Knife books?

JDRanger

JDRanger

Joined
Aug 14, 2017
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I just got the Shooter's Bible Guide to Knives and really liked it. This is the new 2017 version. I have the 2012 edition which is also good.

They both have great general information on knives in addition to giving profiles on many manufactures including select model discriptions.

I've also really liked "Tactical Knives" by Dietmar Pohl and "The Tactical Knife: A Comprehensive Guide to Designs, Techniques, and Uses by James Morgan Ayres.

I'm wondering if anyone has other knife books to recommend.

I like higher end folders and survival/bushcraft style fixed blades.

Reading about companies, designers, and well known knife industry influencers is my primary interest.

It's great reading about user techniques but I'm more interested in the knives themselves.

No interest in swords, fantasy blades, zombie warfare, or writers who think Hobbits are real.

Suggestions?

BTW - this is my first thread post so hopefully I won't have to post the question, "How to Restore a Crushed Ego" on the psychology forum sites after seeing the thread replies here.
 
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I really enjoyed 'Knife Mechanisms' by LeRoi Price.

The Spyderco book, 'New Shape of Sharp' is worth a read if you can find it.

'Great Eastern Cutlery, an American Tradition' is great.

And 'The Knife Makers Who Went West' also great if you can find a copy for a reasonable price.
 
All Great books in the mention so far.
Seems like a shame that book titles are not being published as often as periodicals though.
http://www.knifeworld.com/ind.html
Luv going thru knife catalogs.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/vintage-knife-catalogs-ads-images-only.755317/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ur-traditional-knife-reference-books.1491362/
In fact one could purchase any current knife wholesaler's annual catalog just for the eye candy.
But in all honesty, digital formats makes for a neater storage of any literary collection
All in line with present practice and other worldly realities.
Can't wait for "Survival Knives: How to Choose and Use the Right Blade" by James M. Ayers .
images
 
I also recommend The Spyderco Story.

I don't know if this is your type of book, but there is an old one (if you can find it), called The Working Folding Knife by Steven Dick. I got that book back in the late '90s, but much of the info is really dated and obsolete. Many of the knife models mentioned are no longer in production, or have been updated/evolved considerably since then.

The Swiss Army Knife Owner's Manual, by Michael M. Young, is the best book on SAKs (both Victorinox and Wenger), but again, I'm not sure that's the type of book you're interested in.

Jim
 
matt009au said:
I also enjoyed that Ayres book mate. Really good read.

I will have to check out Dietmar Pohl's work. Is this his 'tactical knives' one ?
https://www.bookdepository.com/Combat-Knives-and-Knife-
Click to expand...
BilboBaggins said:
Oh, we're real alright. As far as a book, I will second Knife Mechanisms: just for the fun of it by LeRoi Price
Click to expand...

I stand corrected Mr. Baggins. Now that I know you are real I'm curious to know something. When you test a blade's sharpness do you shave arm hair or foot fur?
 
Levine's Guide is still the gold standard as far as general knife reading.

"The Working Folding Knife" by Steven Dick mentioned above, was a very nice bit of knife writing.

The M H Cole military knives books are still the big books on military knives. Knife World's "Military Knives" book is a nice fun read too. Silvey's books are nice too. You can also read through the archives at www.usmilitaryknives.com , and get a good education on military stuff. Frank Trzaska is one of the best knife writers working today.

Voyles's knife book is a good catalog reference.

The "Guns and Ammo Guidebook to Knives" (blue cover) is a great look at knife culture up until the 70's.

Ken Warner's Practical Knife Guide is a great read on knives up til the 70's too. Ken Warner was/is a good writer / editor on the subject. The Knives annuals were very good under his wing.

I note that Blade Magazine is offering CD-ROMs and PDF collections of their magazines now. I wish more magazines would do that. Love them or hate them, magazines were a big part of knife culture, and they covered a lot of stuff the books miss.

Norm Flayderman's The Bowie Knife book is a great book on the subject.

Those are some of the more general books I reach for when looking up knives.
 
Every year an author named Kertzman puts out a great book if you like custom knives. These are very high quality books but they have soft covers. Photos are excellent.

Title examples:
- Knives 2018
- Knives 2017
- ....

The older books are really just as good previous versions.

1/2 of each book is a listing of custom builders so that is redundant after you have one copy.
 
This isn't a book actually, but I enjoyed looking up the history of various makers like Buck, Spyderco, and Benchmade. They're short reads but I liked them.
 
thanks guys. a couple looked interesting and were priced right. i just ordered:
Survival Knives: How to Choose and Use the Right Blade
The Edgemaster's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing, Using, and Maintaining Fixed-Blade and Folding Knives (i know the OP said not necessarily interested in sharpening, but mentioning it anyway)

i'll have to take a closer look at the rest of the recommendations another time....
 
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