3 comments about 500 Knives: Celebrating Traditional & Innovative Designs (500 Series).

1. I'm sorry for the pun, but I can't avoid it: This book is razor-sharp. The designs of masterful metalsmiths and entrancing engravers bring your attention and then your delight to the beautiful images featured on each and every page. An esteemed knife maker himself, juror John Jensen has brought together a mesmerizing collection of daggers, swords, cutlery, switchblades, and more, each and every one a utilitarian tool, a traditional form, and an innovative art object. Five hundred such pieces simply astound, and the Amazon price makes purchasing the book a no-brainer, whether it's for yourself or as a gift for art collectors or knife collectors or Goth teens or simply as a great "guy gift." No kidding: It's a wonderful book.



2. I have many books on knife, knife collecting and knife making. This is a beautiful knife picture book, unfortunately nothing more. It would have been much better if the author could provide the criteria he used to select the knives that are included in the book. The book size is 8" by 8", 384 pages. On each page of the book you see beautifully photographed knives covering about 2/3 of the page. Besides the pictures, you get only a 2 page introduction in the beginning of the book then a few line description under each picture. The description of each picture includes knife maker's name, year made, length of knife, steel used and handle material. There is no information about the knife maker. It is a beautiful picture book of knives with very little information. If you are looking for knife books with beautiful pictures,information about the artists and about the knives check out the knife books written by David Darom,Custom Knifemaking: 100 Custom Knife Related Projects in the Making, The Great Collections: Modern Custom Knives, Custom Fixed-Blade Knives, Custom Folding Knives



3. WOW! I was so very much impressed with this vendor.
   Thanks so very much for your quick response, this book
   arrived promptly and in excellent condition.
   
   Thank you again!!!!!

4 comments about Custom Knifemaking: 100 Custom Knife Related Projects in the Making.

1. This is a great book. If you make knives, it is even better.
   
   Thanks David



2. This a great book on the art of making knifes. I'm an artist who works with welded steel and edged weapons to create my sculptures. I enjoyed seeing all of the techniques that these artists used. The author did an excellent job researching knife artists. The explanations of how they work and their finished creations was impressive.Recommended for artist and craftsmen 100%. Also for the connoisseur of knives.
   
   Jim
   
   [...]



3. This book was chosen for my husband, a hobby knife-maker. He enjoyed the variety shown and even picked up on a few inspirations. It's getting harder to find good knife books, but he liked this one because of the great style variations.



4. In one simple book, a magnificent and rich look on the art of knife making with hundreds of pictures and explanations. A journey with many of the best knifemakers who each show individually the making of a custom knife from A to Z. Many techniques are illustrated to give a broad view of this art. A magnificent book which is incredible cheap for the documentary value. A must have book along with the other books by David Darom.

5 comments about How to Make Knives.

1. This book has more than just the basics, its an outstanding addition to my collection and is full of very useful information. I bought it used, but you would never guess it, its in great shape (Thank you seller) and if your already into making knives...buy this book, if your thinking of getting into making knives...buy this book, and if your just interested in the process...buy this book.
   
   Thanks
   Allen



2. If you want to start making knives you must read this book before.
   Loveless is a great knifemaker and his guide is great to avoid mistakes and save time, getting a better result.



3. I am a do-it-yourselfer and like to read books and then attempt to do the things described. I have had a lot of success with this.
   
   This book is not for people like me. If you want an interesting history of knifemaking or a who's -who of knifemaking, read this book. If faithfully describes tools and techniques that are very unlikely to be used successfully by the novice. The final insults are the lack of updating and the poor quality of the illustrations.
   
   There are better texts out there for the serious knifemaker. For the novice, this book is next to useless. Its niche seems to be for the history buff.



4. This one is probably in my top five, if not top three, favorite books in my "knife making" library. 4 1/2 stars.



5. I bought this book as well as 3 others on knife making from Amazon. This book is good for if you have some decent tools and even has a section for doing it all with hand tools. The major complaint and only reason I gave it 4/5 is because about half of the pictures are way to dark. You can hardly see what is going on with them. If they were lighter with more contrast it would have been better. The other pictures are fine. Overall I am still glad I bought the book and would recommend it for a beginning knife maker.

5 comments about Custom Folding Knives.

1. I want to say right up front that I am David Darom's partner in his third knife book, "The Art of Modern Custom Knifemaking, 100 Custom Knife Related Projects in the Making" (soon to be released). I very much wanted to write this review, but because of my current relationship with David I was concerned that some might question my motives. But I can tell you that I would not have even met David had it not been for this incredible book.
   
   I first heard about "Art & Design in Modern Custom Folders" a couple of months prior to its release. I am a part-time knifemaker, and a member of a group of online forums that are devoted to custom knifemaking. David had "teased" us with sample photos from his soon-to-be-released book. And the preliminary taste worked...Like most of our 7000+ members, I was more than a little bit intrigued.
   
   Hard bound, printed in Italy, 260 full-color pages filled with breathtaking photos of the some of the most exquisite knives in the world... The book sounded incredible and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. And so with the single-minded goal of acquiring my own copy, when the book had its world premier at New York's annual East Coast Custom Knife Show, I drove up with a few friends.
   
   When we arrived I made a beeline for David's table...I was fortunate enough to meet him, if only for a few minutes (he was swamped with fellow enthusiasts trying to get their own copies). The meeting was brief but enjoyable...and I got what I came for...my own signed copy of the exciting new book.
   
   As soon as I got home I dove in...Every page was a delight and I spent hours and hours fully immersed. David's love for his subject matter was apparent...Never before had we seen such a collection of photos...no props, no distracting backgrounds, just page after page of beautifully-done, world class photography, that showed off the knives in all of their glorious detail.
   
   Needless-to-say, I couldn't wait to tell all of my online friends about this wonderful new book and I posted my own review, followed by much discussion. This ultimately led to an ongoing, long-distance correspondence with David. We became good friends. Several months later he asked me to write an article for his second knife book,"Art and Design in Modern Custom Fixed-Blade knives"...and that experience eventually led to our partnership in the 3rd book.
   
   Not a week goes by when I don't refer to my copy of "Art & Design in Modern Custom Folding Knives"...The pages are now quite dog-eared. I have a sizeable collection of knife-related books and magazines, but this is easily my single, most often used resource for inspiration and ideas.
   
   Am I prejudiced? Absolutely! But I can say without reservation that for overall production value and presentation, David has set the bar high with this book. Nothing else out there comes close. The skill and love that went into the making of this magnificent "coffee table" book of museum quality, folding art knives is unequaled. This masterpiece led me to David...And I am honored to have become his friend and associate.
   
   It is impossible to glance at even one page of this book without being completely drawn in. If you are a knife enthusiast, or if you simply appreciate any form of extraordinary art and craftsmanship, this book is a joy to own.
   
   Dennis Greenbaum



2. As a custom knifemaker I'm always excited to see new publications related to the collected works of knifemaking. Of very special interest to me are those books which focus on the art and ingenuity of custom art knives; books which explore the art not only with good photography of quality knives but also with accompanying text providing insight into the methods and intent of the maker. Truly this area of artistic endeavor has been but scarcely examined and over the years I've found only a few books which approach these criteria and which, for the most part, now sit on my bookshelves. There have, however, been two books I've come to treasure above the others; Art and Design in Modern Custom Fixed-Blade Knives and Art and Design in Modern Custom Folding Knives, both by Dr. David Darom.
   
   In these books can be found not only the exquisite photography which occurs occasionally in other collective works but also a depth of writing exploring the knifemaker and his focus on the knives being regarded. With his writing Dr. Darom provides rare and wonderful insight into the world of knives which transports the reader, both those experienced as well as novice, to a higher level of understanding the unique experience of knifemaking. His critical selection of art knives and insistence on only the highest quality of photographs reproduced using top quality printing methods and materials have created the finest art knife books I have ever owned. Coupled with Darom's focus on quality is Amazon.com's ability to bring this treasure to the public for an amazingly low price. I applaud Dr. Darom's efforts and welcome the long awaited USA release of Art and Design in Modern Custom Folding Knives. It is my hope Dr. Darom continues to explore the rich and diverse field of custom knifemaking and finds it worthy of producing future volumes not unlike this one.
   
   In short; Art and Design in Modern Custom Folding Knives is without a doubt indispensable to both professional and the enthusiast alike. This book is of such fine quality I truly must wonder at the ability to offer it for so low a price and advance the suggestion this serves to make it the perfect unique table book or addition to any fine art book collection.
   
   -Charles Kain



3. TOP QUALITY BOOK WITH EXCELLENT PHOTOS AND ARTICLES. A MUST FOR ALL REAL ENTHUSIASTIC KNIVE MAKERS AND COLLECTORS.



4. Book arrived damaged, spine completely broken at title page, when contacted Amazon did not hesitate to send a replacement, which arrived in the far south Pacific in quick time and good order. Great service.



5. Simply superb, beautiful pictures, nice bios of many authors and nice articles for instance about the Lindsay handengraving tool and engraving in general which was explained in detail (in words) to a novice audience. A must have for collectors. Perhaps it should have been provided with prices but it was not the aim of this descriptive book.

5 comments about The Standard Knife Collector's Guide 6th Edition.

1. The updated 6th edition of identification and values packs in black and white photos of all kinds of knives and covers their history as well as collector ratings by condition and the latest values. Knife collectors will find Standard Knife Collector's Guide a detailed, important reference perfect for identifying and assessing a collection.



2. Positives: Comprehensive overview of the various manufacturers. Good valuation system that gives direction on which brands are more desirable. Decent discussion of knife care. Good glossy color insert.
   
   Cons: Does not discuss the history of various patterns(Stockman,Trapper, etc.), but this seems beyond the scope of the book (find an old copy of Bernard Levine's Guide to Knives...either the 3rd or 4th edition). A general overview of patterns and their intended use would be nice.
   
   This book will get you headed in the right direction of knife collecting. This combined with the Bernard Levine book mentioned above is all you need unless you specialize in a brand. There are Case, Cattaraugus, etc... specific books. As to some other comments, I guess I knew this didn't cover fixed blade knives, but I guess it should be "The Standard Pocket Knife Collector's Guide."



3. I found a cigar box full of old pocket knives in my mother in laws attic. I wanted to learn more about them and what they might be worth. This book answered that question easily while also sparking some interest in acquiring other similar knives of value. I would recommend it or "Official Price guide to collector knives" by Price to anyone wanting to know more about pocket knives they might have.
   
   What I didn't like about this book was the poor quality pictures and sketches for many of the knives, they were of copier type quality. But they were good enough for me to learn what I wanted to know.



4. With chapters on how to appraise a knife's value, to chapters on major knife companies, large hunting knives, kitchen cutlery and straight razors this book tries to touch on every conceivable aspect of knife collecting. There are plenty of photos, and lithos to help identify different knife patterns and brand name tang stamps. The commemorative and limited edition section is very large with loads of details about very rare and hard to find knives. While there is a large amount of info here there is too much that would apply to a beginning collector and less to an experienced collector. I would not call this book a "must have" but it is helpful to a beginning collector.



5. Do not waiste your money if you have the 5th edition from last year. stewart
   
   If you do not have last years book, it's one of the best general info on knife companies and thier history. But Stewart does not mention Jim Sargent's book "American Premium Buide to Knives and Razors" with contributors like Case Guru Tony Foster. You need to own both. I cannot wait to see the new Case guidebook slated to be out in the fall of 2009 by another Case guy.
   
   Buy bothe Stewart's 5th or the new 6th if you do not have the former, and DO BUY Jim Sargent's book above.

5 comments about Collecting Case Knives: Identification and Price Guide.

1. My wife is always asking what I want for the holidays so I told her that a copy of Steve's (knifeaholic's) book would be a nice stocking stuffer.
   
   My copy just arrived this morning and I was granted permission to open and peruse.
   
   I've got to say that I am impressed. The book would be worth its price for the color images alone...factor in the content and accessibility of information and the book is not only a "must have" but a bargain to boot.
   
   This one goes right beside Levine, Goins, Sargent & Witcher in the permanent collection and will be well and lovingly worn in the years to come.
   
   Well done, Steve. You've helped advance our favorite avocation!!!
   
   A worthy addition to any knife collector or user's library.



2. If this book had been correctly entitled "Collecting Case POCKET Knives," I would definitely have given it a 5-star rating. It is an excellent reference book and price guide. HOWEVER, if your collecting interests include or are concentrated on fixed blade knives, then you will be disappointed as I was. To clarify, this guide does not cover any fixed blade Case knives.



3. 
   New on the scene,Steve Pfeiffer's "Collecting Case Knives - identification and price guide". From the editors of Blade Magazine this book is not a price guide to thumb through to check on a pattern's value. It's an historical and well documented explanation of how and where Case knives values are supported and why. It's detailed, documented, and well resourced. It has abundant color photos - far more than any other similar book I have seen and made from high quality glossy stock paper surely to serve as a superb reference guide but with the class of a coffee table book. In content and in its presentation Steve has done what he said in his introduction was that he wanted to create a different type of reference guide that will detail the "knives themselves..." ...the "DNA" so-to-speak.
   
   Steve's guide is a must have as a cornerstone to any Case collector library.



4. Very nice book. I bought this as a Christmas gift for my husband because he collects knives. He was very surprised and had to flip through the pages right then and there! He said it's very detailed and has a lot of great pictures. He recommends it to others!!



5. THIS BOOK IS FULL OF SUPER INFORMATION NEEDED IF YOU COLLECT OR TRADE CASE XX POCKET KNIVES....IT CONTAINS INDEPTH DETAILED BACKGROUND WITH EACH PATTERN.....GREAT COLORED PICTURES......EASY TO READ.....I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL CASE XX KNIFE ENTHUSIAST.....

5 comments about Knives 2010: The World's Greatest Knife Book.

1. I get the Knives each year for my husband who makes knives. He keeps each issue and I know enjoys looking through them. If you like or make knives, I highly recomend the yearly Knives books.



2. Knives 2010 is a great addition to any knife enthusiast or collector. The chapters are well written and include quite a bit of information concerning trends and this volume includes a knife making dvd. A good buy for sure.



3. All the knives knifemakers want collectors to buy and very few you can actually use. The feature stories are also no where near the quality of writing that editor Ken Warner once found for the book.



4. All of these series books have nice great pictures in the first half or so of the pages then page after useless page of phone book style listings of maker after maker. This info would be better put on a single "source" web page and be more up to date as well! BUT then this book would look more like a magazine than a book. You see this black and white w/little to no photos in the back of the book is cheap filler to make your magazine look like a book, we all did it in school, you know triple spacing, redundant verbage, etc. I still like these books simply because I buy them a year old and get them for magazine prices. To see one new knife design makes it worth the price.



5. Not sure I would have bought one with prices in it, but think my son, 19 will still enjoy it. He loves knives and guns.

5 comments about Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop, Revised.

1. This is a really great book. This book is mainly concerned with forging knives from scrap coil and leaf spring from cars. Its one of the best books on making your own tools too. If your new at knife making then this is a must have. It covers most aspects of knife making, even some stock removal. What its best at is to show you that you can make knives from scrap and homemade tools for next to nothing. I highly recommend this book.



2. This is by far, the best knife making book I have. If you are like most, broke, you have got to get this book. Well written and put together. This is real world, not a techy manual. If you buy no other book, buy this one. This book is the reason I started making knives. I got this one for under $10, used(I could not tell it was used). What a steal. 5+ stars



3. This book is full of good information for the beginning knifemaker. It is well worth your money. This book will make a great gift for any handyman, especially if they have limited knowledge about knifemaking, as I did. If they are experienced at making knives, they may or may not learn new tricks or styles of knifemaking.



4. I bought this book along with 3 other knife making books. Wayne does a good job of describing knife making procedures with a minimum of tools. If you are on a budget I would strongly recommend this book. It has LOTS of pictures and does a good job of explaining them unlike some other books. If you have a little more budget than $50 get David Boye's book Step by Step Knife Making or the Barney/Loveless book How to Make Knives



5. I just struggled through this book, and it's total lack of organization is maddening. The author jumps off on a thousand tangents, but can never finish a thought. He starts on one idea then moves on to another - he talks about how wheels on sanding machines can be made from scrap wheels, and mentions that he was recently at Pearl Harbor, and they had lots of carts there, so obviously there is a scrap yard somewhere where old wheels can be purchased.
   
   WHAT ?!?!?
   
   Due to the horrible editting the text often contradicts itself - to reference just the bit about grinders again, he talks about how scrap wheels are good, especially for hollow grinding ... but you need more precision if you're going to do certain things ... like hollow grinding.
   
   
   I wanted to like this book, because the author is so clearly a friendly interesting guy...but the bottom line is this:
   
   Pretty much every other book I've read on knifemaking is better than this one.

4 comments about The Official Price Guide to Collector Knives, 15th Edition.

1. This is a good book as a resource. Many of my knives are listed by company, but not in the price guide. I am after the prices suggested.



2. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in starting to collect knives...It has all the necessary info to get started..Nice gimp chart too!!!
   
   To the dude who wants knife VALUES===>
   Here is a hint===>
   www.eb@y.com
   Collectibles
   Knives, Swords, and Blades
   
   The concept of a price "value" guide is humorous in today's internet era....
   I wouldn't use this book to get an EXACT value of a knife
   (that is impossible anyways)
   But..You can use the figures to roughly estimate which knives are of more collector value and which ones are run of the mill $.89 Imperial Jackmasters



3. This is THE BOOK for the serious knife collector. I collect Case knives and this reference book has become indispensible to me when I am considering a knife purchase.



4. You can get by with this book only, if you are just starting your knife collection.

5 comments about Step-by-Step Knifemaking: You Can Do It!.

1. David Boye writes as an old friend might write to you via e-mail, describing his hobby and how he makes knives, soon infecting you with this 'disease'. By the time you've finished your subconscious will be telling you "I've got to become a knifemaker!". The book covers tools, knife types, stock removal, grinding, building the handle, heat treatment, regrinding and polishing, handle materials, buffing, sharpening and maintenance, etching and even how to make the sheath. For a beginner like me who has recently rediscovered the world of knife collecting and knifemaking, this book is simply amazing. I've got no regrets buying this. You should add it to your library.



2. a good book for beginers.ther is no attitude about makers mark,and how to prevent rust from the knife blade.



3. This book is a little too good... now I can't get it back from my friend.



4. This is a really good book on the subject. I love the fact that Boye likes to use scrap steel and turn that into knives. He uses the stock removal method instead of forging. This book is just a wealth of information and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about knife making. It is true that Boye mainly makes chef knives, but all this information can be used to make any kind of knife that is made by the stock removal method. Enjoy.



5. I bought this book as well as 3 others on knife making and this one was very informative. It has useful techniques and decent illustrations. I do not plan on etching my knives so that section of the book did not interest me. Overall a good purchase for a beginning knife maker.