All About Pocket Knives

I just found this picture of my lamb foot pattern knife and could not find a thread dedicated to this common English pattern knife. I don't recall any American made knives in this pattern. They will often be found with the master blade stamped or etched "Real Lamb Foot Knife", "Lamb Foot Knife", etc.

The earliest ones have beautiful stag or jigged bone handles, smooth bone and horn, later on they used plastic,composition and wood.

If you have any please post them here

That's one nice Lamb Foot Dimitri ... love the old stag ..

I have one to contribute - E Watts Sheffield - Never was able to find this maker in any reference or online but I do like the knife ...

Awesome Lee!! I like the jigged bone handles!

Joe is going to like that one, if you know what I mean

Thanks Dimitri ... Joe has seen it up close if he remembers as we had quite a knife show between us one day a few years back - I had to pry it out of his hand .. Actually I am sure Joe has at least one to contribute here ..

can't wait to see what else is posted here

Dimitri, Lee, beautiful knives thanks for sharing. I have a couple hopefully they are lamb foot blades, showing my inexperience here!!!

Silly me - I never knew that for all those years I was trimming the hooves of my sheep, I was using the wrong kind of knife! I always used the pen blade on an old Barlow that we kept in the tack box just for that purpose.

Thanks Bill ..

Your Turner and Jepson is a nice knife - However I am on the fence as to whether it is a lamb foot or a sheep foot blade... if you notice the blades on Dimitri's knife and mine note the blade is designed and made so that the cutting edge is not parallel to the spine as you move from the tang to the tip - it is not especially robust but look carefully... It is hard to tell on the T&J knife but I am just guessing it was a sheep foot (and your second photo makes me think sheep foot) that was sharpened to make it look more like a lamb foot - but importantly let Dimitri weigh in on it for his opinion as he knows better... Your 2nd knife is not a lamb foot for sure but a beautiful knife anyway ... actually both are beautiful knives my friend!! I should note the handle design of your knife is typical on lamb foot knives but it is the blade - your second knife is a coke bottle handle..

There was and still is a large thread on BF regarding lamb foot knives and many pages discussed the history, blade design etc etc.. My understanding was that sheep foot blades predated lamb foot blades and lamb foot blades/knives apparently were not developed until the latter half of the 1800s... There were none in Joseph Smiths Sheffield compendium from 1816... for a long time I was under the impression that it was just the curve of the spine at the tip which determined a lamb foot from a sheep foot blade though I still believe the slope is more gentle on a lamb foot blade vs the steeper sheep foot curve at the tip - but more importantly it is the lack of a parallel cutting edge to the spine as I explained above if indeed I understand it all correctly... again this is all my understanding...

I kinda had a feeling about it also Lee, I knew someone would let me know. Thanks for the info

LongBlade wrote:Thanks Dimitri ... Joe has seen it up close if he remembers as we had quite a knife show between us one day a few years back - I had to pry it out of his hand .. Actually I am sure Joe has at least one to contribute here ..

That is a fine and beautiful knife. (I didn't want to let it go) As are all of Lee's knives.

A good show of knives here.

Here is a Johnson Western Works, Sheffield.

Bill, beautiful old knives but not Lamb Foot blades.

Here's a very good drawing explaining the difference between the various blade shapes a friend of mine made several years ago.

That's a beauty Joe!

Love the bolsters and the stag!

Thanks Dimitri.

Joe - That is the beauty I remember - As Dimitri said - great stag and bolsters - that Lamb Foot has everything going for it Joe ..

Thanks for sharing that diagram Dimitri which explains it quite well!! - that is exactly what I was trying to say in words regarding the unparallel cutting edge and the spine of the lamb foot along with the curve at the tip of the blade

I'm curious to see if we can get some more posted here from other folks - my general feeling is that these old lamb foot knives are not easy finds!!

LongBlade wrote:Thanks for sharing that diagram Dimitri which explains it quite well!! - that is exactly what I was trying to say in words regarding the unparallel cutting edge and the spine of the lamb foot along with the curve at the tip of the blade

I'm curious to see if we can get some more posted here from other folks - my general feeling is that these old lamb foot knives are not easy finds!!

Your welcome Lee

Me too, I am sure several other members here have some, weather or not they will post them is another story.

Great lamb foot knives, Dimitri, Lee and Joe! Nice old knives as well, Bill!
Dimitri, thanks for posting the drawing to show the differences between lamb foot, sheep foot and wharncliffe blades.
If I had a lamb foot I would post it, however, I do not.

Miller Bro's wrote:Bill, beautiful old knives but not Lamb Foot blades.

Here's a very good drawing explaining the difference between the various blade shapes a friend of mine made several years ago.

Thanks Dimitri for the drawing, I was close but no cigar

Bill - I wouldn't worry at the least about throwing those knives up - I think the lamb foot is confused by many folks until one understands by seeing the diagram that Dimitri posted... at least you tried to contribute a few ...

Here's one you wouldn't expect to be a Lambsfoot. Case calls it a Wharncliffe but it's not. But then again, maybe it is a Wharncliffe because the slope on the end of the blade is not as abrupt as a Lambsfoot. What say ye?


The Knife. A Case 6249W Copperhead. The ruler. The Blade compared to parallel lines drawn with a ruler.

Interesting Jerry and nice knife

So my opinion is the blade looks to be half lamb foot and half wharncliffe ... too long to be a wharncliffe with not enough curve to spine and the curve should be abit more steep at the tip for a lamb foot... if you didn't say Case called it a wharncliffe I would be leaning more towards a lamb foot but in the fashion that Case designed it - not traditional for sure when one thinks of a wharncliffe or lamb foot... In any case (no pun intended) Case's knife and thus their terminology

Your welcome Dan & Bill

Anyone else have any?

Nice diagram Dmitri!!
There is a lot of confusion about what constitutes a Lambfoot knife/blade. Perhaps because it was never fully adopted here in North America. It's a big seller in UK to this day!!!
Here is a Joseph Rodgers Lambfoot;

Here's one I did last year, coincidentally, Charlie is the owner. It was a plain-jane Joseph Rodgers, and I was asked to put some nice stag on it.

Before and after...

That's an outstanding example Charlie!

Thanks for sharing it here, what is that pin in your picture?

That is a stunner Charlie ...

Glen - Great job rehanging that knife .. Thats a keeper for the pocket ...