Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

Thought I'd celebrate Sharp & Fiery Sharp & Fiery 's Guardianship ;) :thumbsup:

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Jack Black said:
Good to see you here Darren :) There've been a lot of posts, (and a good few giveaways), since then my friend :D Sadly, there was no possibility of getting a Guardians knife made this year, though as things have turned out, with the current pandemic, logistics would have almost certainly prevented it anyway. However, as things stand, I'm afraid I don't anticipate being able to get knives of an acceptable quality made in Sheffield in the near future :(
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That is sad news indeed :(
 
What do the Guardians think? Is this Ironwood? It's a 2019 Guardians Knife but the grain, figuring, etc. is rather lack luster. I'm wondering if A. Wright didn't slip in some wood other than Ironwood to finish the run for Jack Jack Black Jack Black - something Jack wouldn't notice in a large group of knives. The construction of the knife is very good overall but the wood on it doesn't seem to stand out compared to other 2019 Guardians knives I've seen. Whatever the case, it was/is a great effort by Jack. It kinda reminds me of Cocobolo but then again I'm probably all wet.

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mitch4ging said:
How long were you in for?
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Compulsory military service was 18 months in the Army and 2 years in the Navy for those 18 year old men drafted through a lottery system every year.

The army had an early "honorable discharge" at about the one year mark or less for a portion of the year's conscripts.
Only God knows how hard I prayed to be released on this early discharge.

I got drafted right out of high school into an army where corruption and decay had taken it's toll and in the middle of one of the worst financial crisis in Argentina ( a few years later in 1995, things reached a tipping point and compulsory service was abolished after the murder of a conscript and subsequent cover up by a sergeant trying to "toughen him up" with a beating).

On top of that, fear in the military about yet another attack from leftist guerrillas was ever present. A major attack having happened a few weeks prior to my enrollment.


Not everything was bad as I do have memories of good things that happened there, good officers too trying to do their best and that you could trust.
I served with integrity and gave the Army my best.

My parents were already in Canada with my youngest sister escaping the financial disaster. I could not joined them as I was of military age.

My stress was increased as I had objections to carrying weapons.
I requested to serve as a medic which was denied as our company had no medics o_O .
The only other choice I was given was to be a radio operator (however I had to take all the weapons training and carry)
Interestingly enough, the lieutenant in charge of our company selected me to be his radio operator, the other operators went to work with lower ranking officers.

To be considered for early release you had to have perfect conduct and high marks in all the tests and competencies, ... at least that is what they told you.
Alternatively, you could have parents with the connections and means willing to bribe an officer.

Out of 300 plus soldiers I was ranked in the top 30 or so and had zero issues with conduct. The hard part was the points deducted when they did an inventory of your equipment. Steeling was rampant among the soldiers and I could not bring myself to steal back. I had to buy/replace my stolen equipment on the army surplus store when on leave. Luckily I always had all my stuff accounted for every time they did a random inventory.

As the date for the early release approached I was on edge and missed my parents terribly.
A soldier I helped with clerical work told me he was confident he was getting out ,... said something about his father giving a sergeant some turkeys and stuff from the farm.

One day I get called into the lieutenant's office. Inside there is the aforementioned soldier and sergeant . Lieutenant tells us he has a spot for a discharge and needs to decide between us two.
He offered to toss a coin.
I protested and stated I had all the requirements and mentioned how I and my other two sisters needed to join our parents in Canada . ( the other soldier had nothing, he had even backed out of parachute training and worked as a clerk the whole time ).
I could the feel fire in the sergeant gaze staring at me.

The lieutenant was silent for a couple seconds then dismissed us. ( forgive me if I translate military rankings wrong)
I then got sent on an errand and my heart was racing as I knew that they were working on the discharge list.

When I returned the list was posted and my name was on it ... YEAH !!!
( the other soldier, I found out later, was given a "special leave" to go and spend the rest of his "service" at home, then come back for his discharge papers ).

A month later I was in Canada :):):)

And few years later, in a short but very meaningful ceremony, I took and oath and became a subject of the Queen of Canada.

 
Jack Black said:
Amazing how late primitive knife production has run in Sheffield Charlie! :rolleyes: I made a post about this in your Barlow thread some years back, it's in there somewhere! :eek: I would like to have explored the Stannington Barlow makers in the article I did with our mutual friend, but there wasn't space unfortunately :( I heard recently that a pub that had been owned by one of those fellers had been demolished. The row of houses where the pedal wheel Barlows were made is still there, but history is disappearing fast :( :thumbsup:



Great to see you here though Charlie :) Fantastic photo my friend, and it's nice to see some patina on the blade of that historic blade :) The Joseph Rodgers is a beautiful example of the Lambsfoot pattern, and now has added history in relation to the first US production Lambsfoot knives! :cool: :) Have you heard from Barry, I haven't seen him around recently? He did a great job with those caps. That's a nice colour there :) :thumbsup:



I missed Hobbit Day :D No missing the great-looking horn on your Lambsfoot though :cool: :) :thumbsup:



Looking like a well-loved Barlow should Taylor :cool: :) :thumbsup:

Good Morning Guardians! Hope everyone is doing OK, and that your week got off to a reasonable start. They've brought in some new lockdown measures here, expect there'll be more on the way. What a year! o_O Have a good day Guardians, stay safe, and hold those Lambsfoot knives dear :thumbsup:

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Last time I talked to Barry he was alive and well, Jack!! We are in the same "Longitude of Smoke", from our West Coast fires. So far Barry, Dylan and others have escaped the direct assault of flames, and only share the bad, smoky air!!:eek: Rain has finally applied some cleansing to the situation!!
I have 2 brothers, one 2000 kms south (LA), and one 4400 kms east (Buffalo), of Vancouver, and we've all been heavily "smoked!!":mad::rolleyes:
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
Members of the Porch and Guardians!!! It finally happened. I received my Waynorth Lambsfoot yesterday, and it is absolutely perfect in every way. I can’t believe I’m so excited to receive a knife, but WOW, just amazing.
I’m hoping I can now officially be a Guardian and it is not taken lightly. ;)
Here she is in all her glory. :D
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Congratulations!!!!;)
 
Jack Black said:
Thank you :) Is that horse-hoof fungus with your fine Waynorth Lambsfoot? I've been trying to find a photo I know I have with a similar conk, but I'm not sure which Lambsfoot I photographed it with! :rolleyes: :D :thumbsup:
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:D

I’m not too sure what the scientific name for those two fungi are...but it’s on the list to research this weekend. :D

Thanks for the warm welcome!
Cheers!
 
Jack Black said:
Good to see you here Darren :) There've been a lot of posts, (and a good few giveaways), since then my friend :D Sadly, there was no possibility of getting a Guardians knife made this year, though as things have turned out, with the current pandemic, logistics would have almost certainly prevented it anyway. However, as things stand, I'm afraid I don't anticipate being able to get knives of an acceptable quality made in Sheffield in the near future :(
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We are in the same boat, Brother!! I have actually tried to get parts made at various locations, to worry about assembly later, but no acceptable offers have materialized!!:eek:
 
CelloDan said:
Not everything was bad as I do have memories of good things that happened there
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Thank you for sharing that very moving account Dan :thumbsup: It's funny that even in the toughest times, we can always make good memories :thumbsup:

waynorth said:
Last time I talked to Barry he was alive and well, Jack!! We are in the same "Longitude of Smoke", from our West Coast fires. So far Barry, Dylan and others have escaped the direct assault of flames, and only share the bad, smoky air!!:eek: Rain has finally applied some cleansing to the situation!!
I have 2 brothers, one 2000 kms south (LA), and one 4400 kms east (Buffalo), of Vancouver, and we've all been heavily "smoked!!":mad::rolleyes:
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I'm glad to hear that Charlie! :D Sorry to hear about the smoke buddy, I hadn't realised it had spread so far north. I hope things continue to improve :thumbsup: One thing, I guess at least everyone had masks :rolleyes: :thumbsup:
 
waynorth said:
We are in the same boat, Brother!! I have actually tried to get parts made at various locations, to worry about assembly later, but no acceptable offers have materialized!!:eek:
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I am really sorry to hear that Charlie, what times we live in :( :thumbsup:
 
Modoc ED said:
What do the Guardians think? Is this Ironwood? It's a 2019 Guardians Knife but the grain, figuring, etc. is rather lack luster. I'm wondering if A. Wright didn't slip in some wood other than Ironwood to finish the run for Jack Jack Black Jack Black - something Jack wouldn't notice in a large group of knives. The construction of the knife is very good overall but the wood on it doesn't seem to stand out compared to other 2019 Guardians knives I've seen. Whatever the case, it was/is a great effort by Jack. It kinda reminds me of Cocobolo but then again I'm probably all wet.

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Dry off, Ed!! Ironwood can vary from plainer than you show, to very wild burls, with very dark feature! I like the no-nonsense straight grain you show!!:thumbsup:
 
My apologies because I could have sworn I posted these responses early! o_O

Jack Black said:
Sheffield cutlers were never well paid, but they took a pride in their work, which is rarely seen today unfortunately :(

Even worse things are happening in the centre of Sheffield, and inner-city, where most of the old cutlery works were once based, I'm afraid :( Numerous old factories which I photographed for my Sheffield factories thread, (which I can sadly no longer edit or update), just a few years back have always been torn down, in spite of their history, and the fact they are supposedly covered by preservation orders :(

Glad you're enjoying Big Eb Ron :) :thumbsup:
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Thanks Jack! It’s sad to hear the details of the conditions in Sheffield! I’m sure liking Big Eb my friend! :)

Sharp & Fiery said:
Members of the Porch and Guardians!!! It finally happened. I received my Waynorth Lambsfoot yesterday, and it is absolutely perfect in every way. I can’t believe I’m so excited to receive a knife, but WOW, just amazing.
I’m hoping I can now officially be a Guardian and it is not taken lightly. ;)
Here she is in all her glory. :D
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Congrats on that beautiful Waynorth Cutlery lambsfoot! :thumbsup: :cool:

waverave said:
Hey Guardians! Seems like just yesterday Jack was having a GAW for hitting 1000 pages :)

I caught wind of some of the Sheffield news at some point but am trying to go back through this thread to catch up on things (much easier said than done). Based on the recent comments, my assumption is things are not going well.

Hope everyone is doing ok in these interesting times :thumbsup:
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Good to see you here Darren! :) :thumbsup:
 
waynorth said:
All is not lost!! (so I believe!!) I will keep on, keeping on!!
A couple of dark alleys yet to explore!!;)
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Good luck my friend, I will keep my fingers crossed for you :) :thumbsup:

Half/Stop said:
Thanks Jack! It’s sad to hear the details of the conditions in Sheffield! I’m sure liking Big Eb my friend! :)
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Sadly, they are really down to the fag end there I'm afraid :( That's good to hear pal :) :thumbsup:
 
Onebigbill said:
Napolean pastry
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Prey tell, what does a Napolean consist of?
Jack Black said:
I'll have to get the safe open at some point
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Great back ground photo of the factory scene, and good to see " Butterscotch " getting a run.:cool:
Sharp & Fiery said:
now officially be a Guardian
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Welcome, you have raised the bar pretty high to start with though with one of Charlie's, you won't be able to keep that pace up.:oops:
Jack Black said:
Just having a look at the map, there sure are a lot of folks missing!
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I'll get myself off the MIA list.:thumbsup:
waynorth said:
Ironwood can vary from plainer than you show, to very wild burls, with very dark feature
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You are quiet correct there, when i got mine it was dark to start with and you could not really see the grain stand out, not like some i see posted. But now after being carried and used it has really darkened, looks like just a plain slab of really dark wood now,hope you are keeping well my friend and good to see you.:);):thumbsup:
 
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