Krause Publications latest sham

A.G.,

That is a good point and certainly one that no one should argue with. Prices are set by the market, and price guides are at best a relative indicator.

Putting together a respected price guide is not an easy task. In essence you are making yourself a third party to a large number of transactions. You are bound to be cursed by some and applauded by others. None-the-less LG5 is a price guide, and the pricing is an important component.

Indeed, the reply I recieved from Krause reads in part:

"... this new edition received relatively little revision beyond price updates and a small new section towards the back of the book."

How well the prices are accepted, and what real value a price guide provides, depends on the reputation of whomever authors the book. It will never determine the final price, but a good guide will help our hobby by providing a starting point.

N2S
 
It still rubs me the wrong way. An established text like, say: "Wigmore On Evidence", trades on the reputation of the original authour, and the quality of the work ostensibly published in his name affects his reputation. Even assuming a publisher has the legal right to use the name, [and there are several legal considerations, like "droit moral"] surely the publisher has an obligation to ensure the public isn't misled as to the continued affiliation or endorsement of the named authour or, perhaps more important, the quality and currency of the work.
Now, I haven't read this new edition and I don't know and make no comment on its quality and what the legal rights of the parties or affiliation/endorsement of the named authour might be.
But if the work isn't up to par and if there were issues with the "Wigmore" of the title, then, as a buyer/reader, I'd sure feel misled by the publisher.
I've come, rightly or wrongly, to associate Krause with quality publications. I'd hate to be dissappointed.
 
A.G., Brad, Greg, N2S and other faithful knife guys. I'm caught in the middle of this situation, something I'm not used to. For starters, I attempted to be very brief the first time around. And I thanked you guys for understading. I did not jump on anyone for expressing their beliefs.

I stated Bernard did not write everything in Book FOUR. Others contributed to it, he edited their copy (text). I have the earlier editions, too, and am positive (although I did not check) that all prices were not updated every few years. There is no way all the prices in Book 5 could be updated without a lot of work. Ditto the earlier books. I was assigned specific segments Krause wanted updated. In some cases, the original authors were contacted, to update their own work (under Bernard's by-line). In other cases, I located knowledgeable collectors (recommended by the factories - i.e., Case, KaBar, Schrade, etc.)and they provided me with new prices and info. I contacted many of the clubs that offer knives to their members, including A.G. Russell, and many answered with updates, some didn't respond.

Further, I mentioned I do not know a thing about the reasons Warner and Levine broke with Krause. It is not my business. If the fact that I edited material for Book 5 makes me a bad guy, I'm sorry. I was asked to perform a task, by a specific deadline, and Krause was very pleased with my work. In fact, even Steve Shackleford of Blade contacted me and gave me an assignment, which I produced on time. Have also been writing for some other magazines.

Right now, I am working on a new project involving knives, knife makers, collectors, etc. It's not a print magazine, as I had hoped to offer, but something good. Will pass on the word one day soon, when it's about ready for release. In closing, Bernard has not been in touch with me. I feel he is too much the gentleman to get on my case. As A.G. mentioned, all knife prices do not necessarily change in a a couple of years. Some of the people giving me new prices for Book 5 really jacked them up, whereas others offered modest price increases. It was assumed, certainly rightfully, that the guy providing the very high price increases probably had a lot of those knives on hand. We chose the low road, in these instances. Thanks for listening to me. Bud
 
About LG5 I know nothing,about Bud Lang,I know he is an honorable person who would do nothing to deceive the knife community.When Bud left KI,the knife community lost a great person.He was the best editor of a cutlery mag.,that I have seen,and a real friend to the "unknown"knifemaker,he would run articles/photos of their work,and do it without making them buy ads for the priviledge,a real benefit for a new/unknown maker.I for one hope to hell he gets back into it.Dropped my sub.,to KI after he left,ditto Blade a long time ago.

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MIKE
 
For the record, EVERY price in LG2, LG3, and LG4 was updated. Not all changed, but wherever prices had changed in the real world, I made sure the book reflected this accurately. As much as I could, I relied on active and experienced dealers and collectors in each specialty for up-to-date price information. Few (if any) of them contributed to #5.

Furthermore, EVERY line of text, every line in every chart, and every caption was checked for accuracy each time, and was corrected, rewritten, or even deleted if appropriate. Substantial new information was added to all the charts each time, and to most of the text chapters. In addition I revised and updated the other writers' contributions as rigorously as I did my own, always with their input and approval.

None of this was done in #5. Furthermore, none of the new "jacked up" prices in #5 have any basis in reality. I know who some but not all of the price consultants were on #5, and the kindest way I can describe their contribution is "self-serving."

<hr>

I am subscriber #000048 to Knives Illustrated, and have every issue filed. It is the only knife publication that I pay for, rather than receiving gratis.

Bud Lang and I enjoyed cordial relations from the first day we met, before KI commenced publication. However due to our different editorial styles, I only once wrote an article for him to publish.

I was surprised to learn that Bud had resigned from KI. I was even more surprised, and very disappointed, to learn that he had agreed to serve as executioner of Levine's Guide. As he says, a man must eat. Even a hangman.

Now I am doubly disappointed that he is casting aspersions on my previous editions, without even having looked at them. He wrote (in this thread):

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I have the earlier editions, too, and am positive (although I did not check) that all prices were not updated every few years.</font>
Click to expand...

He may be "positive," but he is wrong.

<hr>

Furthermore, I never "broke with" Krause. I exercised certain options spelled out in my contract, and they did likewise. The contract is still in force.

Krause chose to sacrifice the quality and usefulness of the book (they never told me why) and I chose not to participate in its destruction (yes, I have read Atlas Shrugged). For more detail see my column in the July 2001 Knife World, now posted on the KW website. Follow the link on my links page.

BRL...

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http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/links.htm
 
Haven't purchased the book, so I can't speak to it's quality, but I do think it's been a great while since a Webster was involved in producing the dictionary that bears their name, and I'm pretty sure that Roget hasn't done much work on recent thesauruses (Thesaurusi? - Spell check on Word says thesauruses.).

The truth is that the name has monetary value, and the book's producers are obviously not printing it for the love...
 
Well said! The 4th edition is one of the... NO IS the best book I have ever read on our hobby. Informative, interesting and entertaining. Get one while you can...

Good luck Mr Levine.

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Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
 
Brian_Turner,

Take another close look at your latest edition of either Webster's Dictionary, or Roget's Thesaurus. The title remains in use, but credit for the revision has been clearly assumed by another authority. That has not happened here.

It seems Krause may have the right to publish Levine's Guide, and also the right to the content of LG1-LG4. But, if they are revising and updating the content then they should credit someone for the revision and for the added content. The title should have read "Levine's Guide to Knives and Their Prices, 5th Edition. as updated and enhanced by (add name here)."

It is not a trivial task to update something as complicated as LG4. Clearly no one undertook responsibility for doing so, and so the quality of LG5 has slipped.

N2S

[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 06-20-2001).]
 
Mr Levine,

I don't think it was your intention to imply fault with the work that Mr. Lang did with respect to LG5. My understanding is that he was employed to edit LG5, and he has performed this task well. As Mr. Lang has said earlier in this thread, he was not employed to author the revision of LG4. We should not fault him for work that he was never tasked to do.

N2S
 
If, as Krause says, Ken Warner was too busy to do Knives 2001, why is it that he produced(with Bruce Voyles) Knife Digest 1 at the same time he usually came out with the Knives Annual?

How many of you have been into knives long enough to remember the original Knives Digest(1976?) by Cassidy?

Dave
 
Outstanding post Not2Sharp!!!!

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Take care!! Michael
jesus.jpg


Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!

Cooper Custom Knives
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
Being a newbie, I e-mailed mr.levine and asked him, no I flooded him with questiopns. With grace and with the polish of a Real gentleman, he answered my every question , his answers right on the money. Mt E-mail to Krause was as Follows on this the 21st of June:
>>I am appalled at your newest edition of this book. It bears the name of Mr.levine who has had zero to do with any of the "new" information.You have slammed him, and along the way, for the sake of our ole mighty dollar subjected us to a moronic book of no value to a true knife collector. While my simple letter of anger and distrust will only impact you in my refusal to buy Blade Magazine and any of your current or future publications concerning firearms,I surely do not for one second think my trivial pittence spent will impact your report to the shareholders and the Board members of Krause. I do anticipate, however that many of us in the world of firearms collecting, knives collecting, coins and stamp, and the "great Outdoors" will also boycott you and turn to Peterson's or others who Publish valuable information and do not ever puport a piece of trash work to be that of a Man of absolute Honor, bernard Levine...How dare you
<<
Wolf.....
mad.gif


 
Mr Levine puts his reputation where his heart is. In spite of any money issues, based on sales of the FIFTH edition, Mr Levine is selling autographed copies of the FOURTH Edition on eBay. Here is the url to Mr. Levine's eBay store: http://www.ebaystores.com/id=1200293

John Row
colobbfan
 
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