Knives Annuals

bluejaunte said:
I just received a few of Dr. DD's books. They were a revelation. Please keep fighting the good fight, sir!
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It is not a war, my friend. I do the best I can, creating the kind of books
I would be proud to own. I do them with LOVE and enjoy every minute of
the thousands of hours that I put into every volume.
But that is my way...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
Sorry, I tend to use that phrase to mean "Keep up the good work!" Perhaps a relic of my lengthy sojourn in Corporate America, where accomplishing something good tends to be more a battle than a labor of love...
 
There are many things that I don't like about the latest Knives annuals. I don't like that the same knife can appear in multiple areas of the book. I hate the clear beauty coat (plastic coating that is applied to the cover) that peels off. A better job should be done of proof reading the book.

My main reason for purchasing Knives annuals is for the contact information provided. The next reason is for the photos. I tend to find the articles to be a waste of time.

I have sent emails to Krause in the past, letting them know my feelings about the book, but have not sent any to F&W Publications. I think I'll give it a shot.

I realize that putting together a publication like that every year is probably not easy.
 
The degeneration of the Knives annuals is paralleled by the decline of Gun Digest. What used to be a reasonably scholarly collection of essays has turned into nothing more than a compilation of marketing blurbs. Sad, really.
 
My biggest concern with the Annual is the lack of updating the profiles of the makers. too often, one finds makers listed that have died or at new addresses. Too often non have email addresses even though they may have an account and too often there is not a website when a maker actually has one and lastly some of the other info is not up to date. I'm a collector so of course I have all of them.
 
Aspirational state: keep the high quality color pics, more data on the knife and less "wit", more attention to detail all around.

My wife and I spend hours going through each edition when they come out. When we first started collecting it helped us decide where to focus and we'd begin further researching designs and makers. Again, having some information about the knife pictured would have been fantastic.

Although not perfect, we've enjoyed every issue and managed to look past/work around the shortcomings. The pics are great and it's always a thrill to see a knife you own published.
 
The Annual is a fantastic display of knives and color, if that's what one is looking for - and for me, that's why I buy it. I know what I am getting when I buy it.
 
I agree with the initial point made by yitz, but in my limited time of getting them (I think 2003 was my first) I will suffer through the sappy comments for the improvement in photos and amount of color.

I think "enjoying it for what it is" has been my take on them.

Peter
 
Some of the knife books out there cost the maker dollars or an expensive knife to be included. Knives annual does not expect repayment to be included. Good value for the makers that have their knives featured. Maybe the descriptions are not the best but the pictures are great.
 
I agree Betzner and r connally.

Is it a David Darom Book? NO
Is it meant to be? NO
Does it serve a purpose? YES
 
Omni44 said:
Some of the knife books out there cost the maker dollars or an expensive knife to be included. Knives annual does not expect repayment to be included. Good value for the makers that have their knives featured. Maybe the descriptions are not the best but the pictures are great.
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The converse is true as well. From what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong), KA gets all of their content at no cost. Choose from the submitted pics the ones you want to use, lay them out, hammer out some captions (that typically require zero research), and you're done. Sure, it's not trivial, but it could be LOTS harder.
 
Guys,

Omni44: Good point. The ONLY fair critique of the current Annuals is the sappy comments. Some like 'em, some don't mind, and some despise them. Fair enough.

Joe (the editor) has read your comments. We will see what, if any, changes will be made next year. We are but a small portion of his readership.

Everything else about the Annual is a fantastic value: To the customer for around $20 (Amazon), to the maker who's knives are displayed (sometimes more than once... :eek: :p :thumbup:), and to the reader, who gets a great pictorial, and can directly find ANY knifemaker who's work is shown, right in the back.

Sounds too good to be true to me.... ;)

Coop
 
I was stoked to get two of my Js test knives (beautifully photograhed by our very own Coop) featured in the latest issue.

It's always a feather in the cap for me. :)
 
I agree with Nick, when i started makeing knives i always hoped to someday have a knife in the knives annual. last year i got one this year i got 4:eek: it is great to see something you have labored over (and in some cases bled on) show up in print.
 
I have also noticed more than once that a maker will have photos of a knife, or knives, included in the book, and there will be no information on that maker in the directory.
 
SharpByCoop said:
Everything else about the Annual is a fantastic value: To the customer for around $20 (Amazon), to the maker who's knives are displayed (sometimes more than once... :eek: :p :thumbup:), and to the reader, who gets a great pictorial, and can directly find ANY knifemaker who's work is shown, right in the back.

Sounds too good to be true to me.... ;)

Coop
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Should we not drive for better than what is, Jim....is good enough, good enough?

If you want to champion mediocrity for the masses, be my guest, oh Kumbaya King.....You and Kevin can lead the charge for Big Boxes of knives for everyone.....do you have any idea WHAT KNIVES are slated for the Big Boxes(hint...they are not the best...they are the best for the money)...

I thought we were about the best...without regard to excuses or cost...but I may be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time.

Joe is an asshole, and he isn't even OUR asshole...he belongs to Krause Publications, a wholly owned subsidiary of F+W publications...Ken was goofy, but at least he was/is knife people, and sincere.

I'm done with this one, if you can't see it, you deserve it.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
STeven, all we are saying is that it's not perfect but it's quite a knife book for 20 bucks.

Would you rather have the old crappy black & white photos back with slightly better descriptions? :confused: Not me. ;)
 
Kevin Jones said:
STeven, all we are saying is that it's not perfect but it's quite a knife book for 20 bucks.

Would you rather have the old crappy black & white photos back with slightly better descriptions? :confused: Not me. ;)
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It isn't just a knife book, Kevin..it is THE knife book...it speaks FOR and TO all of us in the community.

I have said from the beginning that it is better currently than the black and white of old...but there was really something to Ken's work...he got some great writers to participate..there was substance to the volumes...no we have pretty pictures for those of short attention span...it can be and should be better, and the only way that will happen is if people like you, and Coop, and everybody else demands it..not a courteous little request, but a "mad as Hell, and not gonna take it anymore" kind of thing(that quote came from the movie Network, for those unfamiliar...:rolleyes:)

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
It isn't just a knife book, Kevin..it is THE knife book...it speaks FOR and TO all of us in the community.

I have said from the beginning that it is better currently than the black and white of old...but there was really something to Ken's work...he got some great writers to participate..there was substance to the volumes...no we have pretty pictures for those of short attention span...it can be and should be better, and the only way that will happen is if people like you, and Coop, and everybody else demands it..not a courteous little request, but a "mad as Hell, and not gonna take it anymore" kind of thing(that quote came from the movie Network, for those unfamiliar...:rolleyes:)

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Of course it would be nice to have the perfect Knives Annual, but after adding the great writers, incurring the expense to accurately source and check information and adding a better cover the price would go up. I wonder how many of those complaining about the book would still buy it? I would, you would, but I believe sales would drop. And in my opinion the community needs this book in as many custom knife enthusiast hands as possible.
 
Ken Warner, warts and all is a true to life expert on knives and has been for over 40 years. Yep, he's old. He isn't just a guy who happens to work for a publishing house and got shoehorned into the knife-gig after writing books on collectible toys and such... I have a complete set of annuals and will keep buying them to preserve the set. The photos have gotten better, but the stories have weakened in my opinion. Big problem is many of the best of the regular DBI writers and contributors have either died or retired.
 
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