Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[Pt-Luso]

Good morning Guardians.

 

[dc50]

Why I Love My £30 Ebony Lambsfoot Working Knife

Thank you, Chin, for a splendid read on my favorite lambsfoot the ebony.

 

[dc50]

 

[Onebigbill]

Hola Guardians!

Super pics and Lambsfoot with Food posts lately!

Sorry, I’m catching up again, and I’ll have to make some direct comments without the multiquotes, to keep the character limit down.

Thanks to John, Greg, Preston, Dennis, Bill and Harvey for the kind words and comments on my last few posts.

Sorry if I forgot anyone.

Tasty looking sausage sandwich there, Jack. I was actually thinking of that, when I posted that Harissa recipe - a couple of blobs of Harissa would go well with it, I’m sure.

Mark @Ramrodmb , yes I think the sable brush works better than Q-tips to apply PP to bone or stag. I agree about leaving the high spots clean, for contrast. I usually use some white aluminium oxide stropping compound, or diamond paste on the leather, so it doesn’t leave any foreign coloured particles in the pores.

Vince: it’s nice to see your ‘Humble’ Lambsfoot getting centre stage with your globe in that cool pic. Somewhere, the King is looking at that sandwich and drooling...er, smiling!

David @donn - I liked that scenario of you and Jack discussing the Lambsfoot pattern in The Fat Cat in Sheffield, complete with knives laid out on the table and interested onlookers.

I have happy memories of doing the same with our Guardian-in-Chief, a couple of years ago, while enjoying a slice of their fine mushroom and ale pie and a pint of the good stuff.

Great tip on the stonefruit Christian, I love that kind of useful info.

+1 on Julia Child. She may not have wielded a Lambsfoot, but she sure knew how to maintain and sharpen a good knife, unlike some modern celebrity chefs.

@paulhilborn - Nice paint job your Lambsfoot knife assisted you with, my friend. What is the meaning of the large gold star on the townhouse, Paul? Does it indicate a family member in the service?

Great range gear Preston, I can’t resist asking you about it, so I’ll send you a PM in a bit, my friend.

GT @5K Qs , I collected some representative samples of more pasties from the other two bakeries in my town:

One of them was a so-so frozen vegie premix again, but the last vegetable pasty, in the foreground of the pic was the best of the local ones I tried. It was made of a good assortment of real fresh vegetables with a creamy potato mash binding it all together. The pastry was the closest to a shortcrust too. It was delicious!

I started at the low end of the scale, and will gradually work my way up to the no doubt authentic Rob the Butchers Cornish Pasty with shortcrust!

I’ll look forward to seeing some peer reports of one of your Lambsfoot knives slicing up a Yooper Pasty, once you return from your vacation! Will you go anywhere near the town of Seney, where that Hemingway ‘trout fishing story’ is set?

More sacrifices Dennis - it’s a hard life, my friend!

The photo Jack posted recently of the Northern Monk stout with Hendersons, got me thinking...

It’s been a bit cold here lately, so I thought a Bloody Mary with the added taste of Yorkshire and chilli heat would be in order for a chilly winter evening!

I used my ol’ ebony Lambsfoot to slice up some fresh mustard habanero and some fine diced celery to go in it:

(Yes, that’s a ‘Ghost’ Bhut Jolokia pod and another mustard habanero floating in the bottle of Stoli!)

Hi Chin, I like your assortment of hot stuff. That Bloody Mary must be very interesting.

 

[JohnDF]

I like that, such a happy looking picture.

Cool pic John I was in a store yesterday, where they had a bank of those self-service machines. I was queuing to be served by the single human being they still employ, but I had to laugh when I heard that the robots had been programmed with the voices of Star Wars characters!

That's great! I wish they would do that at our local store, I'd go there every day.

 

[JohnDF]

Good Morning Pals

 

[Onebigbill]

Why I Love My £30 Ebony Lambsfoot Working Knife

It’s said that one contributing factor which sustains lasting marriages and indeed any kind of long term relationship, is having lots of shared, happy memories to look back on.

Clearly, this wisdom can apply in a way to favourite knives as well.

Looking at some of the old ‘Lamb-punches’ from Rachel’s ‘Home for Wayward and Worn Out Lambsfoots’, is an instructive experience.

I often wonder at the memories that must be attached to those knives, and what it actually was, that finally led to them being retired from service. Comparing those old Lambsfoot knives to some of the ‘toothpick knives’ in my own collection, clearly they were still used for quite some time after the blade tips were sharpened well clear of the blade channel when closed.

I’d venture a guess that they were only regretfully laid aside, when they eventually got to the stage where the blade point was so proud when closed, that it continually bit the owner when in the pocket, or sliced open the fabric of their trousers. For some of them, the end of the road may have been when the nail nick was almost sharpened into.

Those worn old knives, with their untold stories, speak to another time of careful thriftiness - but surely even the most hard headed user in those days must at least have had a twinge of sentimentality for a faithful and reliable tool which they had carried and used for so long.

All of us, no doubt have knives in our collections or accumulations, quite probably far less worn but which have a similar sentiment attached to them - even though they may not be the most unique, or best crafted, or most expensive examples, or made of the rarest or finest materials.

For me, among a handful of contenders I have, the first among them is my ol’ ebony user A. Wright Lambsfoot knife.

This is an early review of that knife, shortly after I purchased it in Sheffield in early 2017.

And some more thoughts on it, and the Lambsfoot pattern in general after nearly a years use.

Two and a half years down the track, I thought I might revisit the knife with a few notes and remarks.

Regarding durability, my feeling is that the the ebony cover scales will quite possibly long outlast all the metal components of the knife. I have no concerns about handling the knife with wet hands, or the effect of seasonal weather changes, nor do I worry when the knife suffers the inevitable drops and scrapes a working knife will be subjected to.

The worst that seems to happen over time, is the ebony surface finish might get a little hazy, but it is immediately revived with a bit of hand buffing with fine sandpaper, and some leather with diamond stropping paste on it.

I did smooth over the handle and round off all the corners with fine sandpaper shortly after I got the knife. The handle is actually quite contoured, which I like.

The cutler who made this knife at A. Wright and Sons appears to be a different one to the maker of the Guardians knives. The Guardians knives are better in their construction and fit and finish of course (considering their higher cost, and Jack’s close specifications and guidance), but this one has its own slightly different handle and blade styling.

If anything, the ‘nickel silver’ brass bolsters are more susceptible to wear and tear than the wood scales.

But they polish up nicely too, with the same ‘spa’ treatment.

Every six months or so, I gently repeen the pivot with a light 4 oz ball peen hammer, if needed.

With normal light use, this probably would not be necessary, but I often use the knife in a tight hammer grip to cut through branches when pruning, or clearing fields of fire from a hunting hide.

The blade is ground fairly thin, and I have further thinned it out behind the edge. Initially I just set the edge at 15dps with the Sharpmaker, but over time I have removed more material by placing the blade on a handheld pocket stone, adjusting the angle until I can feel the stone is resting on the shoulder of the edge bevel, but not touching the edge apex, and progressively grinding it thinner it on each side.

This ends up giving the ability to simply restore a razor keen edge in literally less than a minute, with a few swipes on the Sharpmaker rods, or a honing ceramic at 15dps, then a couple of passes on an ultrafine rod at 20dps, and a light strop on 1 micron diamond and 0.25 micron CBN loaded balsa and smoothside leather.

The rods at this setting are very close to the actual edge apex, and only need to remove a tiny amount of material to achieve a clean edge.

It also makes it extremely simple to hit the apex with different abrasive grits and types, for experimental purposes.

I’d also like to say a few words about steels and Rockwell C hardness here.

These knives are in C70 steel (an AISI 1075 analogue) run at around 55 HRc (54-56 range).

These specs would perhaps be sniffed at by modern knife aficionados.

It’s worth remembering that steel production, technology and heat treatment was as much of a military arms race between Britain, France and Germany in the 17th-19th centuries as nuclear arms were between the USA and USSR in the 20th century.

The carbon level in C70 steel sits at just under what is called the eutectoid point, which is where the carbon completely saturates into solution at high temperature, and produces a very fine grain structure, when quenched and tempered correctly.

(By comparison, the 1095 in the Waynorth Lambsfoots will produce cementite with the excess carbon above ~0.78%, but the subsequent Peters cryo quench, which was not available in the ‘Golden Age’, circa 1890-1930, ensures a complete martensitic transformation.)

In short, the steel selection and hardness is actually the product of a highly evolved understanding of steel, to produce a very fine microstructure, which is tough and easily resharpenable. It is not the most wear resistant steel, of course but it will take a very thin edge, and if you can sharpen with some basic competency, it is a trivial matter to restore razor sharpness in a minute or two.

I have never experienced chipping in any of my A. Wright Lambsfoot knives.

One of the ‘secrets’ of Sheffield blade performance is highly evolved geometry. Blades I have measured, even worn ones are generally 0.015” behind the edge or even thinner.

One of the concerns I had when initially starting to use the Lambsfoot pattern, was whether the tip would round off with extended use. Rehoning the knife frequently along the whole edge seems to minimise that effect.

Dylan @Pàdruig kindly made me a custom pocket slip for my trusty ebony knife. His slips are by far my favourite design, out of the many slips I have used, and commissioned from leatherworkers. They sit upright in the pocket, with their flat base, have a slim profile, and are vented at the bottom, so carbon steel knives do not accumulate moisture. Like all finely crafted leather products, they attain a lovely patina with age and use.

Together, this knife and slip pairing, and my other Lambsfoot knives have taken me to a similar place regarding traditional pocket knives, to the one I came to some time ago with my Japanese kitchen knives and hunting and game processing knives.

That is, I went through an initial period of high intensity research and knowledge saturation from as many sources as possible, as well as acquiring and using a lot of different knives and steel types, and sharpening methods.

Following that period, I settled on the best tools for my purposes in the kitchen and in the field, and rarely look at kitchen or hunting knives anymore, as they will not improve on what I already have and use.

I seem to have reached a similar point where now I purchase new pocketknives only in exceptional circumstances, as I know what works well for me, and the patterns I already have are actually ingrained in my ‘muscle memory’.

When I have the thought to use my Lambsfoot knife to cut something, I barely have to look at it before it is out of my pocket. The swayed handle ensures that it is oriented correctly in my hand by touch alone. I pinch out the blade with my right thumb and forefinger, listening for that satisfying auditory CLACK!, and apply the blade to the task at hand, with barely a conscious thought to the whole process, as if the blade is just an extension of my forefinger.

Then the blade is wiped and palmed shut or brushed closed against my leg, and pocketed again.

When considering a more involved cutting task, it’s also a pleasant feeling to weigh the open or closed knife in the hand like worry beads, when reflecting on how to approach the job.

I’ve spent many hours gardening, harvesting and peeling fruit, vegetables and fungi with this knife, whittling walking sticks, doing basic food prep and spreading condiments, opening packages, shaving tinder for campfires and a myriad of other cutting and slicing chores.

I love all my Lambsfoot knives, and have similarly used and enjoyed most of them, but if ever I leave a well worn punch or toothpick of a blade behind, laden with memories - of all my knives it will most likely be this one.

Chin I realized that I had not read your entire post and I must say it read like prose. Just a beautifully rendered writing about your "trusty" user from A Wright. What a pleasurable read first thing in the morning for me to start my day. Thank you!

 

[kamagong]

Why I Love My £30 Ebony Lambsfoot Working Knife

Great post Chin.

 

[Fodderwing]

Another fantastic pic. You are a very talented fellow

Much obliged OG.

@Cambertree - I always greatly enjoy your thoughtful erudite posts Chin. Thank you my friend.

Stunning Dwight, that 'Oil The Joints' stamp is the icing on the cake of Charlie's Lambsfoot I think

Thank you Jack.

Thinking autumn thoughts until it arrives...

 

[WhittlinAway]

Yep, that's the shorter Joiner Knife. Good eye I asked if I could get it without Cerakote, got it -

I had wondered about the apparent lack of Cerakote on yours. I wouldn’t have thought to ask for one without, but I’m glad you did and they were willing to oblige. Depending on how you get on with yours, I might be tempted to do the same at some point.

Very clever I gave it a try, but it was beyond me Well done

Thank you. And, oh, I didn’t do it by hand. That long of a word ladder is beyond me, too!

That looks like a super-sharp edge Greg, nice post my friend

Thanks, Jack. It gets the job done.

 

[JohnDF]

Thinking autumn thoughts until it arrives...
View attachment 1167176

Thank you...

 

[WhittlinAway]

Chin, what a fantastic post. I love how you’ve not only captured your feelings about your ebony lambsfoot, but also put yourself—and us through your words—into the minds of the folks who owned and used those extremely well worn examples.

The blade is ground fairly thin, and I have further thinned it out behind the edge. Initially I just set the edge at 15dps with the Sharpmaker, but over time I have removed more material by placing the blade on a handheld pocket stone, adjusting the angle until I can feel the stone is resting on the shoulder of the edge bevel, but not touching the edge apex, and progressively grinding it thinner on each side.

This ends up giving the ability to easily restore a razor keen edge in literally less than a minute, with a few swipes on the Sharpmaker rods, or a honing ceramic at 15dps, then a couple of passes on an ultrafine rod at 20dps, and a light strop on 1 micron diamond and 0.25 micron CBN loaded balsa and smoothside leather.

Very interesting. Is my understanding correct that the effect of this is to approximate having a convex primary grind with a small secondary bevel?

 

[Prester John]

Good morning, Guardians!

 

[JohnDF]

I will be heading out soon for another three day fishing trip with the family. I will take my laptop, but I don't expect my participation to be high for a few days. I will make sure to check in here though.

I'll leave you with a picture of another gift from my kids, with Lambsfoot content of course.
I've been trying to claim this statue for a couple of years and my son finally talked him down low enough on the price.
This is especially posted for my fellow Trekkie, GT @5K Qs This one is now special among my small Sci-Fi collection...

Set Lambsfoot to stun

 

[tmd_87]

I will be heading out soon for another three day fishing trip with the family. I will take my laptop, but I don't expect my participation to be high for a few days. I will make sure to check in here though.

I'll leave you with a picture of another gift from my kids, with Lambsfoot content of course.
I've been trying to claim this statue for a couple of years and my son finally talked him down low enough on the price.
This is especially posted for my fellow Trekkie, GT @5K Qs This one is now special among my small Sci-Fi collection...

Set Lambsfoot to stun

Good luck!!!

 

[Onebigbill]

Good morning all.

 

[tmd_87]

Oh BOY!

 

[peanutsxx]

Now that's a great book. Read it twice.

Thanks Vince! I appreciate you posting another book I will have to read.

8<---- snipped ---->8
Great photo! The Ironwood would be happy on the trail.

8<---- snipped ---->8
Don't you know that is right.

8<---- snipped ---->8
That looks like a great read my friend

Thank you gentlemen!

I managed to get very, very behind on this thread (like 30 days!) but have been wearing out the "like button". Always a high-point of my day to see all of your wonderful knives and more-so your insight and adventures. The Guardians are all much appreciated!

 

[Jack Black]

View attachment 1167114

Smashing pic Dave

I like that, such a happy looking picture.

That's great! I wish they would do that at our local store, I'd go there every day.

Thanks John, the background is composed of two letter bookmarks I picked up last weekend

I was in there today, they had Yoda on again

Good Morning Pals

Super pic my friend

Thank you Jack.

Thinking autumn thoughts until it arrives...View attachment 1167176

I'm trying to think cool thoughts Dwight!

Good morning, Guardians!

Ace photo Vince

I will be heading out soon for another three day fishing trip with the family. I will take my laptop, but I don't expect my participation to be high for a few days. I will make sure to check in here though.

I'll leave you with a picture of another gift from my kids, with Lambsfoot content of course.
I've been trying to claim this statue for a couple of years and my son finally talked him down low enough on the price.
This is especially posted for my fellow Trekkie, GT @5K Qs This one is now special among my small Sci-Fi collection...

Set Lambsfoot to stun

LOL! I love that photo John!

I have not seen Star Trek since I was a kid, but when I visit Huddersfield, I often go to a pub called The Sportsman with @ADEE. We sit in this corner

Hope you have a great fishing trip

Good morning all.
View attachment 1167207

Oh BOY!

Fab pics guys

 

[dc50]

Smashing pic Dave

Thank you, Jack.