sheepsfoot

English

Alternative forms

• sheep's foot

Etymology

From sheep +‎ -s- +‎ foot.

Noun

sheepsfoot

1. (printing, historical) A printer's tool with a claw at one end for prizing up forms.
2. A blade with one straight edge and one edge which runs parallel for most of the blade's length until it curves abruptly (almost at a right angle) down to a point at the tip, resulting in less of a piercing point than on a Wharncliffe; (loosely) a Wharncliffe.

   Coordinate terms: lambsfoot, Wharncliffe

   • 2021 March 5, Jake Welsh, Bladesmithing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Forging Your Own Knives for Beginners, Novelty Publishing LLC, page 36:

     These small blades are quite odd looking, as they don't have a point. The edge of a sheepsfoot blade is commonly straight. The spine is often quite straight, but it suddenly veers almost straight down to meet the edge at the tip.