Are there any good, informative knife reference books??

T

TheMartialWay

Joined
Jul 2, 1999
Messages
1,347

Hello all,

I am looking for a reference book on knives. One that has information on different steel types, definations, terms. A large general information book, kind of like a knife lovers dictionary.

Any recommendations on a large informative reference type book would be greately appreciated. Thank you.

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Louis Buccellato
http://www.themartialway.com
Knives, Weapons and equipment. Best prices anywhere.
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"only the paranoid will survive":)


 
Since is my first time on here I am probably not going to be your best choice for a reply, but here goes. To my knowledge there is no "ONE" book to cover what you want, but there are a lot of others that combine most of the info collectively. Ken Warner's series of books"knives##" have covered many topics over the last twenty years. Boye's book on knifemaking has quite a bit about steels and things. Wayne Goddard has a new book coming out soon also that should have a ton of info. if you check into Krause Publications they offer more knife books with general information than anyone else I know of . Knife World also offers books. One company you can check with if they are still around is D&B Readables, they used to hit many of the knife shows and they specialized in knife books of all types. I almost forgot about Levine's books! He breaks down all the parts and pieces of different knife styles very concisely. Good Luck.
 
There have been a few attempts to put together a general knife reference. But the information tends to get stale quickly. The best general knife references are Levine's Guide, and the Warner Knife Annual. both will have plenty of detail on knives and at least some pages on steel types. But, if steel is what you are interested in I would recommend a good Machinist handbook.

The major book store carry these references generally under trade or general science. Expect to pay about $80-90 for the reference text. Coverage is very detailed and includes all major alloys, their intended usage/properties, and temperature range.
 
The best reference book I have found to date though not a dictionary is Wayne Goddard's new book, The Wonder of Knifemaking....there is a lot of juicy info on sharpening, steels and so on. Full of great info and the closest thing I have found so far that has a lot of reference material. And the price is under $16!
It is available on Amzazon. Click here to see it

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~Greg Mete~
Kodiak Alaska

[This message has been edited by Kodiak PA (edited 04-11-2000).]
 
If your main interest is steels, get a recent edition of the Metals Handbook, published by ASM International (formerly the American Society for Metals).
http://asm.micronexx.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/BOOKSTORE/PAGES/06542G.htm?L+asmbooks+pcni0717+955545759

Parts of it are now available on CD-ROM, too.

I picked up a 1995 version for $7.50. The new one lists for $204.

Beyond that, all the above suggestions are good, especially Levine's Guide
biggrin.gif


Here is a list of knifemaking books I compiled for BLADE a few years ago. It is a bit out of date -- for example Goddard's book is now available; it was still in the works then.
http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/knmabo2.txt

BRL...

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http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/links.htm
 
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