Guardians of The Lambsfoot!

[Corto_Malt]

Thanks Jack Black , you as well

 

[Onebigbill]

Looking forward to the new week. A little golf, a Board Meeting, packing up some belongings, yard work, etc. Now, after being retired so long it makes me wonder how I ever had the time to get anything done when I was still in my career? Still hunting for my HHB that got packed up but I still have plenty of photos to re-cycle. Alongside one of my favorite drams.

 

[Jack Black]

Looking forward to the new week. A little golf, a Board Meeting, packing up some belongings, yard work, etc. Now, after being retired so long it makes me wonder how I ever had the time to get anything done when I was still in my career? Still hunting for my HHB that got packed up but I still have plenty of photos to re-cycle. Alongside one of my favorite drams.
View attachment 1548917

Sounds like a full week Bill! That's a great photo, but I don't think you can beat having a treasured knife in your pocket

 

[Pt-Luso]

 

[Jack Black]

Hope everyone's week got off to a decent start

 

[Jack Black]

Good morning Guardians, I found time to do some work on my hiking staff yesterday. Added a compass, and a good ferrule, 2 coats of sanding sealer, and I'll I'll be applying the the third and fourth coats of Danish Oil today Better get some work done first though Have a good day everyone

 

[Pt-Luso]

 

[screened porch]

 

[Jack Black]

That seems to have become a firm favourite Jer

I've had a busy day, but it really seems to have flown. I had to go out, and as a new Italian place has opened down the road, I picked up a couple of pizza slices for lunch, which I ate at a table on our local 'village green' Forgot to take a pic unfortunately

 

[screened porch]

That seems to have become a firm favourite Jer

Partly because the edge's gone a little wiggly and the pretty ones are still pristine, but yeah.

 

[JTB_5]

Hey Jack ( Jack Black ),

I tried to send you a PM, but your inbox is full. I'll ask you here in a more generic way. Do you know anything about lambsfoot knives commission by Gary Wines and endorsed by John "Lofty" Wiseman?

Thanks,
Joshua

 

[Jack Black]

Partly because the edge's gone a little wiggly and the pretty ones are still pristine, but yeah.

Fair enough Jer

Hey Jack ( Jack Black ),

I tried to send you a PM, but your inbox is full. I'll ask you here in a more generic way. Do you know anything about lambsfoot knives commission by Gary Wines and endorsed by John "Lofty" Wiseman?

Thanks,
Joshua

Sorry about that Joshua, I've had quite a busy PM day! It should be OK now buddy

Those knives are made by Wright's. Blades are supposed to be O1, which I found strange as Wright's were always adamant about not using O1 for pocket knife blades. There seems to be a fair amount of 'marketing' going on there, but I guess you can't blame an old soldier for trying to supplement his pension

 

[JTB_5]

Fair enough Jer



Sorry about that Joshua, I've had quite a busy PM day! It should be OK now buddy

Those knives are made by Wright's. Blades are supposed to be O1, which I found strange as Wright's were always adamant about not using O1 for pocket knife blades. There seems to be a fair amount of 'marketing' going on there, but I guess you can't blame an old soldier for trying to supplement his pension

The O1 made me curious as well. I did notice that one other Guardian mentioned buying one back in March (it was on a previous page that I must have forgotten or missed), and reported that it was well made (which I know has been less true of A. Wright recently). I wasn't sure if the name was connected to a particular cutler who had some renowned.

 

[btb01]

I'm in the minority and like the design of the A Wright's better.
But I'd be all-in for another GEC Lamb Run, especially if they can fix their blade orientation.

Harry nailed it below...

You are correct, Harry.

Let me start this by saying that I love my Charlie Lamb, this is not a "bash" of the knife. In fact, I think it is very well put-together, beautifully finished, and has amazing W&T. Had to say all that because if I say anything negative it's assumed i hate the knife, which is far from true. So, consider that the disclaimer.

It simply comes down to the blade orientation for me. The way GEC centered their blade is very aesthetically pleasing, but in "use" it just doesn't work as well for me as my A Wright versions. With GEC's mix of long handle, sway back, and upward centered blade, it's much tougher to get the tip into the cutting surface than my other Lambs. It actually makes me cant my wrist a lot when using it to cut on flat surfaces.

I've included a couple of pictures to illustrate what I mean, the line runs through the center of the knives and take notice where the tip is in relation to the center of the knife. Once again, GEC's very aesthetic but I prefer the function of the A Wright's more... and that's what makes me carry them more.

The tip is even with the center line...


This one has a more severe cant downwards...


Here's a happy middle ground...

John, I hope you don’t mind me bringing these quotes over here to the Lambsfoot thread. I think it’s an interesting discussion, and one on which I have a few thoughts, but I figured it might be better to continue it here rather than take the forum knife thread further off-topic (something I’ve already done more than my fair share of ).

When you first mentioned preferring one over the other, I assumed you were talking about the general proportions of the knives. Wright’s Lambsfoot models are generally more stout (or thick or whatever term you prefer), while the Waynorth Lambsfoot is slimmer. Although I now know that’s not what you were saying, I will say that, personally, it’s exactly how I feel. I prefer the “fuller” proportions of the Wright’s knives. The Waynorth is, of course, a wonderful knife, with a superb fit and finish (arguably much better than many/most of Wright’s standard production knives), but if all other things were equal, I much prefer the shape/proportion of the Wright’s Lambsfoot to the slimmer Waynorth.

As for the blade cant examples you’ve given, I think it’s a combination of actual cant and also the shape of the blades that makes the Waynorth so different from the Wright’s models. The Waynorth blade has a much more pronounced taper from the tang to the shoulder. It seems to me that the taper on the Wright’s Lambsfoot occurs mostly along the spine; i.e., the spine tapers downward from the tang, while the edge is basically at a 90° angle, going “straight” out from the tang. The Waynorth blade also tapers down along the spine, but it seems like the edge tapers upward as well (perhaps even more so). Does that make sense?

However you explain it, I can certainly see your point (no pun intended ). With the knives in hand, the tip of the Waynorth blade is not angled down in the same way as Wright’s knives are, and that would make a difference when using the tip to cut.

 

[JohnDF]

The Waynorth blade has a much more pronounced taper from the tang to the shoulder. It seems to me that the taper on the Wright’s Lambsfoot occurs mostly along the spine; i.e., the spine tapers downward from the tang, while the edge is basically at a 90° angle, going “straight” out from the tang. The Waynorth blade also tapers down along the spine, but it seems like the edge tapers upward as well (perhaps even more so).

I thought the same thing, but believe the cant of the blade makes it appear that way. GEC seems to have lined up the cutting edge with the bottom (blade well) of the handle rather than the spine of the blade with the back (spine) of the handle. Or some such thing, making it seem like the blade edge tapers up rather than the spine tapering down. Confusing i know. Anyway you look at it, the A Wright's are easier and more comfortable to use.

 

[btb01]

I thought the same thing, but believe the cant of the blade makes it appear that way. GEC seems to have lined up the cutting edge with the bottom (blade well) of the handle rather than the spine of the blade with the back (spine) of the handle. Or some such thing, making it seem like the blade edge tapers up rather than the spine tapering down. Confusing i know. Anyway you look at it, the A Wright's are easier and more comfortable to use.

As the saying goes (or used to go, before it got muddled up), “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

 

[Jack Black]

The O1 made me curious as well. I did notice that one other Guardian mentioned buying one back in March (it was on a previous page that I must have forgotten or missed), and reported that it was well made (which I know has been less true of A. Wright recently). I wasn't sure if the name was connected to a particular cutler who had some renowned.

I'm still unsure about the O1, but I remember someone getting one. I guess that feller could have had them made a while back. He's not a cutler, in fact I'd never heard of him at all before his name came up here

John, I hope you don’t mind me bringing these quotes over here to the Lambsfoot thread. I think it’s an interesting discussion, and one on which I have a few thoughts, but I figured it might be better to continue it here rather than take the forum knife thread further off-topic (something I’ve already done more than my fair share of ).

When you first mentioned preferring one over the other, I assumed you were talking about the general proportions of the knives. Wright’s Lambsfoot models are generally more stout (or thick or whatever term you prefer), while the Waynorth Lambsfoot is slimmer. Although I now know that’s not what you were saying, I will say that, personally, it’s exactly how I feel. I prefer the “fuller” proportions of the Wright’s knives. The Waynorth is, of course, a wonderful knife, with a superb fit and finish (arguably much better than many/most of Wright’s standard production knives), but if all other things were equal, I much prefer the shape/proportion of the Wright’s Lambsfoot to the slimmer Waynorth.

As for the blade cant examples you’ve given, I think it’s a combination of actual cant and also the shape of the blades that makes the Waynorth so different from the Wright’s models. The Waynorth blade has a much more pronounced taper from the tang to the shoulder. It seems to me that the taper on the Wright’s Lambsfoot occurs mostly along the spine; i.e., the spine tapers downward from the tang, while the edge is basically at a 90° angle, going “straight” out from the tang. The Waynorth blade also tapers down along the spine, but it seems like the edge tapers upward as well (perhaps even more so). Does that make sense?

However you explain it, I can certainly see your point (no pun intended ). With the knives in hand, the tip of the Waynorth blade is not angled down in the same way as Wright’s knives are, and that would make a difference when using the tip to cut.

I thought the same thing, but believe the cant of the blade makes it appear that way. GEC seems to have lined up the cutting edge with the bottom (blade well) of the handle rather than the spine of the blade with the back (spine) of the handle. Or some such thing, making it seem like the blade edge tapers up rather than the spine tapering down. Confusing i know. Anyway you look at it, the A Wright's are easier and more comfortable to use.

You always bring interesting discussions here Barrett, and this one is no exception. I know exactly what you and John mean though, and it could simply be down to GEC's inexperience with the pattern, perhaps things would be different with another run (we can live in hope). Generally, there's a great deal of inconsistency with Wright's knives, but I guess they've produced a lot of Lambsfoot knives. I would have explained the blade geometry just as you have. Cant aside, while I love the graceful lines of the GEC blade, I feel more confident using the Wright knives, but perhaps that's partly because I have more of them, whereas the GEC ones are so precious, as I'm sure they are to all of us lucky enough to own one Or even two (thanks Charlie)

 

[JohnDF]

(thanks Charlie)

Yes, thanks to Charlie for all his hard work bringing these to us. They really are quite special.

 

[Jack Black]

Interesting discussion over in the other thread I noticed @abcdef posted this photo, which is of Charlie's knives, the middle one being the Joseph Rodgers knife that inspired the Waynorth Lambsfoot.

To me, it does look like the Rodgers has a little cant. Generally, I dislike blade cant in a knife, where it isn't part of the design, it's often a sign of a badly-made knife. With the Lambsfoot however, it's very much part of the pattern, just that small amount of cant (Wright's knives sometimes have too much for me) really makes the Lambsfoot WORK in my opinion. The same with the Swayback frame, while the Lambsfoot will work in a straight frame, I think it works BETTER in a Swayback. The non-parallel edge and spine, the angle of the tip, the gentle cant, and the way the Swayback frame presents the blade, are all part of the magic of the Lambsfoot pattern for me. Of course, these things all vary from maker to maker, but whoever came up with this pattern was an absolute genius

 

[Jack Black]

Yes, thanks to Charlie for all his hard work bringing these to us. They really are quite special.

It was a real labour of love John, GEC had only ever made US patterns before, so Charlie had to do a lot of work, over several years, to get them to make a Lambsfoot. It really was an accomplishment, and I don't think anyone else could have pulled it off. I sure hope GEC are glad they gave in in the end, it really is a beautiful knife, and I'd love to see another