New book “The Story of Knife Steel” by Dr. Larrin Thomas

Matthew Gregory said:
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Over the course of the last several months I’ve been assisting my friend Dr. Larrin Thomas Larrin Larrin in proofreading his most recent book, “The Story of Knife Steel: Innovators Behind Modern Damascus and Super Steels”.

To describe this tome as ‘exhaustive’ is a tremendous understatement. I own countless books on knives, knifemaking, metallurgy and tool steels, and I can say with certainty that none of them even approach being as comprehensive or as engaging as this is.

Before I’m criticized for being a shill for a friend, I would ask those of you willing to level such a criticism against me to ASK my friends just how gentle I am with them. 🤣

There’s really no way of determining how many times I’ve passed through this book, as it started with several chapters and kept going, but there were at least four complete read-throughs on my part, start to finish, and it was remarkable to me just how easy it was to get drawn into it.

There is something here for everyone. Even if one particular topic isn’t your interest, I’m guessing that the sweeping majority of it will be.

I believe it’s currently on sale through Amazon, but best to check his page for the details. KnifeSteelNerds

On a personal note, I would like to state that being a knife nut and not owning a copy of this book is about as smart as taking a dump before pulling your pants down. Just my take. ;)

As it’s now available for purchase, I’m interested to hear what others think, even if they‘ve only just managed to flip through it so far.
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I bet it's sharp and to the point.
 
Just ordered it. Looking forward to adding it my collection, which includes Richard F. Burton's The Book of the Sword, William Gilkerson's Boarders Away With Steel-Edged Weapons and Pole Arms, and, of course, Larrin's Knife Engineering.
 
Amazon just announced printing cost increases, so the cost of my books will be going up by $5 on June 20th.

There will be a signing event for the book at Blade Show in Atlanta on Saturday, June 3rd at 1pm at the Pops Knife Supply booth. There will be limited copies for sale there, but I would recommend bringing one ready to sign.
 
Larrin said:
Amazon just announced printing cost increases, so the cost of my books will be going up by $5 on June 20th.

There will be a signing event for the book at Blade Show in Atlanta on Saturday, June 3rd at 1pm at the Pops Knife Supply booth. There will be limited copies for sale there, but I would recommend bringing one ready to sign.
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Are you thinking of ever doing a signing event here in Pittsburgh? That would be awesome.
 
Two days ago I received Larrin’s latest book, The Story of Knife Steel, and I am simply thrilled. I’ve just begun reading it in depth, after paging through its 503 pages. Meticulously researched and documented, this book is a rich and rewarding read. It takes you from the early days of carbon steels through to development of the latest cutting edge (sorry, that just slipped out) powder steels, including Larrin’s development of Magnacut. It includes an extra bonus of dozens of marvelous vintage ads and posters, plus biographies of the great knifemakers (Rudy Ruana, Bill Moran, Bill Loveless, just to name a few), as well as gorgeous color photos. As a former ink-stained wretch familiar with the challenges of typography and layout, I am knocked over by whoever designed this book. Haven’t even found a typo. Along with his excellent book Knife Engineering, The Story of Knife Steel is a must-have for every knife nerd. Larrin – Dr. Larrin Thomas, that is – deserves a post-doctoral degree for this winner. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
Alberta Ed said:
A postdoctoral fellow is a person who continues professionally conducting research after completion of their doctorate.
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There is a degree, actually, the habilitation. Used to be required for some professorships but very uncommon these days.
 
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