home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Path: sparky!uunet!dtix!darwin.sura.net!ra!mimsy!ncsu.edu
- From: hes@ncsu.edu (Henry E. Schaffer)
- Newsgroups: rec.guns
- Subject: KNIVES '93 - A Book Review
- Message-ID: <1993Jan1.171612.8055@ncsu.edu>
- Date: 1 Jan 93 23:57:09 GMT
- Sender: magnum@mimsy.umd.edu
- Organization: North Carolina State University
- Lines: 131
- Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu
-
- KNIVES '93 (13th Annual Edition)
- Edited by Ken Warner
- DBI Books, Inc. ISBN 0-87349-134-3
- 8 1/2" x 11" 288 pages paperbound $15.95
- On the cover it says" Today's Knives - The Latest in Technical
- Developments and Design Trends: A type-by-type look at what's
- being made: State of the art reports on materials and
- techniques.: Extensive directory of makers, supplies, sources.
-
- If you like knives and are interested in just about any aspect
- of knives and related cutlery then this is a book for you. It
- won't teach you how to make knives - that aspect is not covered
- other than in the directory area, but it covers most everything
- else. The photographs are outstanding in number and in illustrative
- value. They are all in black and white, other than the cover, but
- show details of construction, materials and decoration. The
- information value of this book is very high, and the price is quite
- modest - and remember that DBI books are available mail-order on a
- 2 for 1 basis (check any gun magazine for their ad.)
-
- Contents [my comments in brackets]
-
- Introduction
- FEATURES
- In Search of No. 6 Choy Doh by Steven Dick
- [The typical Chinese-style cooking cleaver. More than you ever
- wanted to know, but told by someone who collects these and uses
- them in the kitchen.]
- Knives of the Canary Islands by Woodson Gannaway
- [A discussion of distinctive working knives made there, with their
- washer-based, inlaid handles and heeled blade. Told by someone
- who has learned to make these.]
- A Navy Knife of the Great War by Bernard Levine
- [Tracking down the Navy issue pocket knife. Told by one of the
- real authorities on knives and their history. Note that Levine
- has published an excellent book on knife identification, and
- writes a column "Whut Izzit" in the monthly Knife World.]
- We Called Him Mr. Ruana by Lance Strong
- [Stories and biographical information about knifemaker Rudy H.
- Ruana of Montana.]
- The Stuffs Knives Are Made Of by Ken Warner
- [General discussion of blade and handle materials.]
- The Knives I Kept by John Lachuk
- [Long reminiscence of a collector and user about which knives he
- liked and about their makers.]
- Why We Collect Pruners by Richard and Teresa Stein
- [folding pruning knives]
- The Eight Dollar Mountain Foundry and its Dessert Storm Knives
- by Steven Dick
- [Dale Sandberg decided to make knives out of lumber saws for his
- son's unit in the National Guard at the start of Desert Shield.
- This is a story of the knife, the cast aluminum knuckle duster
- handle he casts onto the steel blade and the variations.]
- The Other Knives of Desert Storm by Ken Warner
- [A short review of some other knives intended by knifemakers to
- get to the troops.]
- TRENDS [short reviews of the mainstream and the fringes]
- Boys from the Forks of the Creek [makers who sell at flea markets]
- The Overseas Contingent [Japan, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, ...]
- Hunters; Folders; Big and Brawny
- What do You Mean, Personal? [small utilitarian knives for carrying]
- Folding Standards [mostly lots of photos with short captions]
- Investment Knives; Shaped with Style; Pattern Welded Blades;
- Embellished Every One; Selected Slip Joints; Working Patterns;
- Mechanically Different.
- Daggers and Fighters
- Mainstream Daggers; Baroque Daggers; Patterns of Old; The Stiletto
- Style; Mainstream Fighters; Fancy Fighters; Boot Knives; Sub-Hilt
- Fighters.
- Straight Standards
- Bowies; Fish and Fillet Knives; Camp Knives; Fantasies; Push and
- Claw; Hunters; Utility Hunters; Skinners.
- Away to the East [Oriental knives]
- The Japanese Look; Persia and Elsewhere.
- Swords: Still a Select Group
- Miniatures: Bigger and Better
- The Hungarian Airborne's Throwing Dagger by Steven Dick
- [Strange system in which the scabbard is held in the hand and a
- snap of the arm throws out the dagger.]
- New Leather, Great Leather [sheaths]
- Classic Cases; Carry Cases.
- Miscellany
- Why Go to Shows?
- STATE OF THE ART [emphasis on custom made]
- The Swiss Fix Is In [about K.J. Lewis who reworks and customizes
- Swiss Army Knives]
- Study and Steel and Shape and Stuff [photos with captions]
- Steel; Shape; Grinds; Texture; Tools.
- Found: A Real SEAL Knife
- They Call it Cryogenics [short discussion of cryogenic treatment]
- Scrimshaw [Riddle: What is a person called who does scrimshaw?]
- People and Such; Birds and Animals.
- Engravers
- Carving and Etching
- FACTORY TRENDS
- The Pliers-Knife Story by Butch Winter
- [discussion and review of the Leatherman tool, the competing ones
- from Gerber and SOG and the history of previous tool.]
- The Mechanically Different [innovative locking mechanisms]
- Reinventing the Wheel [a critical review of kitchen type sharpeners]
- Here Comes Pakistan
- New Knives in Production
- Folders; Straight Knives; Swords.
- DIRECTORY [WOW! A Treasure trove of information!]
- Custom Knifemakers [with short descriptions of what they do, prices, ...
- for something around 1,000 knifemakers]
- Knives '93 [a 24 page section of photos of custom knives]
- Knifemakers State-by-State [a bunch in NC, but none in Raleigh :-(]
- Knifemakers Membership Lists [Knifemakers Build, American Bladesmith
- Society, Miniature Knifemaker's Society, and a bunch of State and
- Regional Associations.]
- Knife Photo Index [alphabetical by knifemaker, engraver, scrimshander
- - yes that's the name for someone who does scrimshaw, etchers/
- carvers, and handle artisans. For this edition and then also for
- past editions.]
- Specialty Cutlers
- General Cutlers
- Importers & Foreign Cutlers
- Knifemaking Supplies
- Mail-Order Sales
- Knife Services [engravers, heat treaters, leatherworkers,
- photographers, scrimshanders, misc.
- Organizations & Publications.
- Knife Terminology
-
- Well, that should give you a taste of the contents. Nobody will
- be interested in every word, but everyone will find a lot to like.
- Especially if you like seeing the vast variety which is illustrated
- in the many hundreds of photos.
-
- --henry schaffer
-