How about a Bladeforums Knife Book?

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
4,453
This thought has flashed across my mind several times. I have ignored it but its relentless pounding has finally arrested my attention and compelled me to put it to print.

I noticed in the short duration I have been with this forum that there are many interesting and intelligent answers as there are almost countless intriguing and fascinating questions.

I believe Bladeforums has been around for a few years and in the course of those years, the archives are filled with topics on practically all aspects of the knife and blade-making. Stories abound and they come from all corners of the globe.

Why not selected the most interesting topics with the most interesting answers and published them in a book? We can call it "300 Things You Ought to Know About Knives" or something better and more interesting.

The subjects can be categorised according to the different aspects like Damascus, Types of Handles, Types of Blades and their Properties, Different kinds of locking systems, Polishing and Grinding, some famous knife makers, the Legends, some Customs Knife makers, etc..

Of course, permission should be sought from those whose answers are chosen for publication. Knowing the nice people who prowled the Bladeforums in their leisure hours, approval should be easily forthcoming.

Perhaps the only snag would be the paper-work that goes into vetting through all the material and putting them in order.

There is also the question of getting sponsors for the book which should see an initial print order of 10,000 (more than enough to cover the 9,000 odd members of the Bladeforums).

I believe many of the big names in knife-making will be glad to chip in for this marvellously good cause. Afterall, they get all the free publicity and the tremendous support (past and present) from Bladeforums members themselves.

And if the book turns out to be a best seller, the proceeds can go to Bladeforums to boost its financial standing. If there is a little money left, perhaps it could be spent on the production of a limited number of a Bladeforums Special Knife which could be distributed free to all its members (that's just a thought).

Whatever it is, I for one would buy such a book because it would be of immense help to me as a one-volume encyclopedia on knives.

I have always wanted a book designed by knife collectors, written by them and published by collectors who are serious about their hobby and who know what they are talking about. Can you imagine the mind power of 9,000 members going into one book?
The word "awesome" would be an understatement.

Publishing a book, especially such a book or any book, is not an easy task but if there are enough interested parties out there who are willing to contribute their time and other efforts, this book should be a reality before this year is over.



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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
Golok,

This is a great idea, I don't think it would be as simple as printing a collection of threads, but we have alot of talent and knowledge on this site. We should be able to produce and contribute some publication to our hobby.

I was thinking it might be worth while to focus on something that would be very simple (conceptually), require the active participation most of our members, and results in a valuable $ tool for everyone.

Imagine if we all made an effort to sort through and photograph our collections. We could publish a Bladeforum's reference catalog with literally thousands of pictures showing many interesting prototypes, antiques, and design variants as well as an excellent collection of works for many known and relatively unknown knife makers, factories, and cultures. There would probably be enough photos to generate a number of volumes, each focused on a specific area of collecting with a good cross index to aid our research. We might even be able to do this evry couple of years.

What a valuable tool this would be:
1) As a source of ideas for new projects
2) As a information source to guide our
collection
3) As proof of authenticity for when our
kids try to sell some of our knives.

Editing the raw material would be a task in itself; but, it would be one way to harness the resources of this site to generate something that would ultimately put $ in all of our pockets.

N2S

BTW, the pictures recieved from the members would be sorted into catagories - and not published as a refence to a member's collection. It's safer and more useful this way (we can decide seperately whether to add a photo credit).
 
BTTT
smile.gif

 
An interesting idea, but one that would require a great deal of time and effort on the part of Mike and or Spark. Time that I doubt that they have with all the other things that they do now.
Maybe Mike or Spark could respond and let us know their thoughts on this.

Keith.
 
Golok,
I think you've got a good idea here.

I would definately buy such a book without any hesitation at all and I think that it would do great in a bookstore as well. There's just not enough knife books out there.

I do, however, see that this could be a major undertaking for whomever decides to take it on. Writing a book, any book, can't be easy!!

I hope that the response for this concept will be good and maybe we could eventually see it through.

--The Raptor--
 
Hi Not2Sharp,
Your feedback is deeply appreciated.
I think some of your ideas are great.

Yes, it is not an easy task but not a monumental one either. It can be done. The owner or owners of Bladeforums may find this a daunting task but if it can be realised, we will look back on it one day and say, "we should have done this earlier."

Raptor, mucho gracias for the show of hand. I honestly believe it is an achievable assignment. Yes, right now we are all looking at each other as to who's going to do it. That is always the case.

Perhaps someone in authority will keep-in-view this project proposal

I have read a number of books on knives but I have never been fully satisfied at the end of each one.

After being part of Bladeforums for some months, I know those things which I want to know and learn about knives and about their makers are all here in Bladeforums.

In fact, they are all available and ready to go to print. We are living in the Age of Advanced Technology, surely the publication of a book is not that insurmountable.

When all talk is exhausted, it again comes down to sieving through the mountain high of paperwork. I believe if we take it one chapter at a time, the Bladeforums Special Edition Book may yet see the light of day.

Think positive.



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Make Love your strongest weapon. Compassion your shield and forgiveness your armour.
 
So what are the issues:

1) Much of the text in our treads in is the nature of a personal conversation. There are trolls, off color comments, and side conversations that add little to the subject.
2) Some posts make reference to sites or materials that are protected by copywrite.

3) Either becuase of legal concerns or to protect the Blade Forums we will need to get permission from our members/sponsors before we include their comments.

4) Our posts are written for Blade Forum members. Our handles (vrs proper names), acronyms, and assumptions with respect to subject knowledge would be totally off-base for a more general audience.

We would probably be better off if we can get some of the members to submit original articles on some of the subjects covered in our favorite threads.

If we go with a simple picture guide we would need:
1) To set up standard minimum Pic resolution and format the photos.
2) Put together a short table of the data we want to collect (ie. maker,steel type, blade length, etc.)
3) Have the members sign an affidavit that the pictures are rightfully theirs, and a release to allow publication.
4) Invest time in sorting and formating the page layouts and building a meaningful index.

Once we get through these hurdles we will need to find out what the minimum economically feasible print volumes are.

N2S

 
It is I, Crayola, ... Oh geez, i've been talking to Vampire gerbil WAYYYYY too much!

Anyways, I posted in Mike's thread about improvements we'd like to see that i would love to see a return of the Bladeforums magazine or more tutorials or something like that. I would love to help out on a project along these lines. I am a 5th year university student taking Philosophy (and Management, but I hate admitting that) so I have experience in writing. Mike or Spark, do you read? Over.

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"Come What May..."
 
The Emerson forum has an ongoing, updated master gallery with pictures and descriptions of all Emerson knives the "usual suspects" can arrange for pictures of.

That could serve as a beginning, and a template for others. It might also serve as a warning to anyone interested in getting involved in a project this large!

Another possiblity would be for someone to browse the archives for those questions that always seem to come up again and again: how do I sharpen a knife, what's the best system; what's the best folder, what's the best fixed blade; what knife would you want in a survival situation?

We should ask Mike if it's OK to use this material, first, of course.

Read through several threads on these, copy the most informative posts, reword them into a seamless narrative, intersperse with the best personal stories, and you've got a book: "What Turns a Knife Knut On". We don't need anything to start except someone with a word processor and a hard drive with the space for it. Once the basic text is established, we would want permission from anyone whose stories got used, and maybe, a name to put to them.

Next step, actually putting out a hard copy, I leave to someone in the business. I'm sure among all of us multi-talented people, someone has done publishing.
 
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