Spey vs. Sheepfoot

[supratentorial]

Well, welcome to WI. You won't find much seafood here, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better place for freshwater fishing or hunting. My sister's family frequently vacation in Maine and they love it there. I've never been. :thumbdn:

I think you nailed my thoughts on the spey. It's a step away from a fixed blade because it's so stout. Especially the stockman version.

Thank you for the welcome!

In the past, I am sure I feared the Spey blade. Something who's sole purpose (or so I believed) was to remove one of the essential functions of masculinity just gave me the Heebie-jeebies!!!

But then I found some beautiful knives that combined a Spey and a Sheepfoot, and were designed for procreation!!

Of plants that is!!


Budding and Grafting knives, they were called, and they were apparently very good for those jobs, and this has proven to be true in the real world.

I'm not much of a farmer, although I have grown a few vegetable in my time, and prune my apple tree regularly. A B&G is a handy tool.

And then I found that when kitchen cutlery was not available, those blades were useful for camping and picnics. Neither is usually good for long term food prep though.

How about a single spring knife with a Spey and a Sheepfoot?? Then you could compare their relative usefulnesses??

Charlie, I was expecting a photo of your knife!! You're just teasing us. Is it in the elusive Schrade thread?

 

[Chris Montgomery]

The sheepsfoot / lambsfoot / wharnecliff is such a unique blade style, it covers whatever the bellied blades don't. In a knife with a clip point, the spey is almost redundant. I modded some of mine to pen blades with a narrower point.

This. One blade with some belly one with a straight edge and virtually all of my everyday knife tasks are covered. For the blade with some belly I much prefer a clip blade of some variety or a simple pen blade.

Chris

 

[PythonDR]

I like 'em both! In fact, the perfect knife for me would be a spey main and a sheepsfoot secondary in a quality slipjoint. Someday maybe I'll find one!

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I like 'em both! In fact, the perfect knife for me would be a spey main and a sheepsfoot secondary in a quality slipjoint. Someday maybe I'll find one!

This one from A.G. Russell immediately comes to mind, and it SCREAMS quality, based on materials used. I don't have one, but it's an intriguing design (something A.G. is known for, in the uniqueness of his knives).

14-4CrMO steel (RC 60-62, by his spec description); a limited run, and he still lists it on his site (500 serial-numbered knives):

http://www.agrussell.com/knife-coll...sary-knife-collector-grade-101-500/p/ANhhh1A/


David

 

[PythonDR]

This one from A.G. Russell immediately comes to mind, and it SCREAMS quality, based on materials used. I don't have one, but it's an intriguing design (something A.G. is known for, in the uniqueness of his knives).

14-4CrMO steel (RC 60-62, by his spec description); a limited run, and he still lists it on his site (500 serial-numbered knives):

http://www.agrussell.com/knife-coll...sary-knife-collector-grade-101-500/p/ANhhh1A/


David

Interesting, but...is it me, or is that thing just ugly?

 

[Peregrin]

Interesting, but...is it me, or is that thing just ugly?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have one and it's a pretty nice knife. Made by Canal Street for A. G. in 2007 I believe.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have one and it's a pretty nice knife. Made by Canal Street for A. G. in 2007 I believe.

:thumbup:

I'd seen that knife in A.G.'s catalog for some time, and was always intrigued by it. For myself, I liked the aesthetics of it; but I just couldn't decide if I'd make sufficient use of the blade config, as I don't use the spey very often (even in my stockman knives, which are my favorite pattern).


David

 

[PythonDR]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have one and it's a pretty nice knife. Made by Canal Street for A. G. in 2007 I believe.

Would you mind posting a pic of yours? I'm not sure they did it any favors with their choice of angles...

 

[Peregrin]

Would you mind posting a pic of yours? I'm not sure they did it any favors with their choice of angles...

Here's a few pics. A couple of things, this is a big knife, almost 4" closed length, 3.44 oz and 5/8" across the spine (including the stag, which is really nice).

The mark side blades are mirror polished, the pile side are as ground. The finish is nice. There are half stops but they aren't crisp, as the tang is slightly rounded, if that makes sense.

I don't use it. It's too big for me, I prefer 3 1/2" or less. I'm also not a big spey blade fan. I bought it because I liked the Cattaraugus mark. I had a friend that was from small town in Cattaraugus County, New York. He was a really good guy and died young in his 30's. It reminds me of him.

 

[PythonDR]

Here's a few pics. A couple of things, this is a big knife, almost 4" closed length, 3.44 oz and 5/8" across the spine (including the stag, which is really nice).

The mark side blades are mirror polished, the pile side are as ground. The finish is nice. There are half stops but they aren't crisp, as the tang is slightly rounded, if that makes sense.

I don't use it. It's too big for me, I prefer 3 1/2" or less. I'm also not a big spey blade fan. I bought it because I liked the Cattaraugus mark. I had a friend that was from small town in Cattaraugus County, New York. He was a really good guy and died young in his 30's. It reminds me of him.

Memories are a good reason to have it!

I'm with you on the length; I really want them 3.5" or less to be really pocketable. Guess I'll keep looking. Thanks for posting the great pics!

 

[Cory Hess]

Great looking knife, Gary. From the angle you show it looks like a single spring with a catch bit at each end so that the blades can be ground regularly with no crinking. Is that correct? Looks like it would be pretty comfortable to use, with the curve of the frame counteracting the height of the closed blade. Very nice.

 

[Peregrin]

Great looking knife, Gary. From the angle you show it looks like a single spring with a catch bit at each end so that the blades can be ground regularly with no crinking. Is that correct? Looks like it would be pretty comfortable to use, with the curve of the frame counteracting the height of the closed blade. Very nice.

Good eye, Corey. You are correct on the catch bits, single spring and blade grinds. It is pretty comfortable to grip. No hot spots as far as my minimal handling has noticed.

 

[Captain O]

The Spey blade was designed for emasculating Boar Hogs. (I have seen one used expressly for the purpose!) The extremely sharp leading edge of the blade is quite useful when it comes to slitting open the scrotum(s) of the male swine, squeezing out each testicle as well as scraping (and severing) each seminal vesicle.

I find both blades have their place "off the farm" as well.

The Captain