Intro to knives book?

MVF

MVF

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2005
Messages
2,811
I gave my great-nephew his first pocket knife for Christmas last year (with his Dad's permission, of course), and it turns out he has really taken to knives. I wanted to get him a good book describing most of the things I learned on this forum- the parts of a knife, blade grinds and edge grinds (and the difference between the two), blade shapes, handle types, folder patterns, etc. I'm sure you get the point.

When I went to amazon, thinking this will be a piece of cake, I couldn't find anything! Making knives, collecting knives, using knives- from the kitchen to the back streets, all kinds of different "catalogues" (Knives of 2012, Collectible Folding Knives), but no simple intro to knives- "this is a ricasso, this is a clip point, this is a hollow grind, type of thing.

Does anyone know of any?

TIA, "Uncle" Mike
 
"Tactical Knives," by Dietmar Pohl might be an option. As the title implies it focuses mainly on more modern 'tactical' (yes, I know, lots of folks hate that word) styles. Discusses the history of Fairbane, Randall, etc. But it does have some decent info on blade shapes, steels, parts of the knife, etc.
 
An old (4th ed or earlier) copy of Levine's Guide would be great....if he doesn't mind a "vintage" gift. If he's into knives, and especially pocket knives, there is no better book.
 
Thanks guys. I don't think his mother would appreciate the Tactical reference, but I'll look into it. I'll check around for the Levine's too, but I sure wish there was something more general.

If I knew someone who could take care of the pictures and drawings, I'd write one myself. Not that I expect there would be tons of demand for it.
 
MVF - I think 'Best of Knife World III' might be what you're looking for. IIRC, it's out of print and came in both hard and soft covers (recommended: hard cover) but it's out there for a reasonable price, and is, IMO, one of the best informative, yet casual reads. Levine's guide IV is about the best out there, but is (much) more indepth - a must have down the road...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top