives was handled to hopefully answer any questions those of you seeing this for the first time might have and hopefully help avoid any discussion about buying. I believe these knives belong in the hands of the folks who have helped this thread what it is today, and the fairest way I could think of to do that was to offer them to Guardians based on participation in the thread. I pulled quite a bit of data from over the past year, and came up with a list of the people who had contributed the most in that time period, with some allowances made for longtime Guardians members (even if the frequency of their recent posts didn’t put them up at the top of the list). I reached out to these members starting last weekend, only reaching out to as many people as I had knives available. If someone opted out, I moved to the next person down the list.

Long story short, these knives are all essentially spoken for at this point. There are a few Guardians I’m still waiting to hear from (unfortunately it seems the recent forum upgrades have caused some issues with notifications for PMs), so there is a slight possibility that I might reach out to one or two more people on the list that I haven’t contacted yet, but I will be sticking to the list, so please don’t message me asking if you can buy a knife. I wish I had enough knives to offer to anyone and everyone who wants one, but of course we all know it rarely works out that way, and I’m grateful Eric was able to make as many as he did for us.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned yet is the special liner stamp that I asked Eric to do for these knives. Sheffield cutler (and Jack’s friend) Stan Shaw, along with other cutlers working for Ibberson’s, including Stan’s mentor Ted Osborne, would sometimes stamp their initials and the year inside the liners of knives they made. This was, at least in part, a practice done to keep other cutlers from nicking parts off each others workbenches, but it has also, more recently, served as a means for collectors to identify knives that were made by Stan. So, as a way to identify our Guardians knives, and as a nod to Stan Shaw, I asked Eric if he could do a similar stamp inside the liner of these. Here’s a liner stamp on a Stan Shaw knife (I believe this photo is waynorth Charlie’s), which I sent to Eric as an example of what I had in mind.

And here is the Guardians stamp that Eric did on the liner of these knives, GL for Guardians of the Lambsfoot, and 24 for 2024.

Eric was kind enough to share some pics with me while he was making the knives, which I’ll share soon in a separate post, but for now I’m just excited for you all to get these in hand, and I can’t wait to see your pics of them. I hope y'all like them! Thanks to Jack Black for allowing me to take this project on, and thanks of course to Eric ea42 for making these knives for us!

I know what Lambsfoot I’ll have in my pocket today.

Barrett
Accolades to you and Eric for this undertaking. I truly enjoy that you went with micarta, to add a vintage feel to your creation. There is so much to like about this lambfoot.

I love the mystique that is enveloping the lamb of late. I hope more people will take the time to experience this knife design.
Thank you again Barrett.

 

[Justin Pospesel]

Guardians 100,000 Posts Giveaway

Congratulations, once again, dear friends, 10,000 posts!



When I realised, six months ago, that we had 2 milestones approaching, I ordered a couple of Lambsfoot knives online, and put them on one side. Then, forgetting why I'd bought them, I gave them away! Unfortunately, I then struggled to replace them, as there is such a rush on Lambsfoot knives, but I saw that a small UK outfit, called 'Twisted Assisted', had done another run. You can probably spot the provenance, but they have the Twisted Assisted tang-stamp, as well as some unusual Burlap Micarta covers. I struggled with the first knife I had from them, but this run is much better. So, if you'd like the knife, please enter this giveaway I dare say, I'll chuck in a few other goodies

image hosting sites

Inspired by @unclekurty yesterday, please post a pic of your first Lambsfoot knife, and if you want, you can tell us a little about it, your first impressions of the pattern, and how you came to take to it. Please make it clear you're entering the giveaway. You can enter for someone else if you want, but only if they have already entered themselves (had cases before, where the nominated member doesn't actually want the knife). It's open to all Guardians, that's anyone who has posted a photo of a Lambsfoot knife in this thread (it must still be in place), and if you've made more than 2 posts this year, I'll throw your name in the hat a second time

Jeremy @sbh06 has very kindly offered to make one of his pocket slips for the knife

I'll draw it in around a week

Good luck everyone, and thanks once again for making this thread the best on BF

Jack

Maybe a lamb? Count me in!

 

[SteveC]

Big thanks to Barrett for undertaking this project and Eric for agreeing to take it on

Also to Jack for giving his blessing

Great timing with us reaching the 100,000 post milestone in this thread !

Barrett included a nice hand typed note and stickers with the knife. Very nice touch










With Gidget

 

[AusLoX]

Well, Guardians, seeing as these will be showing up for several of you today (and, in fact, made it to a few of you yesterday), I suppose it’s time for me to post about this here in the thread. Of course, those of you with whom I’ve exchanged PMs this past week will already know about this, but I want to post about it here so that you all can feel free to share your knives as they arrive.

Since the beginning of the year — and with Jack’s blessing, of course — I’ve been working with Eric Albers to make a 2024 Guardians of the Lambsfoot SFO for us. This is the first Guardians knife we’ve had in 5 years; the last one prior to this was done in 2019.

The knife is the same swayback Lambsfoot patterns that Eric has been making for a couple years now: 3 5/8” closed, a satin-finished CPM154 blade, and stainless liners and bolsters. The handle material is a vintage Micarta from the 1950s/60s, which Eric sourced from Poland. It came in a large cylinder measuring 4” in diameter and about 6.5” long. According to Eric’s Polish source, these Micarta cylinders were used in elevators, though we couldn’t really figure out exactly how they were used. Perhaps just as an electrical insulator, maybe something more interesting, but who knows. If we have any Guardians here who are experts in mid-century Polish elevators, feel free to chime in!

Eric cross-cut the cylinder into disks that were the proper thickness he needed for scales. Of course, cutting into a big hunk of Micarta like that, we didn’t really know what the finished product would look like, but I have to say I’m quite happy with the end result. It has a somewhat more rustic look than, say, vintage Westinghouse Micarta, but I think that gives the knives an extra bit of character. The color is a warm butterscotch tan, with a bit of grey here and there, and (on some of the knives) sporadic dark brown spots. The texture/grain of the Micarta varies from knife to knife.

For previous Guardians SFOs, Jack would always take a big group shot of all the knives laid out on his table, so I figured I should probably do the same.

Now, as we all know, discussion of purchasing knives is against the rules of both the subforum and this thread, but I will briefly address how the distribution of these knives was handled to hopefully answer any questions those of you seeing this for the first time might have and hopefully help avoid any discussion about buying. I believe these knives belong in the hands of the folks who have helped this thread what it is today, and the fairest way I could think of to do that was to offer them to Guardians based on participation in the thread. I pulled quite a bit of data from over the past year, and came up with a list of the people who had contributed the most in that time period, with some allowances made for longtime Guardians members (even if the frequency of their recent posts didn’t put them up at the top of the list). I reached out to these members starting last weekend, only reaching out to as many people as I had knives available. If someone opted out, I moved to the next person down the list.

Long story short, these knives are all essentially spoken for at this point. There are a few Guardians I’m still waiting to hear from (unfortunately it seems the recent forum upgrades have caused some issues with notifications for PMs), so there is a slight possibility that I might reach out to one or two more people on the list that I haven’t contacted yet, but I will be sticking to the list, so please don’t message me asking if you can buy a knife. I wish I had enough knives to offer to anyone and everyone who wants one, but of course we all know it rarely works out that way, and I’m grateful Eric was able to make as many as he did for us.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned yet is the special liner stamp that I asked Eric to do for these knives. Sheffield cutler (and Jack’s friend) Stan Shaw, along with other cutlers working for Ibberson’s, including Stan’s mentor Ted Osborne, would sometimes stamp their initials and the year inside the liners of knives they made. This was, at least in part, a practice done to keep other cutlers from nicking parts off each others workbenches, but it has also, more recently, served as a means for collectors to identify knives that were made by Stan. So, as a way to identify our Guardians knives, and as a nod to Stan Shaw, I asked Eric if he could do a similar stamp inside the liner of these. Here’s a liner stamp on a Stan Shaw knife (I believe this photo is waynorth Charlie’s), which I sent to Eric as an example of what I had in mind.

And here is the Guardians stamp that Eric did on the liner of these knives, GL for Guardians of the Lambsfoot, and 24 for 2024.

Eric was kind enough to share some pics with me while he was making the knives, which I’ll share soon in a separate post, but for now I’m just excited for you all to get these in hand, and I can’t wait to see your pics of them. I hope y'all like them! Thanks to Jack Black for allowing me to take this project on, and thanks of course to Eric ea42 for making these knives for us!

I know what Lambsfoot I’ll have in my pocket today.

Wow that is really great! Cheers to all that got one

 

[Rufus1949]

Big thanks to Barrett for undertaking this project and Eric for agreeing to take it on

Also to Jack for giving his blessing

Great timing with us reaching the 100,000 post milestone in this thread !

Barrett included a nice hand typed note and stickers with the knife. Very nice touch

View attachment 2638328


View attachment 2638327

View attachment 2638325



With Gidget

View attachment 2638326

Great duo Steve. They match up very well.

 

[Rufus1949]

Let me add one more level of celebration.
I am a newbie compared to most members here. Yet, it is amazing how comfortable I have been made to feel.
Three years on the forum will be coming up next week, so I will celebrate with a give away.
I will post the simple rules tomorrow. NO CONGRATS, AT A BOY, ETC. I promised Jack not to tie up thread.
This is mine, but I have the same brand new lamb in tube, only taken out to inspect, to be given away.
Hint...start counting.

 

[echoscout]

Quick pic as I'm running errands at the moment. Thank you to Barrett, Eric, Jack and everyone else involved in this epic Guardian Lambsfoot. It's a treasure I will cherish!

 

[waynorth]

View attachment 2638300
Maybe a lamb? Count me in!

Alas, Jack has ruled on that knife!! It is a "Long Beak" (from an old guide book) pattern blade, not a Lambsfoot!
But I appreciate your enthusiasm for, and appreciation of, that Ancient!!

 

[waynorth]

I hope y'all like them! Thanks to Jack Black for allowing me to take this project on, and thanks of course to Eric ea42 for making these knives for us!

Congratulations, Barrett on a great project!! I know mine is in the mail somewhere, and I look forward to it!! You have supervised and completed a worthy project!!
And Thanks Jack, for guarding the recognition of this great pattern, and making it a much-used and enjoyed Icon of cutlery!!

 

[Tyson A Wright]

Well, Guardians, seeing as these will be showing up for several of you today (and, in fact, made it to a few of you yesterday), I suppose it’s time for me to post about this here in the thread. Of course, those of you with whom I’ve exchanged PMs this past week will already know about this, but I want to post about it here so that you all can feel free to share your knives as they arrive.

Since the beginning of the year — and with Jack’s blessing, of course — I’ve been working with Eric Albers to make a 2024 Guardians of the Lambsfoot SFO for us. This is the first Guardians knife we’ve had in 5 years; the last one prior to this was done in 2019.

The knife is the same swayback Lambsfoot patterns that Eric has been making for a couple years now: 3 5/8” closed, a satin-finished CPM154 blade, and stainless liners and bolsters. The handle material is a vintage Micarta from the 1950s/60s, which Eric sourced from Poland. It came in a large cylinder measuring 4” in diameter and about 6.5” long. According to Eric’s Polish source, these Micarta cylinders were used in elevators, though we couldn’t really figure out exactly how they were used. Perhaps just as an electrical insulator, maybe something more interesting, but who knows. If we have any Guardians here who are experts in mid-century Polish elevators, feel free to chime in!

Eric cross-cut the cylinder into disks that were the proper thickness he needed for scales. Of course, cutting into a big hunk of Micarta like that, we didn’t really know what the finished product would look like, but I have to say I’m quite happy with the end result. It has a somewhat more rustic look than, say, vintage Westinghouse Micarta, but I think that gives the knives an extra bit of character. The color is a warm butterscotch tan, with a bit of grey here and there, and (on some of the knives) sporadic dark brown spots. The texture/grain of the Micarta varies from knife to knife.

For previous Guardians SFOs, Jack would always take a big group shot of all the knives laid out on his table, so I figured I should probably do the same.

Now, as we all know, discussion of purchasing knives is against the rules of both the subforum and this thread, but I will briefly address how the distribution of these knives was handled to hopefully answer any questions those of you seeing this for the first time might have and hopefully help avoid any discussion about buying. I believe these knives belong in the hands of the folks who have helped this thread what it is today, and the fairest way I could think of to do that was to offer them to Guardians based on participation in the thread. I pulled quite a bit of data from over the past year, and came up with a list of the people who had contributed the most in that time period, with some allowances made for longtime Guardians members (even if the frequency of their recent posts didn’t put them up at the top of the list). I reached out to these members starting last weekend, only reaching out to as many people as I had knives available. If someone opted out, I moved to the next person down the list.

Long story short, these knives are all essentially spoken for at this point. There are a few Guardians I’m still waiting to hear from (unfortunately it seems the recent forum upgrades have caused some issues with notifications for PMs), so there is a slight possibility that I might reach out to one or two more people on the list that I haven’t contacted yet, but I will be sticking to the list, so please don’t message me asking if you can buy a knife. I wish I had enough knives to offer to anyone and everyone who wants one, but of course we all know it rarely works out that way, and I’m grateful Eric was able to make as many as he did for us.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned yet is the special liner stamp that I asked Eric to do for these knives. Sheffield cutler (and Jack’s friend) Stan Shaw, along with other cutlers working for Ibberson’s, including Stan’s mentor Ted Osborne, would sometimes stamp their initials and the year inside the liners of knives they made. This was, at least in part, a practice done to keep other cutlers from nicking parts off each others workbenches, but it has also, more recently, served as a means for collectors to identify knives that were made by Stan. So, as a way to identify our Guardians knives, and as a nod to Stan Shaw, I asked Eric if he could do a similar stamp inside the liner of these. Here’s a liner stamp on a Stan Shaw knife (I believe this photo is waynorth Charlie’s), which I sent to Eric as an example of what I had in mind.

And here is the Guardians stamp that Eric did on the liner of these knives, GL for Guardians of the Lambsfoot, and 24 for 2024.

Eric was kind enough to share some pics with me while he was making the knives, which I’ll share soon in a separate post, but for now I’m just excited for you all to get these in hand, and I can’t wait to see your pics of them. I hope y'all like them! Thanks to Jack Black for allowing me to take this project on, and thanks of course to Eric ea42 for making these knives for us!

I know what Lambsfoot I’ll have in my pocket today.

This is pretty amazing and checks a lot of boxes for me:
Albers? Yes!
Lambsfoot? Yes!
Micarta? Yes!

I love the GL-24 mark, too!

Thanks for making this happen, Barrett - what a great project.

USPS says mine will be here Monday; until then I'll be carrying the HHB.

 

[draggat]

Wow, it's great to see that the generosity here is still going!

Jack Black using the search tool, I found I haven't posted in this thread for over 2 years. My apologies for that, and something I sorely need to rectify. It just moves so darn quickly, I feel bad when I can't keep up!

Anyhow, I would like to enter your GAW!

These are my first two Lambs, which were purchased at the same time, specifically because of this thread, sometime back in 2018 I believe.

Still one of my favorites, Jack Black you once told me that you believed this was some left over stag from the AC SFO.



The horn on this one is the worst I have owned, and I have a lot of horn! Been meaning to have it re-done with these ironwood blanks for a long time.... maybe this will motivate me to contact one our outstanding craftsmen here.



My carnivorous lamb is still protecting my HHB in my avatar!

btb01 that sure is a stunning Guardian's knife and congratulations to all who got one!